Hazard Podcast - America’s Biggest Crime Scene

The Hazard Podcast - America’s Biggest Crime Scene

The chemical company Diamond Alkali, one of the nation’s main producers of Agent Orange, spent years dumping chemical waste into the Passaic River and polluting Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood. Dioxin, a dangerous byproduct of the company’s work, was found in high levels in the neighborhood in the early ’80s, spurring emergency government action and leaving residents concerned about the safety of their homes and front yards.

State and federal authorities pledged to clean the mess up but today, nearly 40 years later, toxic mud still lies beneath the water — a 17-mile-long stretch of river that U.S. Sen. Cory Booker has called “America’s biggest crime scene.” Now the cleanup is facing a $1.8 billion price tag, an uncertain timeline, and the growing threat that intense storms fueled by climate change could stir the pollution up out of the river and back into the neighborhood.

Support for Hazard NJ is provided by Peril and Promise, a public media reporting initiative covering the human stories of climate change and its solutions, with major funding provided by Dr. P. Roy Vagelos and Diana T. Vagelos. You can learn more at pbs.org/perilandpromise

Read the episode transcript below:

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

TORRENTIAL RAINS.

HOWLING WINDS.

WIDESPREAD FLOODING.

IN 2012... HURRICANE SANDY WAS ONE OF THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE STORMS TO MENACE THE EAST COAST IN DECADES.

THE STORM SLAMMED INTO THE NEW JERSEY COASTLINE... CREATING A TIDAL SURGE THAT FORCED THE PASSAIC RIVER AND NEWARK BAY OVER THEIR BANKS AND INTO NEWARK'S IRONBOUND NEIGHBORHOOD.

THIS SMALL GRID OF STREETS IS SURROUNDED BY TOXIC SITES: FACTORIES... A POWER PLANT... WAREHOUSES... CHEMICAL REFINERIES... NEW JERSEY'S LARGEST TRASH INCINERATOR... AND THE DIAMOND ALKALI SUPERFUND SITE.

THAT LAND, WHICH ONCE HELD AN AGENT ORANGE FACTORY, IS JUST ONE PART OF THE TOXIC SITE. THE REST IS A GOOEY MIXTURE OF MUD... SAND... AND CHEMICALS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PASSAIC RIVER.

TERRIFIED RESIDENTS WERE FORCED TO FLEE AFTER SANDY FILLED THEIR HOMES WITH POLLUTED WATER.

CLIMATE CHANGE HAS SET THE STAGE FOR MORE SANDY-SIZE MEGA-STORMS IN YEARS TO COME... AND THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THE PASSAIC RIVER WILL FLOOD AGAIN.

WHEN IT DOES... THERE'S A RISK OF THESE CHEMICALS BEING STIRRED UP.

IF THE DIAMOND ALKALI SITE IS NOT CLEANED UP SOON... THIS TOXIC NIGHTMARE WILL CONTINUE.

THIS IS HAZARD... A LIMITED SERIES ABOUT THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON SUPERFUND SITES HERE IN NEW JERSEY.

I'M JORDAN GASS-POORE'... AN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST FROM TEXAS.

I'VE NEVER BEEN IN A HURRICANE... BUT WHEN I WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD THERE WAS A MASSIVE FLOOD IN MY HOMETOWN OF SEGUIN TEXAS.

I REMEMBER WATCHING REFRIGERATORS FLOAT DOWN THE RIVER AND WONDERING WHAT KINDS OF CHEMICALS COULD BE LEACHING INTO THE WATER AND INTO PEOPLE'S HOMES.

AFTER THE FLOOD... NO ONE REALLY TALKED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS OF DRINKING OR SWIMMING IN FREON-CONTAMINATED WATER. THERE WERE RUMORS THOUGH OF THREE-EYED FISH.

THE IRONBOUND ... WITH ABOUT FIFTY-THOUSAND RESIDENTS... HAS MORE PEOPLE THAN SEGUIN.

WHEN I VISITED THE NEIGHBORHOOD... I DIDN'T HEAR ANY STORIES OF THREE-EYED FISH... BUT I WAS TOLD NOT TO EAT ANYTHING THAT COMES OUT OF THE PASSAIC RIVER.

