Hazard Podcast - A Comeback on the Hackensack - Season 1: Episode 4
Climate change means that cleanup of the river becomes more critical than ever.
The mud lining the Hackensack River is a mysterious mixture known to contain mercury, cadmium, lead, PCBs and plenty more nasty substances. Now the river is on its way to becoming New Jersey’s 115th Superfund site — and that’s not a bad thing.
Superstorm Sandy slammed up the Hackensack and surrounding Meadowlands, flooding towns and wreaking widespread damage. But the area’s wetlands likely blunted the blow, and with climate change intensifying storms, cleanup efforts and restoration work in the area are becoming more critical.
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
CADMIUM.
LEAD.
MERCURY.
DIOXIN.
PCBS.
THESE ARE SOME OF THE INGREDIENTS THAT MAKE UP THE TOXIC STEW THAT'S SIMMERED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LOWER HACKENSACK RIVER FOR DECADES.
EVERY TIME THE RIVER FLOODS... AND IT DOES QUITE OFTEN... THERE'S A RISK THAT THESE TOXINS WILL SPREAD.
CLIMATE CHANGE IS EXPECTED TO MAKE FLOODING HERE MORE INTENSE... AND MORE FREQUENT.
BUT THERE IS SOME CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION... THE LOWER HACKENSACK RIVER MAY SOON BE NAMED NEW JERSEY'S 115th SUPERFUND SITE.
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.
MY FAMILY LIKES TO GO FISHING. MY FIRST BOYFRIEND LOVED TO FLY FISH. TO THIS DAY... I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW ANYONE COULD FIND FISHING FUN. BUT I DO ENJOY LISTENING TO THE FOLKLORE.
HAVE YOU HEARD THE ONE ABOUT THE DIVER WHO SAW A CATFISH THE SIZE OF A PICKUP TRUCK?
OR THE ONE ABOUT THE TWO-HEADED TROUT?
WHAT ABOUT THE TALE OF THE BLUE CLAW CRABS THAT HAVE HIGH LEVELS OF CANCER-CAUSING TOXINS BUILT UP IN THEIR TISSUE?
THE SCARY THING ABOUT THAT STORY IS THAT IT'S TRUE.
A CENTURY OF POLLUTION LED THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY TO BAN FISHING AND EATING BLUE CLAW CRABS FROM THE LOWER HACKENSACK RIVER.
I'M IMAGINING THESE LARGE... MUTANT CRABS SCARING SWIMMERS AND JUMPING OUT OF THE WATER ONTO BOATS.
BUT MOST OF THE TIME THEY LOOK JUST LIKE NORMAL CRABS... EXCEPT FOR ALL THAT MERCURY INSIDE THEM THAT CAN CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE NERVOUS SYSTEM.
I WENT TO LAUREL HILL COUNTY PARK IN SECAUCUS TO TAKE A TOUR OF THE FAMED HACKENSACK RIVER.
THERE WERE SIGNS IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES WARNING PARKGOERS ABOUT THE BAN.
I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE WOULD STILL WANT TO FISH IN THE RIVER... DESPITE THE TOXIC CRABS THAT ARE JUST BEGGING TO HAVE A HORROR MOVIE MADE ABOUT THEM.
THE WATER HAD THIS STRANGE BEAUTY... AND I KEPT GETTING HENRY DAVID THOREAU VIBES.
THOUGH ME BECOMING ONE WITH NATURE WAS SHORT-LIVED BECAUSE OF THE BEEP-BEEPING NOISES FROM THE NEARBY CONSTRUCTION OF A LUXURY APARTMENT BUILDING.
IT WAS A SIMILAR WAY OF THINKING ABOUT "DEVELOPMENT" AND "PROGRESS" THAT LAID WASTE TO THE HACKENSACK RIVER TO BEGIN WITH.
THE EPA FOUND THAT A 19-MILE STRETCH OF THE LOWER HACKENSACK'S RIVERBED IS FILLED WITH CONTAMINANTS.
