Hazard Podcast - Orange Fog and Creeping Saltwater

The National Lead company spent years in the 1970s recycling car batteries at a factory in rural South Jersey, haphazardly draining battery acid onto the ground. The pollution left dangerous heavy metals in the site’s soil and groundwater — a mess that is now on the verge of being cleaned up. But in an area along the Delaware Bay, sea level rise is slowly pushing a new potential problem into the ground.

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

IT FORMED AT NIGHT... WHEN THEY WERE ASLEEP. CREEPING INTO THEIR HOMES... UNSEEN.

FOR THOSE WHO WERE STILL AWAKE... THE VIEW OUTSIDE THEIR WINDOWS WAS ALMOST ETHEREAL... A SOFT GLOW LIKE A FLAME FROM A CANDLE.

THIS HAPPENED FOR ABOUT AN HOUR-AND-A-HALF A FEW NIGHTS A WEEK... FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS.

DAYLIGHT ERASED THE ORANGE FOG THAT ENVELOPED THE SMALL COMMUNITY OF PEDRICKTOWN NEW JERSEY... NIGHT AFTER NIGHT.

BUT EVEN THOUGH RESIDENTS COULD NO LONGER SEE THE FOG... THE PROOF OF ITS EXISTENCE REMAINED.

THERE WERE UNEXPLAINED HEADACHES... AND PINHOLES IN THE ALUMINUM SIDING OF THEIR HOMES... AS IF THE FOG HAD GOTTEN HUNGRY.

IT WAS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF A STEPHEN KING NOVEL... EXCEPT THE FOG'S ORIGINS WEREN'T SUPERNATURAL. IT CAME FROM THE SMOKESTACKS OF THE N-L INDUSTRIES PLANT.

IN 19-76... DANIELLE FLOOD WAS A YOUNG REPORTER FREELANCING FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES. A CAB DROPPED HER OFF IN PEDRICKTOWN ONE MORNING TO INVESTIGATE THE ORANGE FOG.

Danielle Flood: I'm not sure that I remember seeing anything over two stories, I think it was all one stories or small houses around, not close, some were close actually. It looked like the houses were built and then somebody came and put this factory next to them and there was a big dump next to the factory with, I guess, about 500 car batteries dumped there.

AT THE TIME... THE N-L INDUSTRIES PLANT RECOVERED LEAD FROM USED CAR BATTERIES. THEY DID THIS BY DRAINING THE BATTERIES OF SULFURIC ACID... AND THEN BREAKING THEM... ON THE GROUND.

Danielle Flood: I talked to this one guy, he must have been retired or something. He was kind of old. And he was really upset, and I asked him what it was like to live next to, across the street from this factory that was reclaiming lead from car batteries. So, he said that he was not happy at all. And he showed me his car. The hood of his car, the paint had been eaten away.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

A FORMER N-L INDUSTRIES EMPLOYEE TOLD DANIELLE FOR HER ARTICLE THAT THE PLANT STORED THE CAR BATTERIES WAITING TO BE RECYCLED IN A DUMP BEHIND THE BUILDING.

WHEN IT RAINED ON THE BATTERIES... THE FORMER EMPLOYEE TOLD HER THAT LEAD AND SULFURIC ACID COULD LEAK INTO THE GROUND.

AND THAT'S A BIG PROBLEM. THE CAPE MAY AQUIFER LIES UNDER THE SITE... JUST ONE-AND-A-HALF MILES FROM THE DELAWARE RIVER.

JUST TO BE CLEAR... NEARBY WELLS NEVER DREW FROM THIS AQUIFER. INSTEAD... THEY TAPPED INTO DEEPER POCKETS OF WATER.

TODAY... EVEN THOUGH THE PLANT NO LONGER EXISTS... THE GROUNDWATER REMAINS CONTAMINATED WITH LEAD AND CADMIUM... TOXIC METALS THAT CAN CAUSE LEARNING PROBLEMS IN CHILDREN.