THERE ARE SIGNS ALL AROUND RIVERFRONT PARK WARNING GUESTS NOT TO CATCH AND EAT CRAB AND FISH FROM THE RIVER.

THIS HAS TO DO WITH THE AREA'S INDUSTRIAL LEGACY... AND SERVES AS A STARK REMINDER THAT THE IRONBOUND IS STILL EXTREMELY POLLUTED.

NEARLY A DECADE AFTER SANDY... RESIDENTS OF THE IRONBOUND ARE STILL AFRAID OF THE LONG-TERM HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF THE TOXINS THAT SPILLED INTO THEIR HOMES.

AND THEY HAVE A GOOD REASON TO BE.

JUST A FEW FEET AWAY IS A SUPERFUND SITE. AND NOT JUST ANY SUPERFUND SITE... ONE OF THE LARGEST AND MOST EXPENSIVE ON THE LIST.

THE DIAMOND ALKALI SUPERFUND SITE SITS AT THE HEART OF THE IRONBOUND.

IT WAS A FORMER FACTORY WHERE THE DEADLY HERBICIDE AGENT ORANGE WAS MANUFACTURED THROUGHOUT THE VIETNAM WAR.

Maria Lopez-Nuñez -- Deputy Director of Organizing and Advocacy, Ironbound Community Corporation

So, the Diamond Alkali site, it was the largest producer of Agent Orange in the world, and everyone talks about this one thing: a white powder that, like, covered the whole factory, you know, like, everything was covered in this white dust, and it was, like, a sticky dust. So, if you walked in, you would get it all over your shoes and that dust was dioxin. And so, it was being carried all over the neighborhood.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

MARIA LOPEZ-NUNEZ IS LEADING THE FIGHT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AS AN ORGANIZER WITH THE IRONBOUND COMMUNITY CORPORATION... OR ICC.

THE ICC WAS STARTED 52 YEARS AGO WHEN RESIDENTS CREATED A DAYCARE CENTER.

THEY LATER FOUGHT AGAINST THE CONSTRUCTION OF A GARBAGE INCINERATOR FROM COMING INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

AND IT'S BEEN A WILD RIDE EVER SINCE.

AGENT ORANGE... NAMED FOR THE ORANGE IDENTIFICATION STRIPES PAINTED ON ITS BARRELS... CONTAINED DIOXIN. THAT'S A HIGHLY TOXIC CHEMICAL THAT HAS NO COLOR OR ODOR.

DIOXIN WAS AMONG THE TOXIC CHEMICALS FOUND IN 1978 AT ONE OF THE MOST NOTORIOUS SUPERFUND SITES... LOVE CANAL.

IN 1983... 14 YEARS AFTER DIAMOND ALKALI CLOSED... DIOXIN WAS FOUND IN THE IRONBOUND.

Nancy Zak -- Ironbound resident and activist

In the swimming pool there was dioxin discovered.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

THAT'S NANCY ZAK.

SHE'S TALKING ABOUT THE HAYS PARK SWIMMING POOL. DIOXIN WAS FOUND AROUND A DRAIN THERE WHEN OFFICIALS WERE TESTING THE AREA FOR THE CHEMICAL.

Larry Stuelpnagel -- New Jersey Nightly News, 1983

The dioxin was discovered as technicians looked for the possible spread of contamination from the former Diamond Alkali plant one-half mile away.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

BEFORE THE DISCOVERY... THERE WERE REPORTS THAT SOME OF THE CHILDREN WHO SWAM THERE DEVELOPED SKIN RASHES.

NANCY AND HER HUSBAND... ARNOLD COHEN... HAVE BEEN ACTIVISTS IN THE IRONBOUND FOR DECADES.

ARNOLD SAYS THE DISCOVERY OF DIOXIN IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD DIDN'T COME AS A COMPLETE SURPRISE.

Arnold Cohen -- Ironbound resident and activist

On the one hand, you knew there's a lot of toxic industries along the river, but yet the extent of it was unbelievable that, you know, you're talking about, could talk about the largest concentrations of dioxin found anywhere in soil blocks away from where we lived was completely shocking.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

THE IRONBOUND IS A TIGHT-KNIT COMMUNITY THAT'S ALREADY FACED A DISPROPORTIONATE NUMBER OF ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS.