WALTER MUGDAN WITH THE EPA SAYS THESE TOXINS CAN WASH ASHORE WHEN IT FLOODS AND SPREAD ALL OVER THE PLACE.
Walter Mugdan -- Deputy Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2
So, the biggest concern in that case is that major storms can mobilize the mud, they can re-entrain in the mud into the water. If you have flooding that sediment though that mud that's entrained in the water can get onto the land, it can get into people's homes, into buildings. And it can also move stuff around. So, it gets from an area that maybe has less contamination might be moved to an area excavated the other way around from an area that has more contamination, it might move into areas that were less contaminated and actually make them worse.
Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host
THIS SPRING... AFTER YEARS OF STUDY... THE EPA FORMALLY NOMINATED THE HACKENSACK TO THE SUPERFUND LIST. IF THE PROCESS GOES AS PLANNED, THE RIVER WILL BECOME NEW JERSEY'S 115th SUPERFUND SITE IN THE FALL.
BEING A DESIGNATED A SUPERFUND SITE MEANS THE EPA CAN BEGIN THE YEARS-LONG PROCESS OF CLEANING UP THE RIVER.
AND ALTHOUGH THERE'S NO GUARANTEE THE RIVER WILL EVER BE CLEAN ENOUGH TO EAT THE BLUE CLAW CRAB... FOR CAPTAIN BILL SHEEHAN... WITH THE HACKENSACK RIVERKEEPER... IT'S WORTH A TRY.
Bill Sheehan -- The Hackensack Riverkeeper
One of the most natural things that humans can do is catch a fish and eat it. And yet, we're told it's not safe to do that. And if we let this river try to clean itself, and you know, shunting aside climate change and future impacts and everything else, if the river is just left to be itself, it could take 150 to 200 years to get to the point where it would be safe to eat a crab or eat a fish. And that means several generations of people living here will not have full beneficial use of the river. By putting it on the Superfund list, even if it takes 20 or 25 years to get it cleaned up, that's one generation's lifetime.
Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host
BILL HAS BEEN PUSHING FOR THE HACKENSACK RIVER TO BE DESIGNATED A SUPERFUND SITE FOR YEARS.
HE WAS BORN AND RAISED ALONG THE RIVER... AND IS THE SON OF A BARGE CAPTAIN.
Bill Sheehan -- The Hackensack Riverkeeper
I was always told, growing up, stay away from the river, it was a mess. And, you know, there's raw sewage and dead animals and all kinds of stuff going on. And as I grew older, I got into fishing.
**Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host **
WHEN I MET HIM AT THE PARK... HE DEFINITELY LOOKED THE PART OF A CAPTAIN. WHAT STOOD OUT THE MOST TO ME WAS THE SHARK TOOTH NECKLACE. IT REMINDED ME OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTER FROM THE MOVIE "JAWS," QUINT. HE'S THE ONE THAT GETS EATEN BY THE SHARK ON THE BOAT.
ANYWHO... BILL STARTED THE HACKENSACK RIVERKEEPER IN 1997 TO PROTECT THE RIVER FROM POLLUTERS.
Bill Sheehan -- The Hackensack Riverkeeper
I was just getting an attitude about, you know, the fact that everywhere you look, they were destroying habitat. And I was like, don't complain to me about not being able to catch fish if you're giving people permits to fill in wetlands and destroy fish habitat. And so I had an epiphany one day and said, "Nobody else is doing it. I might as well try."
**Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host **
IN APRIL... I GOT TO GO ON A TOUR OF THE "URBAN WILDERNESS" WITH BILL ON A STATE GOVERNMENT BOAT.
WE WERE JOINED BY NEW JERSEY DEP COMMISSIONER SHAWN LATOURETTE... WALTER MUGDAN... WHO'S THE DEPUTY REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR FOR EPA REGION TWO... AND STATE SENATOR TERESA RUIZ.