SALTWATER IS ALSO CREEPING INLAND AS CLIMATE CHANGE RAISES SEA LEVELS AND AMPLIFIES STORM SURGES AND FLOODING. ACROSS SOUTH JERSEY... THAT SLOW TRICKLE OF SALTWATER IS KILLING FORESTS... THREATENING FARMLAND... AND IMPERILING DRINKING WATER SUPPLIES.

SO... WHAT HAPPENS IF SALTWATER MIGRATES FROM THE OCEAN TO THE GROUNDWATER UNDERNEATH THE N-L INDUSTRIES SITE?

IT MIGHT NOT BE A BAD THING. IN FACT... THE SALTWATER COULD HELP LOCK THE POLLUTION IN PLACE... RATHER THAN SPREADING IT.

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.

WHEN I WAS SIXTEEN... I WAS PART OF THIS LOCAL BEAUTY PAGEANT. IT WAS SOMETHING I WANTED TO DO TO PROVE A POINT. WHAT POINT THAT WAS... I CAN'T REMEMBER.

DURING THE PAGEANT... WE WERE ALL ASKED: WHAT IS THE MOST PRESSING PROBLEM FACING TEENS? MY RESPONSE: DEFORESTATION. THE AUDIENCE WAS SILENT. I DON'T THINK I EVEN GOT A CLAP FROM MY FAMILY WHO WERE THERE.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT... I DIDN'T WIN.

I'M MENTIONING THIS BECAUSE NO ONE BELIEVED ME. THEY DIDN'T THINK DEFORESTATION WAS A PROBLEM... IF THEY EVEN KNEW WHAT THAT WAS. ALL OF THE GREENPEACE STICKERS I STUCK AROUND TOWN COULDN'T CHANGE THEIR MINDS. IF THEY COULDN'T SEE IT... THEY COULDN'T BELIEVE IT.

MUCH LIKE THE ENVIRONMENTAL OFFICIALS IN THE SEVENTIES WHO WENT TO THE N-L INDUSTRIES SITE NEAR PEDRICKTOWN NEW JERSEY... AFTER BEING MADE AWARE OF THE ORANGE FOG. THEY TOLD NEW YORK TIMES FREELANCE REPORTER DANIELLE FLOOD THAT THEY HAD TO SEE THE FOG THEMSELVES BEFORE THEY COULD DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.

OKAY... I'LL JUST GET THIS OUT OF THE WAY: IT WAS NEVER PROVEN THAT N-L INDUSTRIES WAS THE SOURCE OF THE ORANGE FOG.

BUT IN THE EIGHTIES... NEW JERSEY'S DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION STILL FOUND THE COMPANY RESPONSIBLE FOR POLLUTING THE AIR WITH VARIOUS TOXIC CHEMICALS.

THE E-P-A PLACED THE SITE ON THE SUPERFUND LIST IN 19-83... AND THEY GOT TO WORK DEALING WITH THE LEAD IN THE SOIL AND GROUNDWATER.

NEARLY FORTY YEARS LATER... RENEE GELBLAT WITH THE E-P-A SAYS THE CONTAMINATED SOIL HAS BEEN REMOVED... AND NOW THE FOCUS IS ON THE GROUNDWATER.

Renee Gelblat: It's not really moving anywhere. It's kind of a big, little lake underneath part of the site. I mean, the water moves, but the lead and cadmium are not. We tested the two streams and it's not there.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

RENEE IS THE REMEDIAL PROJECT MANAGER FOR THE N-L INDUSTRIES SITE... JUST SOUTH OF PEDRICKTOWN.

SHE SAYS LEAD AND CADMIUM DON'T DISSOLVE IN WATER UNLESS IT'S REALLY ACIDIC. AND THE GROUNDWATER AT THIS FORTY-FOUR-ACRE SITE IS STILL PRETTY ACIDIC.