IT'S NOT A COINCIDENCE THAT LOW-INCOME AND MINORITY COMMUNITIES ARE THE ONES LIVING NEXT TO THESE HAZARDOUS SITES THAT NO ONE WANTS IN THEIR BACKYARD.

ADVOCATES CALL THIS ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM.

WITHIN THE TANGLE OF ROADS... RAILWAYS... AND HIGHWAYS... THERE ARE PEOPLE... JUST TRYING TO LIVE THEIR LIVES.

RESIDENTS OF THE IRONBOUND ARE PREDOMINANTLY HISPANIC... AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD HAS LONG BEEN AN IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY.

UNFORTUNATELY... THIS ISN'T SURPRISING. MOST OF NEW JERSEY'S SUPERFUND SITES ARE IN THE BACKYARDS OF LOW-INCOME... OR MINORITY COMMUNITIES WHO ALREADY FACE A GREATER RISK OF HEALTH PROBLEMS.

AND NOW... CLIMATE CHANGE THREATENS TO DAMAGE SUPERFUND SITES LIKE DIAMOND ALKALI... AND SPREAD POLLUTION EVEN FURTHER.

Sen. Cory Booker -- D, New Jersey

I'm one of the, I would imagine, few senators that lives in a city that has the number of Superfund sites this one has and surprise, surprise, I'm a senator, I think the only senator who lives in a low-income black and brown community.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

THE INEQUITIES ARE FRUSTRATING FOR MANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN LEADING THE CHARGE TO CLEANUP DIAMOND ALKALI.

NANCY AND ARNOLD ORGANIZED DEMONSTRATIONS IN THE 1980S.

THEY BROUGHT THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER TO PROTEST AGAINST THE STATE'S HANDLING OF THE DIOXIN CONTAMINATION... AND TO STOP FUTURE POLLUTION.

Nancy Zak -- Ironbound resident and activist

It's always important; how many people you have involved and how many are calling up their councilman and stuff like that. So, we would have big demonstrations where people could come out. And that gave us, you know, just having those numbers is very important when you're dealing with any politicians of any kind.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

AS A CHILD... DOCTOR ANA BAPTISTA AND HER FAMILY PARTICIPATED IN SOME OF THESE EVENTS.

Ana Baptista -- Co-Chair, Passaic River Superfund Community Advisory Group

My parents bought a house down on the industrial end of town and my neighbor down the street, June, like, was knocking on all the neighbor's doors; she saw that we had moved in. And my parents, you know, don't speak English. So, she's, like, "We're fighting the incinerator, so tell your parents to come to this meeting at the Rec Center." And they had like a little flyer in Portuguese and Spanish and English. And I told my parents about it. And I would go with them to these meetings to translate. And I was like, maybe 10, 9, 10 years old. I'm sure I did a terrible job translating. But there I was.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

ANA SAYS HER PARENT MOVED TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD FROM PORTUGAL IN THE 1980S. THEY GOT INVOLVED WITH THE ICC EARLY ON AND AS ANA GREW OLDER... SHE JOINED IN THE FIGHT.

Ana Baptista -- Co-Chair, Passaic River Superfund Community Advisory Group

It was a very intergenerational fight. You know, the timeline also feels, like, impossibly long. But, like most things, you just have to keep showing up for them to come to life.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

GROWING UP... ANA SAYS SHE STAYED AWAY FROM THE PASSAIC RIVER.

Ana Baptista -- Co-Chair, Passaic River Superfund Community Advisory Group

The little you knew about the river was don't get near it. Don't go in it. Definitely don't touch it, like, everybody knew, like, it was a dirty river, very polluted.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

SHE SHOWED ME AROUND RIVERFRONT PARK... ONE OF THE FEW GREENSPACES IN THE AREA.

THE PARK OPENED IN 2013 AND EXPANDED A FEW YEARS LATER.

RIVERFRONT PARK SHOULDN'T BE HERE. THAT IS... IF ESSEX COUNTY AND THE CITY OF NEWARK HAD THEIR WAY IN THE '90S.