COMMISSIONER LATOURETTE SAYS IT'S NOT A BAD THING FOR NEW JERSEY TO ADD ANOTHER SUPERFUND SITE.
Shawn LaTourette -- Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
You'll have many states throughout the country that are reluctant to have an NPL listing because they see Superfund as a stain on the state's reputation, or as an inconvenience or something that might detract from the ability to drive economic growth. We see it just the opposite.
**Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host **
DURING OUR TRIP... THE NOISES OF THE HIGHWAY... TRAINS... AND AIRPLANES COMPETED WITH THE SOUNDS OF BIRDS.
IT WAS A REMINDER OF THE RIVER'S PAST... AND A PEEK INTO THE FUTURE OF WHAT COULD BE IF THIS AREA IS CLEANED UP.
I'M GOING TO TAKE YOU BACK NOW TO 2015.
THIS WAS THE YEAR THE LOWER HACKENSACK ALMOST MADE THE SUPERFUND LIST.
WALTER MUGDAN WITH THE EPA SAYS THE AGENCY STUDIED THE RIVER TO SEE IF IT MET THE PROGRAM'S CRITERIA.
Walter Mugdan -- Deputy Regional Administrator, EPA Region 2
And we found pretty much what you'd expect. We find a lot of mercury. We found arsenic, we found lead. We found PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls. We found PAH's, which are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. So, we found a whole soup of chemicals.
**Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host **
BUT NEW JERSEY'S THEN-GOVERNOR... REPUBLICAN CHRIS CHRISTIE NEVER ENDORSED THE RIVER TO BE PUT ON THE LIST... EVEN THOUGH THE EPA URGED HIM TO DO SO.
IN 2017... THE EPA'S REPORT ON THE RIVER FOUND WIDESPREAD CONTAMINATION... BUT EVEN THAT WASN'T ENOUGH FOR THE CHRISTIE ADMINISTRATION TO SEEK SUPERFUND STATUS FOR THE RIVER.
THE TIDES SHIFTED JUST A FEW MONTHS LATER, WHEN DEMOCRAT PHIL MURPHY BECAME NEW JERSEY'S GOVERNOR AT THE START OF 2018.
NOW, OFFICIALS IN TRENTON WITH A DIFFERENT WAY OF THINKING ARE ALL-IN ON USING THE SUPERFUND TO FINALLY CLEAN UP THE LOWER HACKENSACK.
Shawn LaTourette -- Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Having learned a lot from Superfund sites, including the Passaic River nearby, I think we've got a great set of tools, an incredible set of partners in EPA to move this a hell of a lot faster. So, that's our goal.
Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host
NO ONE KNOWS HOW MUCH IT'LL COST TO CLEAN UP THE SITE... BUT POLLUTED WATERWAYS ARE SOME OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE TO CLEAN.
TO GIVE YOU SOME IDEA... AND IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T LISTENED TO THE DIAMOND ALKALI EPISODE OF HAZARD NJ... THE PASSAIC RIVER CLEANUP IS EXPECTED TO COST MORE THAN A BILLION DOLLARS.
THE HACKENSACK RIVER WINDS THROUGH THE HEART OF THE NEW JERSEY MEADOWLANDS.... THAT VAST MARSHLAND LONG KNOWN AS A DUMPING GROUND FOR TRASH... AND SOME BELIEVE THE BODIES OF MOBSTERS.
ACCORDING TO URBAN LEGEND... JIMMY HOFFA... THE INFAMOUS TEAMSTER BOSS... IS BURIED UNDER THE OLD GIANTS STADIUM... NOW DUBBED MET LIFE STADIUM.
JUDITH WEIS IS A RUTGERS-NEWARK PROFESSOR WHO'S SPENT DECADES STUDYING THE BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF CONTAMINATION IN THE MEADOWLANDS.
Judith Weis -- Professor Emerita of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark
I think the wetlands is special because it's particularly urban wetland with a bunch of problems. And it has been abused for many, many years. I mean, all the garbage from New York City and the waste from demolishing Penn Station. So, it was a real mess.
Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host
BACK IN THE DAY... PEOPLE THOUGHT THE WETLANDS WERE... WELL, MORE LIKE A WASTELAND THAN A PLACE OF TRANQUILITY.
IT WAS LAND THEY THOUGHT COULDN'T BE USED FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN A DUMP.
OH, AND THEY DUMPED.
THERE WAS A REASON THIS AREA WAS CONSIDERED THE ARMPIT OF THE NORTHEAST. IN 1970... THERE WERE 51 DIFFERENT LANDFILLS OPERATING IN THE MEADOWLANDS.
BUT IT'S MORE THAN JUST A TRASH PROBLEM. THE MEADOWLANDS IS DOTTED WITH SOME OF THE WORST TOXIC SITES IN THE COUNTRY. AND MUCH OF THE POLLUTION IN THE MEADOWLANDS COMES FROM FIVE NEARBY SUPERFUND SITES.
YOU GOT BERRY'S CREEK... A SIX-MILE TRIBUTARY OF THE HACKENSACK RIVER THAT HAS HAD SOME OF THE HIGHEST MERCURY READINGS IN THE WORLD.
MUCH OF THE TOXINS THERE CAME FROM THE VENTRON/VELSICOL OPERATION IN CARLSTADT AND WOOD-RIDGE. THE COMPANY PROCESSED MERCURY FROM 1929 UNTIL 1974.
THEN THERE'S UNIVERSAL OIL PRODUCTS IN EAST RUTHERFORD... WHERE VARIOUS CHEMICALS WERE PRODUCED FROM 1930 TO 1979.
ALSO... SCIENTIFIC CHEMICAL PROCESSING IN CARLSTADT.... WHERE HARSH CHEMICALS WERE USED AS PART OF DEALING WITH SCRAP AND WASTE.
AND DIAMOND HEAD OIL REFINERY... AKA OIL LAKE... IN KEARNY. THAT ONE... KIND OF SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.
THINGS STARTED TO CHANGE... SLOWLY... FOR THE MEADOWLANDS IN THE '50S, WHEN THE NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE BROUGHT NEW INTEREST TO THE AREA.
STATE LEADERS NOW SAW ECONOMIC POTENTIAL IN THE TRASH-FILLED MARSHES. THE HACKENSACK MEADOWLANDS DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION WAS FORMED IN 1968, AND THE '70S BROUGHT A CRACK DOWN ON ILLEGAL DUMPING.
AS THE DUMPS CLOSED ONE-BY-ONE, NEW DEVELOPMENT SPRUNG UP AROUND THEM. A STADIUM FOR THE NEW YORK GIANTS AND NEW YORK JETS... A HORSE RACING TRACK... AN ARENA FOR THE NEW JERSEY NETS...AND MOST RECENTLY AMERICAN DREAM...THE NATION'S SECOND LARGEST MALL.
TODAY... ALL BUT ONE LANDFILL IN THE MEADOWLANDS HAS BEEN CLOSED. MOST OF THE FORMER DUMPS HAVE BEEN CAPPED TO KEEP THE GARBAGE JUICE FROM LEAKING OUT.
JUDITH SAYS THE FEDERAL CLEAN WATER ACT... PASSED IN 1972, WAS A CRITICAL STEP IN CURBING POLLUTION IN THE MEADOWLANDS.
Judith Weis -- Professor Emerita of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark
So, the raw sewage wasn't going in there anymore, so the water quality got better. I mean, there's things that I've never seen there before. So, I think, a very helpful place in that you see this huge improvement over something that nobody would have ever wanted to visit 50 years ago. When you stop abusing it, and you stop doing all that bad stuff to it, it comes back.
Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host
EVEN WITHOUT A SUPERFUND DISTINCTION... THE MEADOWLANDS HAVE BECOME ONE OF THE STATE'S MOST SUCCESSFUL ENVIRONMENTAL COMEBACK STORIES.
