[CPEO-BIF] NJ DEP tightens chromium standard

["Hersh, Robert" <hersh@WPI.EDU>]

NJ DEP tightens limit for chromium 

NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE
Monday, February 12, 2007
By MARY JO PATTERSON
The state Department of Environmental Protection has come up with a tough new
standard for removing chromium waste from soil in Hudson County and elsewhere
in the state, three years after critics complained the agency had weakened
cleanup standards for the toxic substance beyond safe levels. 

Sites to be developed for housing or schools may not contain more than 20
parts per million of hexavalent chromium, the strictest such standard in the
country, according to DEP Commissioner Lisa B. Jackson. The old state
standard had been 240 parts per million. 

"Some will say we went too far and some will say we didn't go far enough, but
I challenge them to say this doesn't go pretty darn far," Jackson said in an
interview last week. "We're erring on the side of caution." 

Environmental activists had high praise for the DEP's action, although most
expressed concern about the manner of implementation. 

"The old standard was based on political science," said Jeff Tittel, director
of the New Jersey Sierra Club. "Lisa is standing up to not only previous
commissioners, but also a lot of developers and politicians." 

The new cleanup rules were expressed in a written directive that also lifted
a moratorium on approving chromium cleanups in effect since 2004. Despite the
moratorium, a handful of projects were given special permission to move
forward - including part of the Port Imperial development in Weehawken and
Liberty National Golf Course in Jersey City. In both cases, the DEP allowed
up to 100 parts per million of chromium waste to remain under a seal,
officials said. 

Sites containing residue of hexavalent chromium have been a vexing toxic
waste problem in New Jersey for years. 

Hexavalent chromium, a byproduct of industrial processes, is hazardous to
humans. Long-term exposure to the compound in the workplace has been
associated with lung cancer. 

The new standard, in addition to reducing the allowable chromium residue to
remain in the soil, requires developers to excavate to a depth of 20 feet
when cleaning the property for residential use, child care centers or
schools. 

Jackson said she hoped the new standard would get cleanups of contaminated
sites moving.

For the entire article, see:
<<http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-1/117126330964260.xml&;
coll=3>>

Bob Hersh
CPEO


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