THE PARK WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL STADIUM. BUT THE IRONBOUND COMMUNITY CORPORATION DID WHAT THE ORGANIZATION HAS ALWAYS DONE BEST... FOUGHT TOOTH AND NAIL ON BEHALF OF RESIDENTS.

Ana Baptista -- Co-Chair, Passaic River Superfund Community Advisory Group

So, that just shows you that back then there was not much of a premium or value put to parks, especially on a waterfront that was really contaminated. They just didn't see the value of it. But residents, you know, kept it alive.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

ANA AND OTHER LONG-TIME RESIDENTS OF THE IRONBOUND REMEMBER PLAYING IN AND AROUND THE DIAMOND ALKALI SITE AS CHILDREN.

THEY ATE FOOD GROWN IN SOIL THAT MAY HAVE BEEN TAINTED WITH DIOXIN.

TRUCKS COMING IN-AND-OUT OF THE FACTORY TRACKED DIOXIN THROUGHOUT NEWARK.

COULD THESE EXPERIENCES BE THE CAUSE OF BIRTH DEFECTS AND CANCER?

MAYBE. THERE AREN'T MANY STUDIES LOOKING AT THE LONG-TERM HEALTH EFFECTS OF DIOXIN.

Melissa Miles -- Executive Director, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance

It wasn't until my own family was impacted by the sort of things that we know happen, you know, when you live in a neighborhood with pollution.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

MELISSA MILES IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE NEW JERSEY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ALLIANCE.

Melissa Miles -- Executive Director, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance

When you're pregnant and you live too close to roadways that have diesel pollution, when you have children in a community that has an issue with lead in the water, like, these things started to manifest in my own family and that's when it really became more of a mission for me to make sure that other parents in this community, you know, knew what was happening and that they had a voice and that they could stand up and fight for their community that they lived in.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

SHE WAS INVOLVED IN THE PASSAGE OF THE STATE'S LANDMARK ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE BILL IN 2020.

THE BILL REQUIRES COMPANIES TO GET APPROVAL FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION BEFORE BUILDING... EXPANDING... OR RENEWING PERMITS IN LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS.

COMPANIES ALSO HAVE TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARINGS AND PROVIDE A STATEMENT ON HOW THE PROJECT'S GOING TO IMPACT RESIDENTS BEFORE THEY GET APPROVED.

THIS IS ALL WELL AND GOOD NOW... BUT THINGS LIKE IMPACT STATEMENTS AND APPROVAL FROM THE DEP JUST WEREN'T TOP OF MIND WHEN THE DIAMOND ALKALI PLANT CLOSED IN 1969.

IT WAS THE MORNING OF JUNE 3... THEN-GOVERNOR TOM KEAN DECLARED A STATE OF EMERGENCY.

Gov. Tom Kean -- R, Governor of New Jersey 1982-1990. Speaking in 1983.

We've asked the EPA to immediately begin cleaning the street in question. The dirt may be contaminated with dioxin. We expect that cleanup, which will consist of large-scale vacuuming with special equipment, will begin today, and all the homes so far sampled in the entire area have come back showing now dioxin contamination. It appears the contaminated dirt is not finding its way into residences

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

THE ORDER STOPPED TRAIN TRAFFIC... EXPANDED AN EXISTING BAN AGAINST EATING CRAB AND FISH FROM THE PASSAIC... AND SHUT DOWN THE NEWARK FARMERS' MARKET... WHERE MANY RESIDENTS BOUGHT THEIR FOOD.

GOVERNOR KEAN OFFERED TEMPORARY HOUSING AT THE NEWARK YMCA FOR PEOPLE WHO LIVED WITHIN 300 YARDS OF THE DIAMOND ALKALI SITE.

FOR EVERYONE IN THE CITY... HE ADVISED THEM TO STAY INDOORS DURING THE CLEANUP.

THE NEXT DAY... RESIDENTS SAW PEOPLE IN "MOON SUITS" WITH HEADGEAR AND RESPIRATORS DIGGING AROUND THEIR FRONT YARDS.