Renee Gelblat: It's down around four where it should be somewhere between six and eight. So, what we're doing is injecting, I mean, really simple would be, say, baking soda, it's a little more complicated than that, to bring the pH back toward neutral. And the tricky part is, in order to get the lead out of the water, you actually have to bring it up toward eight or nine. So, we have to make it basic, just to get it to come out of the solution. And then we'll let it go back down to, you know, six to eight, which is what's normal for the groundwater.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

THAT'S BEING DONE BY INJECTING A PHOSPHATE REAGENT... BASICALLY A SUBSTANCE SIMILAR TO BAKING SODA... LIKE RENEE SAID... INTO THE POLLUTED GROUNDWATER TO RAISE THE P-H AND MAKE THE WATER LESS ACIDIC.

ONCE THE GROUNDWATER'S P-H IS RAISED HIGH ENOUGH... THE TOXIC METALS WILL STICK TO THE SOIL PARTICLES THAT ARE UNDERGROUND AND JUST SIT THERE... SAYS JON GORIN. HE'S THE E-P-A'S CHIEF OF THE SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY REMEDIATION SECTION UNDER THE SUPERFUND AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIVISION.

Jon Gorin: What's going to happen is it's going to precipitate out and it's going to bind to the soil itself. The water is contaminated above acceptable levels, but the concentrations you can have on water is much less than you could have in soil. So, if it all binds to the soil, the concentrations in the soil would still be below a soil cleanup level.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

JUST SOME LEAD... NOT ENOUGH TO POSE A RISK TO ANYTHING OR ANYONE.

AND SO FAR... JON SAYS... CONTAMINATION HAS MIRACULOUSLY NOT SPREAD TO THE DELAWARE RIVER.

CLEANUP AT THE N-L INDUSTRIES SITE SEEMS TO BE RUNNING SMOOTHLY. AND THE STICKER PRICE TO CLEAN IT ALL UP IS RELATIVELY LOW... ABOUT ONE-AND-A-HALF-MILLION DOLLARS.

RENEE AND JON ARE HOPEFUL THAT EVERYTHING CAN BE SAID AND DONE IN A COUPLE OF YEARS.

IF THAT'S THE CASE... UNLESS MOTHER NATURE UNLEASHES A MASSIVE FLOOD AND IT ROLLS THROUGH SOON... CLIMATE CHANGE MAY JUST PASS THIS SUPERFUND SITE OVER.

I MENTIONED SALTWATER INTRUSION EARLIER. THE SITE IS ABOUT HALF A MILE FROM THE DELAWARE RIVER. RENEE SAYS IT WOULD HAVE TO FLOOD AN AWFUL LOT BEFORE SALTWATER FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN MAKES ITS WAY UP THE RIVER AND UNDERGROUND TO THE SITE.

Renee Gelblat: Our big issue here is acidity, right? Not salinity. So even if there was some flooding, and it left some salt behind it, it wouldn't affect anything.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

BUT THERE ARE PROJECTIONS FROM FEMA AND RUTGERS THAT SHOW THAT THE NEARBY STREAMS AND TRIBUTARIES DO PUT THE SITE AT SOME RISK DURING HURRICANES... THIS AS THE DESTRUCTION FROM HURRICANE IAN CONSUMES OUR HEADLINES.

OBVIOUSLY... THIS COULD BE A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME EVENT. THOUGH CLIMATE CHANGE IS MAKING WEATHER JUST A TAD BIT MORE UNPREDICTABLE.

JON SAYS IF A HURRICANE DID SWEEP THROUGH THE SITE BEFORE THEY WERE DONE... THEY'D BE LESS WORRIED ABOUT CONTAMINATION... AND MORE CONCERNED WITH LOGISTICS.

Jon Gorin: We'd have to shut down the site, call everybody away, tie up the trailers, but, you know, for an injection remedy it's not too difficult. The problem with a big superstorm is if you're doing it, save an excavation, then you have a real headache because you have to control the sediments, and we're not doing that here.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

MUCH LIKE DANIELLE IN THE SEVENTIES... I MADE A BRIEF SOJOURN IN PEDRICKTOWN. IT'S AN UNINCORPORATED COMMUNITY WITHIN OLDMANS TOWNSHIP IN SALEM COUNTY.