MANY PEOPLE WROTE OFF THE MEADOWLANDS AS A PLACE THAT WAS LEFT FOR DEAD.
BUT THE CLEANUP EFFORTS HAVE ALREADY BROUGHT THE AREA BACK TO LIFE.
ANIMALS HAVE RETURNED.
AND WHAT MAY BE THE BIGGEST SURPRISE... IS THAT PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY CHOOSING TO VISIT THE MEADOWLANDS TO BIRDWATCH OR KAYAK... OR DO OTHER OUTDOORSY THINGS THAT MY ALLERGIES PREVENT ME FROM DOING.
ECO-TOURISM IS GREAT. I'M GLAD THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO CAN BE OUT ON THE WATER WITHOUT GETTING MOTION SICKNESS.
BUT RESTORING AND PRESERVING THE MEADOWLANDS PLAYS AN EVEN BIGGER ROLE IN THE STATE'S ECONOMY.
THE AREA'S PREPARING THE STATE FOR RISING SEA LEVELS.
DURING SUPERSTORM SANDY IN 2012... COMMUNITIES IN THE MEADOWLANDS WERE DEVASTATED BY A WALL OF WATER THAT ROSE UP FROM NEWARK BAY AND RUSHED UP THE HACKENSACK RIVER.
THERE'S NOT MUCH THAT COULD HAVE TOTALLY PROTECTED PEOPLE FROM THE EIGHT-FOOT-TALL STORM SURGE.
BUT IT'S LIKELY THE MEADOWLANDS BLUNTED THE BLOW.
THINK OF WETLANDS AS NATURE'S SPONGE. THEY HELP SOAK UP WATER AND SEDIMENT FROM RAIN AND STORM EVENTS.
BECAUSE OF SANDY... THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GAVE THE MEADOWLANDS A MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR GRANT TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FLOODS AND IMPROVE STORM-WATER DRAINAGE.
IT'S A PROJECT CALLED REBUILD BY DESIGN... AND AFTER YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT OFFICIALS DECIDED TO MOVE AHEAD WITH A PROJECT THAT RELIES IN PART ON RESTORING WETLANDS.
DEVELOPMENT HAS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED THE SIZE OF THE MEADOWLANDS MARSHES.
AND AS SEA LEVELS CONTINUE TO RISE... THE REMAINING MARSHES AREN'T ALWAYS ABLE TO KEEP UP.
JUDITH SAYS PARTS OF THE MEADOWLANDS ARE BEING DROWNED AWAY... THAT MEANS THE AREA IS LOSING ITS ABILITY TO ABSORB SURGE WATER FROM EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS.
Judith Weis -- Professor Emerita of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark
There's still more development going on and losing marshes, and, you know, the marshes are so valuable, and they've lost so many already over the past centuries. You can't make up for it by making a new marsh somewhere else. So, we have greatly reduced the amount of marsh. And if you've built something on a marsh, this should be no surprise that it's going to flood easily.
Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host
CAPTAIN BILL'S NOTICED THE RISE IN SEA LEVEL IN THE MEADOWLANDS.
THE WATER LINE THAT USED TO GO UP TO THE DOCKS AT LAUREL HILL PARK... WHERE I STARTED MY RIVER JOURNEY... IS NOW AT THE EDGE OF THE PARKING LOT WHERE THE HACKENSACK RIVERKEEPER'S KAYAKS ARE STORED.
THE TOWN OF LITTLE FERRY KNOWS THE HACKENSACK RIVER'S BEAUTY... AND ITS POTENTIAL FOR HARM.
MAURO RAGUSEO WAS THE MAYOR OF LITTLE FERRY IN 2012.
THAT SPRING HE AND HIS WIFE HAD MOVED INTO THEIR NEW HOME.
BY THE FALL... IT WAS DESTROYED.
Mauro Raguseo -- Mayor, Little Ferry
It was something you never forget; when you can finally get to your house for the first time, and you look and everything that you own is at the curb.
Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host
LITTLE FERRY WAS SMACKED BY SUPERSTORM SANDY. MORE THAN EIGHTY PERCENT OF THE TOWN WAS UNDER WATER... AND RESIDENTS WERE DISPLACED FOR MONTHS AFTER THE STORM.
JOANN LIBRETTO HAS LIVED IN LITTLE FERRY FOR MOST OF HER LIFE.
THE NIGHT SUPERSTORM SANDY HIT THE TOWN... JOANN WAS STAYING WITH HER SISTER... WHO LIVED ACROSS THE STREET.
Joann Libretto -- Little Ferry Resident and Sandy Survivor
So, the night before the storm. I said to her, "You know, today, I have a bad feeling about this storm. I think I'll sleep by you tonight." She said, "Come on, we'll have a pajama party."
Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host
AROUND TEN O'CLOCK... JOANN SAYS HER SISTER'S NEPHEW CALLED AND TOLD THEM "THE WATER'S COMING."
Joann Libretto -- Little Ferry Resident and Sandy Survivor
And before we knew it, the street was filled. The house was just filling up with water.
Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host
THE NEXT DAY... JOANN SAYS SHE WALKED ACROSS THE STREET TO HER HOME TO INSPECT THE DAMAGE.
SHE COULDN'T BELIEVE HER EYES.
Joann Libretto -- Little Ferry Resident and Sandy Survivor
The water was five feet high. The refrigerator was floating. The dining room chairs were floating. In the back room, everywhere you could look, everywhere you can imagine there was water.
Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host
THE WATER WAS MUDDY AND COATED JOANN'S BELONGINGS.
Joann Libretto -- Little Ferry Resident and Sandy Survivor
It was a very, very, very hard time for me. Very hard. I lost everything. I lost my children's wedding videos, my late husband's pictures, my grandchildren's pictures, my washer, my dryer, my refrigerator. Everything, everything. Everything was out on the curb. And when we walked down the blocked and witnessed all this, you thought to yourself 'What happened? What? Was it a bomb? What happened?' It was horrendous. There's no words. There's no words.
Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host
JOANN SAYS EVERY TIME THERE'S A STORM SHE CRINGES.
Joann Libretto -- Little Ferry Resident and Sandy Survivor
I think over the years, the fear that it could happen again, is really bad for us. Yeah, that's how I feel right now. And I guess, I thought time would heal, but it doesn't, because you never know. You just don't know. And now they're predicting all these hurricanes. I mean 14 hurricanes. Are we going to be lucky enough to not have an issue?
Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host
MAYOR RAGUSEO AGREES THAT ANOTHER SANDY COULD HAPPEN... IN LITTLE FERRY... AND OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY.
Mauro Raguseo -- Mayor, Little Ferry
So, we need to do better as a state and as a nation to prepare for the effects of climate change. Because it's real, it's here and it will happen again.
Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host
MAURO IS STILL THE MAYOR OF LITTLE FERRY... AND HAS WATCHED THE TOWN BOUNCE BACK.
Mauro Raguseo -- Mayor, Little Ferry
We are better off than we were 10 years ago, but certainly if another Sandy comes, it'll be the same effect because you cannot stop those sorts of surge events.
Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host
HE BELIEVES CLEANING UP THE HACKENSACK RIVER WILL HELP PROTECT THE AREA FROM FUTURE STORMS... AND THE SPREAD OF ANY EXISTING TOXINS.
BUT THERE HAS TO BE MORE TO IT THAN THAT.
Mauro Raguseo -- Mayor, Little Ferry
I think that the wetlands that exist need to be restored, I think they have a purpose and a function, and I think they're necessary. But I also think that we have to look at all the options, not just wetlands restoration. But I'm completely for it. Now, all these homes and all these businesses in the entire region, they're not just going to disappear. So that's why we need to restore what's left. And we need to think of engineering opportunities to protect the area as well from surge events.
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 #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 Meril Mousoom
Sound Designer & Engineer – Mark Bush