Bob Schapiro -- New Jersey Nightly News, 1983

Federal environmental officials went door-to-door in Newark's Ironbound neighborhood today. They wanted the contents of people's vacuum cleaner bags. To find out if traces of deadly dioxin may have drifted a block or two from the original site at 80 Lister Avenue.

PHOTOS FROM THE TIME SHOW EPA WORKERS VACUUMING UP DIRT TO TEST IT FOR DIOXIN.

MARIA LOPEZ NUNEZ WITH THE ICC REMEMBERS HEARING THESE STORIES FROM RESIDENTS WHO LIVED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD AT THE TIME OF THE "INVASION."

Maria Lopez-Nuñez -- Deputy Director of Organizing and Advocacy, Ironbound Community Corporation

You hear, especially from folks that have lived here their whole lives, that they were sitting there in their T-shirts because this was happening in the summer there in tank tops and shorts sitting on the porch being like, "Why do you need a Hazmat suit?" You know, like that contrast of the government workers looking like they were on the moon, but they were just in the Ironbound.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

DIOXIN HAD MOVED FROM THE DIAMOND ALKALI PLANT AND SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD... MUCH FURTHER THAN WHAT GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ORIGINALLY TOLD THEM.

RESIDENTS FELT LIKE THEY NEEDED TO TAKE MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS. SO... THEY FORMED THE IRONBOUND HEALTH ADVISORY COMMISSION.

THE ORGANIZATION DEMANDED HEALTH CHECKS FOR RESIDENTS... MORE TESTING FOR DIOXIN AND OTHER TOXIC CHEMICALS... AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN DECISION MAKING.

THERE WERE GOOD REASONS FOR RESIDENTS TO NOT TRUST THE GOVERNMENT.

OFFICIALS WITH THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY HAD RECEIVED A FEDERAL REPORT THAT THERE WAS LIKELY DIOXIN AT THE DIAMOND ALKALI SITE... THREE YEARS BEFORE ANY TESTS WERE CONDUCTED.

SOME HOMEOWNERS THOUGHT THE WHOLE THING WAS JUST A RUSE BY THE GOVERNMENT TO TAKE AWAY THEIR HOMES IN ORDER TO MAKE WAY FOR NEW BUSINESS.

TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE... FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS... DIAMOND ALKALI DUMPED AN ESTIMATED 700,000 GALLONS OF DIOXIN INTO THE PASSAIC RIVER.

THE TRICKY THING ABOUT DIOXIN IS THAT IT CAN ATTACH ITSELF TO PARTICLES... LIKE DUST... AND SPREAD EASILY. IT'S ALSO DIFFICULT TO DISSOLVE IN WATER.

AT THE TIME... THE EPA CLAIMED THEY DIDN'T KNOW HOW DANGEROUS DIOXIN REALLY WAS.

RITA M. LAVELLE... FORMER HEAD OF THE SUPERFUND PROGRAM... TOLD REPORTERS IN 1983

"IT GETS ME THAT SOME SCIENTISTS ARE SAYING DIOXIN IS THE MOST DEADLY CHEMICAL KNOWN TO MAN. THAT'S NOT TRUE. IT DEPENDS ON THE CONCENTRATION. IN THE RIGHT CONCENTRATION, TABLE SALT IS JUST AS DEADLY."

LAVELLE WAS LATER FOUND TO HAVE MISUSED SUPERFUND DOLLARS DURING HER TIME WITH THE EPA.

SCIENTISTS KNEW THE CHEMICAL WAS AN INDUSTRIAL BY-PRODUCT. BUT THE ONLY EVIDENCE THEY HAD OF DIOXIN'S HARMFUL EFFECTS WAS CAUSING THE SKIN CONDITION CHLORACNE... WHICH RESEMBLES SEVERE ACNE.

LATER IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT A RARE FORM OF CANCER CALLED SOFT-TISSUE SARCOMAS IS LINKED TO DIOXIN EXPOSURE.

SOFT-TISSUE SARCOMAS ARE AN AGGRESSIVE FORM OF CANCER THAT DEVELOPS IN THE BODY'S CONNECTIVE TISSUES.

EIGHT CASES OF CANCER WERE REPORTED BY DIAMOND ALKALI WORKERS. NONE WERE IDENTIFIED AS SOFT-TISSUE SARCOMAS.