I LEARNED A FEW THINGS ALONG THE WAY... LIKE THERE ARE NEW JERSEY TOMATOES GROWN LOCALLY AND CREATED BY RUTGERS... AND SELLING FIREWOOD IN THE STATE CAN MAKE PROPERTY AG EXEMPT. ALSO... COFFEE FROM WAWA... IF THAT'S YOUR THING.

THE FIRST STOP IN TOWN... THE N-L INDUSTRIES SITE. THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE SITE WAS BOUGHT IN 20-16 BY ECRECON. THAT STANDS FOR ECONOMY... RECOVERY... AND CONSERVATION.

IT'S KIND OF FITTING FOR A BUSINESS THAT BUYS AND SELLS USED EQUIPMENT TO BE ON A SUPERFUND SITE. THEY DEAL WITH SOME OF THE SAME INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATED WITH POLLUTING PLACES... LIKE PETROCHEMICAL COMPANIES... WHICH MAKE PESTICIDES AND PLASTICS.

I MET UP WITH ECRECON'S OWNERS... TOM AND NICK BERCUTE ... TO TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE SITE. RENEE WITH THE E-P-A ALSO JOINED US TO PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT.

RENEE SAYS THE E-P-A LOVES SEEING SUPERFUND SITES LIKE THIS ONE GETTING REDEVELOPED. BUT THE AGENCY'S ONLY CONCERN IS MAKING SURE THE SITE GETS CLEAN... NOT WHAT HAPPENS TO IT AFTER.

Renee Gelblat: Don't get in the way of us when we're doing the injections. We don't even go to zoning meetings. They don't get in the way of our remedy, and they don't mess with the remedy itself.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

WE ALL MADE OUR WAY OUTSIDE TO TOUR THE FIELD THAT IS THE N-L INDUSTRIES SUPERFUND SITE.

I WAS ASSURED THERE WERE NO ISSUES WITH WALKING AROUND THE SITE... I WASN'T GOING TO TRACK TOXIC DIRT BACK TO PENN STATION.

I'VE SAID IT BEFORE... AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN... MOST OF THESE SUPERFUND SITES DON'T LOOK LIKE MUCH. THEY'RE MAINLY FLAT PIECES OF LAND WITH PATCHES OF GRASS AND ROCKY SOIL. THEY COULD BE THE PARK I USED TO PLAY IN AS A KID... OR MY OWN CHILDHOOD BACKYARD.

BUT THAT'S WHAT'S SCARY TO ME... I CAN'T SEE THE POLLUTION.

I COULD... HOWEVER... SEE A BUNCH OF WHITE INJECTION PIPES DOTTING THE PROPERTY. THOSE ARE THE PLACES WHERE TRUCKS FULL OF THE REAGENT SOLUTION EMPTIED THE STUFF INTO THE TOXIC GROUNDWATER.

Renee Gelblat: I don't know if that's a sampling well or an injection well. And I'm sure those pipes are there to keep people from running into them.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

NOW IT'S A MATTER OF WAITING FOR THE CHEMICAL PROCESS TO PLAY OUT... THEN EXAMINING THE RESULTS TO SEE HOW WELL THE INJECTIONS ARE WORKING.

RENEE SAYS INJECTIONS HAPPENED FROM APRIL TO SEPTEMBER OF LAST YEAR.

Renee Gelblat: If the metals were truly mobile, and the site was first cleaned up in the '80s, then everything would be gone by now. So, the metals aren't moving but they are in solution. The groundwater moves. And we see the reagents we injected, the stuff we injected moving around, but for some reason the metals are just in too high a concentration or staying in an area.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

NOW REMEMBER THE CREEPING SALTWATER I MENTIONED EARLIER? IT'S TECHNICALLY CALLED SALTWATER INTRUSION... AND IT'S CAUSING HEADACHES FOR SOME AROUND SOUTH JERSEY.

