Suburban Trends
RINGWOOD
BY TIM FOX, Staff Writer
"Clean the land! Clean the land! Clean the land!"
A host of Upper Ringwood residents, their advocates and politicians were chanting loudly at the Ford
Superfund site at the end of Peter's Mine Road on Wednesday. The outdoor rally featured a number of passionate speakers who told the plight borough residents have faced living in an area littered with toxic waste still lingering from when Ford Motor Company began dumping lead-based paint sludge across the land in the late 1960s.
"A water, a land and a people who have always lived as one may now die as one because corporate greed, hatred and prejudice against us because we were indigenous and powerless," said Wayne Maim, spokesman for the Ringwood Neighborhood Action Association (RNAA). "What has been done to my people the water and the land hurt so much - Ford Motor Company will never understand.”
The disclosure on Nov. 20 that the federal Environmental Protection Agency found 50 parts per million (ppm) of lead in one of six squirrels tested from the site has provided hard evidence to for* the residents' fight. Environmental consultant Rich Chapin, who has spoken with the EPAs project manager for the site, explained this significance and other topics of interest at a meeting following the rally. After researching technical literature about the toxicity levels of lead in the body, Chapin concluded there is no known safe level of lead and that 50 ppm was indeed a "big number."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended limits on the amount of lead that can be tolerated in different foods, Chapin said. For example, with candy, there should be no more than .1 ppm and with sugar and cocoa, no more than .5 ppm, he said.
The FDA also says an adult can ingest.075 ppm per day of lead and not show any adverse effects, according to Chapin. He pointed out that if one were to eat four ounces of meat from the contaminated squirrel, that person would ingest about 5 ppm of lead, well above the .075 ppm.
Chapin also expounded upon EPA!s recent acknowledgement that toxic waste from the mines is affected the ground water. At a recent public meeting, the EPA reported that it had analyzed water samples in three bedrock wells near Peter's Mine pit and found Volatile Organic Compounds and metals. Benzene, lead and arsenic discovered in the wells exceeded state groundwater standards.
"Their report states there is a hydraulic connection between the pit and the ground water, which means that water can flow from the pit into the ground water," said Chapin. "This is very significant because previously we've always been told we don't have any indication that the waste is affecting the ground water, but now their own report says there is a connection.
Given these revelations and that the site has been re-listed as a Superfund hazardous waste site, Chapin said the EPA should prepare a Remedial Investigation of the ground water that would detail how they plan to delineate the extent of contamination.
Residents and their advocates hope these new findings will underscore the importance of the rally to publicize the need to fully clean up the area. "The EPA, when given the choice, rather than cleaning up a site, will simply try to put some temporary measure in place ... "' said Congressman Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch). "Everything has to be cleaned up"
Pallone, who faces a similar environmental battle in his own district, said he has seen first hand how the EPA tends to shy away from Superfund sites. He said Edison, which is within his district, is home to one of the most toxic Superfund sites in the nation where Agent Orange was dumped during and after the Vietnam War.
Pallone said that EPA has an obligation not to cap (seal with a cover) this site, but to make sure all the toxins are cleaned up and carted away. In a letter, the Congressman also helped push for the EPA to test the different wildlife in the area because of residents' predilection for hunting.
"It's a basic right to know," he said. "The public has a right to know what might impact their health"
“You have to test the people.” said borough Councilwoman Wenke Taule.
According to Kevin Madonna, spokesman for Kennedy & Madonna, a New York-based law firm representing Ringwood residents in their legal battle, the council will test the blood of close to a dozen residents on Dec. 4 for various toxins.
Furthermore the state Department of Environmental Protection has set a tentative meeting for Dec. 5 to discuss how it plans to investigate residential properties in Upper Ringwood for possible contamination.
According to Chapin, the EPA is evaluating additional samples from different animal species to help analyze just how ingrained the toxins are in the food chain. It expects a decision on this sometime in December and will possibly collect additional samples in January.
The residents of Ringwood and many of their supporters have been working hard to fight for a complete site cleanup and medical testing for years. Through their efforts they forced the EPA to make the area the only site ever to be re-fisted as a Superfund site after being taken off the toxic fist over a decade ago. Although progress has been slow, residents say that will only make them fight harder.
"It's like beating a mule with a 4x4," said Chapin of the progress. "We just have to get an 8x8 and keep it up"
Tim Fox's email address is
foxt@northjersey.com