Michael Gordon -- Environmental Lawyer

They had literally every conceivable environmental threat going on in the Ironbound community at the time. And lo and behold, the next thing that happened was the discovery of the highest levels of dioxin ever found anywhere in the world in the Ironbound on the plant site. So, there was literally pandemonium.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

THAT'S ATTORNEY MICHAEL GORDON. HE SPENT MUCH OF THE 1980S TRYING TO FIND PROOF THAT DIAMOND ALKALI KNEW DIOXIN WAS A PROBLEM AND DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.

IT WASN'T EASY. BUT ONE DAY IN 1986 GORDON FOUND INTERNAL MEMOS BETWEEN A DIAMOND ALKALI EMPLOYEE AND OFFICIALS AT A CHEMICAL COMPANY IN GERMANY.

Michael Gordon -- Environmental Lawyer

They sent around their experience to all of the manufacturers of Agent Orange in America at the time, which was Diamond Alkali, Dow, Monsanto, a number of, Hercules, and they described what they had to do from an outbreak of illness amongst their workers to prevent the formation of dioxin which greatly reduced the threat of illness to the workers. And they described controlling the temperature and the pressure when you made this product.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

THE DOCUMENTS PROVED THAT DIAMOND ALKALI KNEW FOR YEARS THAT DIOXIN POSED A HEALTH RISK TO ITS WORKERS... BUT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT FOR ECONOMIC REASONS.

Michael Gordon -- Environmental Layer

And they did not convert to that process, because they had a small, older plant. And the government was literally buying everything they could produce for a period of time for use in Vietnam. And they did not want to delay production, shut down, reconfigure or rebuild the plant. So, they chose not to incorporate those measures. And that's why they produced some of the highest levels of dioxin found in the Agent Orange product.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

GORDON FINALLY HAD A CASE AGAINST THE COMPANY.

IN 1986... FORMER WORKERS SUED THE COMPANY FOR DAMAGES. THEY ALSO SUED THE STATE'S DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN THE HOPE THAT THEY'D BE FORCED TO CLEAN UP THE SITE.

AFTER THE SEVENTH WEEK OF THE TRIAL... DIAMOND ALKALI AGREED TO A $1 MILLION DOLLAR SETTLEMENT.

ABOUT A YEAR AFTER DIOXIN WAS DISCOVERED IN THE IRONBOUND... THE DIAMOND ALKALI SITE WAS ADDED TO THE SUPERFUND LIST IN 1984.

OVER THE YEARS... THE BUILDINGS ON THE PROPERTY WERE DEMOLISHED... AND SOME OF THE TOXIC WASTE WAS BURIED THERE UNDERGROUND.

THE PROPERTY ITSELF WAS CAPPED WITH CONCRETE AND GRAVEL.

BUT... A 17-MILE STRETCH OF THE PASSAIC RIVER REMAINS SO POLLUTED THAT EVEN TRYING TO CLEAN IT UP MAY PROVE TO BE DISASTROUS.

A THICK LAYER OF DIOXIN FROM THE FACTORY IS BURIED TWELVE FEET IN THE RIVER. LOCALS CALL THIS STICKY SLUDGE "BLACK MAYONNAISE."

TRYING TO GET DOWN TO THIS LAYER OF DIOXIN COULD CAUSE THE CHEMICAL TO SPREAD UP AND DOWN THE RIVER.

THERE'S A LOT OF TALK ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THIS SEDIMENT SHOULD BE REMOVED... AND IF IT IS REMOVED... IF IT CAN BE DONE SAFELY.

RIGHT NOW... CLEANUP PLANS CALL FOR DREDGING SOME OF THE CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS FROM THE RIVER. THAT MUCK WOULD THEN BE TREATED AT A FACILITY THAT HASN'T BEEN BUILT YET IN THE IRONBOUND.

THE REMAINING SEDIMENT WOULD BE CAPPED WITH A THICK LAYER OF SAND. CAPPING IS A COMMON WAY OF CLEANING UP SUPERFUND SITES. THE IDEA IS TO PREVENT ANOTHER STORM FROM KICKING UP THE CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT.

THIS PLAN HAS MIXED REVIEWS.

WHILE THE EPA SAYS THE CAP'S DESIGN TAKES CLIMATE CHANGE AND EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS INTO ACCOUNT... OTHERS ARE CONCERNED THAT THE MODELS USED ARE OUTDATED.

THERE'S ALSO THE WORRY THAT ONCE CLEANUP BEGINS... THE CONSTRUCTION COULD CAUSE DIOXIN-LACED DUST TO SPREAD FURTHER.

MARIA LOPEZ-NUNEZ WORRIES ABOUT WHAT COULD HAPPEN TO THE IRONBOUND IF THE DIAMOND ALKALI SITE IS IMPACTED BY RISING SEA LEVELS AND MORE HURRICANES.

Maria Lopez-Nuñez -- Deputy Director of Organizing and Advocacy, Ironbound Community Corporation

Anybody who lives here can tell you it's getting rainier and rainier. So, I actually think the geography of the Ironbound is gonna change, like, the way it looks. The space that the river occupies is gonna change. And I'm not sure... I worry, right? When I look on a map, I worry about where the Diamond Alkali site is, and that increased rain, that river depth, that river boundary. I worry the river will take the Diamond Alkali site with it and what that will mean, you know, will the cap hold?

REGARDLESS OF THE CLEANUP METHOD... SOMEONE'S GOING TO HAVE TO PAY FOR IT.

THE PRICE TAG RIGHT NOW IS $1.8 BILLION... THE MOST EXPENSIVE CLEANUP IN THE HISTORY OF THE SUPERFUND PROGRAM.

DIAMOND ALKALI IS LARGELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RIVER'S POLLUTION. BUT OTHER COMPANIES POLLUTED THE RIVER TOO.

THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY IT'S TAKEN SO LONG TO CLEAN UP THE SITE... NO ONE THINKS THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE POLLUTION AND WANTS TO PAY.

FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR JIM FLORIO SPEARHEADED THE SUPERFUND LAW WHILE HE WAS IN CONGRESS IN 1980.

Gov. Jim Florio -- D, NJ 1st Congressional District 1975-1990, Governor 1990-1994

One of the principles we built into the law was that the polluters should pay, and it would be the mantra. And we've changed things. And my grandchildren, to this day, they're adults now, but they mention, "Pop Pop was in charge of getting the dolphins back."

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

FLORIO... NOW AN ENVIRONMENTAL LAWYER... HAS SUPPORTED EFFORTS TO REINSTATE A TAX ON THE OIL AND CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES. THIS TAX EXPIRED IN 1995.

MONEY FROM THE TAX WOULD GO INTO THE SUPER...FUND TO HELP PAY FOR THE CLEANUP OF "ORPHAN" SITES. THESE ARE TOXIC PLACES WHERE THE POLLUTER IS UNKNOWN OR UNABLE TO PONY UP THE FUNDS TO CLEAN UP THE MESS.

IN THE PAST FEW YEARS... SENATOR CORY BOOKER... FORMER MAYOR OF NEWARK... AND REPRESENTATIVE FRANK PALLONE HAVE PUSHED TO REINSTATE THE TAX ON OIL COMPANIES.

Sen. Cory Booker -- D, New Jersey

Well, you have these polluting companies, chemical companies, oil companies that we know, are offsetting a lot of their costs onto society. And it's about putting a very small tax on those companies that then is directed towards Superfund cleanup. And what we've seen since the Superfund tax was eliminated the number of Superfund sites in America has actually gone up, not down. And so it yields enough money to really start focusing and getting some of this cleanup done on these orphan sites where we can't hold someone accountable.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

BUT SO FAR... THE BILL HAS STALLED IN CONGRESS.

REPRESENTATIVE PALLONE SAYS THERE'S ONE WAY TO GET THE POLLUTERS TO PAY.

Rep. Frank Pallone -- D, NJ 6th Congressional District

The majority of the cleanup is done by the polluter or paid for by the polluter under direction of the EPA. And so, you just have to constantly push and embarrass them and, you know, sometimes bring people to public hearings where they criticize the proposed plans that they have for cleanup because they're not adequate. So that's the kind of thing that I do.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

LAST YEAR... PRESIDENT BIDEN'S INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE INCLUDED THE REINSTATEMENT OF THE SUPERFUND TAX ON SOME CHEMICAL COMPANIES... BUT NOT OIL AND GAS.

I'M A HUGE HORROR FAN... SO WHEN I THINK OF SUPERFUND SITES... I THINK OF THAT MONSTER FROM THE MOVIE JEEPERS CREEPERS.

OKAY... BEAR WITH ME HERE. SO IN THE MOVIE JEEPERS CREEPERS...

SOME OF THE TOWNSPEOPLE WHERE THE MOVIE TAKES PLACE KNOW ABOUT THE MONSTER.

THEY KNOW IT COMES OUT EVERY 23rd SPRING FOR 23 DAYS, YOU KNOW, TO EAT PEOPLE.

BUT THE FEW PEOPLE WHO HAVE TRIED TO GET RID OF IT HAVEN'T BEEN SUCCESSFUL... SO THEY JUST LIVE WITH THIS KNOWLEDGE THAT EVENTUALLY THE MONSTER WILL COME BACK AND WREAK HAVOC.

IT'S THIS IDEA OF THE MONSTER LURKING IN THE BACKYARD THAT I'M DRAWN TO... AND SUPERFUND SITES ARE THOSE MONSTERS.

THEY MAY NOT HAVE WINGS... IN THE CASE OF THE JEEPERS CREEPERS MONSTER... BUT THEY HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE EVEN MORE DANGEROUS WHEN IMPACTED BY CLIMATE CHANGE.

David Robinson -- New Jersey State Climatologist

We've seen sea levels rise and the rise is accelerating, the pace of the increase is accelerating. And areas that are very close to sea level are getting inundated with a frequency we've not seen previously.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

QUOTES LIKE THAT FROM DAVE ROBINSON... NEW JERSEY'S STATE CLIMATOLOGIST... REALLY UNDERSCORE THE NEED TO CLEAN UP SUPERFUND SITES LIKE DIAMOND ALKALI... NOW.

David Robinson -- New Jersey State Climatologist

I think we have to look to what the future may hold for all of these threats. And they're a little bit grim. So, we better be prepared and be able to adapt and accommodate these changes when it comes to Superfund sites or everyday life.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

IT'S HARD FOR ME TO STAY OPTIMISTIC WHEN THE CLEANUP OF THE DIAMOND ALKALI SITE IS STILL YEARS AWAY.

AND NO ONE KNOWS IF IT'LL EVER BE SAFE TO SWIM OR FISH IN THE PASSAIC.

BUT I CAN'T HELP REMEMBERING SOMETHING ANA TOLD ME DURING OUR TIME AT THE PARK.

Ana Baptista -- Co-Chair, Passaic River Superfund Community Advisory Group

You can almost imagine a river with, teeming with oysters and clams, and it wasn't even tidal back then in the 1600s, we turned it tidal. We messed with it so much. But one day, we won't get back there, but we'll get back to something, something so that at least people can enjoy the river to some extent more than they are now even.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

HAZARD IS A SPACE NOT JUST FOR LEARNING ABOUT SUPERFUND SITES... BUT FOR ENGAGING OUR COMMUNITIES IN CONVERSATION AROUND THE CLEANUP OF THESE TOXIC PLACES.

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT SUPERFUND SITES IN NEW JERSEY? DO YOU LIVE NEAR ONE? IF SO... I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. SEND ME A TWEET USING HASHTAG HAZARD NJ.

OR LEAVE ME A VOICE MEMO AT... HAZARD@MYNJPBS.ORG

WE MAY PLAY YOUR COMMENTS IN A FUTURE EPISODE.

Credits

Hazard NJ is written, edited and hosted by Jordan Gass-Poore’

Executive Producer – Jamie Kraft

Executive in Charge of Production – Joe Lee

Associate Producer – Michael Sol Warren

Production Assistant – Chris Pandza

Production Manager – Chloe Motisi

Additional research by Betsy Laikin

Sound Designer & Engineer – Mark Bush

Audio Recording Engineer – Frank Brown

Music composed by Nick Pennington

Artwork by Matthew Fleming

Animated trailer created by Everest Strayer