SEE... NEW JERSEY IS EXPERIENCING SEA LEVEL RISE ABOUT TWICE AS FAST AS THE GLOBAL AVERAGE. AND ONE OF THE EFFECTS OF THAT IS THE SPREAD OF SALTWATER UNDERGROUND IN COASTAL AREAS... WHERE IT DISPLACES THE EXISTING FRESHWATER.

LARGE STANDS OF COASTAL FORESTS ALONG DELAWARE BAY ARE DYING OFF BECAUSE THE TREE ROOTS CAN'T HANDLE SALTIER WATER.

THE SAME ISSUE IS THREATENING TO MAKE SOME FARMLAND FALLOW IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY... WHICH IS THE POOREST COUNTY IN THE STATE.

AND IN CAPE MAY... THE MAIN SOURCE OF DRINKING WATER IS AN AQUIFER THAT IS SLOWLY BECOMING SALTIER. CITY OFFICIALS THERE MAY HAVE TO SPEND MORE THAN 30 MILLION DOLLARS BUILDING A NEW DESALINATION PLANT TO KEEP CLEAN WATER FLOWING IN THE FUTURE.

MUCH IS STILL NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD ABOUT SALTWATER INTRUSION IN SOUTH JERSEY... INCLUDING HOW FAST IT'S HAPPENING AND HOW FAR IT'S SPREADING.

STATE AND FEDERAL SCIENTISTS ARE WORKING ON STUDIES NOW TO ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS... BUT THAT'S A YEARS-LONG PROCESS.

SO... WHAT DOES THIS SALTWATER INTRUSION MEAN FOR PEDRICKTOWN? WELL... IF SALTWATER DOES ACTUALLY MAKE ITS WAY UP TO THE N-L INDUSTRIES SITE... IT MIGHT ACTUALLY BE HELPFUL BECAUSE IT WOULD RAISE THE GROUNDWATER'S PH LEVEL.

THAT'S A GOOD THING BECAUSE WE WANT THE SITE'S GROUNDWATER TO BE LESS ACIDIC... SO THOSE TOXIC METALS DON'T DISSOLVE INTO THE WATER.

DIBS SARKAR... A PROFESSOR AT STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE ... SAYS RAISING THE P-H OF THE SITE'S GROUNDWATER WAS A GOOD MOVE ON THE E-P-A'S PART.

Dibs Sarkar: They didn't go with pump and treat and actually took a pretty bold step of, like, increasing the pH. So, I thought that that was pretty cool of EPA. Typically, they are very risk averse. And they would have, like, again kept on pumping and treating until the time I, at least I was dead, and the site will still not be remediated.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

DIBS TEACHES A COURSE ON ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT THAT PARTLY DEALS WITH SUPERFUND SITES. AND HE'S AN EXPERT ON LEAD... WHICH IS GOOD FOR US BECAUSE THE N-L INDUSTRIES SITE... REMEMBER... REMOVED LEAD FROM OLD CAR BATTERIES.

I'M NO SCIENTIST... SO I ASKED DIBS TO EXPLAIN HOW CHANGING THE GROUNDWATER'S P-H ACTUALLY WORKS.

Dibs Sarkar: Raising pH is not that easy, yeah? Metals like cadmium and lead, like, they are getting adsorbed on the aquifer materials and soils, okay? Cadmium and lead they actually absorb, specifically that means by forming covalent bonds, okay? So, what is happening there is, like, what was there, like, dissolved cadmium, dissolved lead in water --- happy because, again, it was acidic, like again, there was nothing to hold them, now, they are getting absorbed on the aquifer materials, okay? So, the aquifer materials are effectively working as filter materials now. So, this is basically what's happening in the system.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

SECOND STOP ON MY VISIT TO PEDRICKTOWN... THE SALEM COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE N-L INDUSTRIES SITE... AND USE MICROFICHE FOR THE FIRST TIME.

I REALLY FELT LIKE I WAS IN A HORROR MOVIE... TRYING TO FIND OUT WHY MY HOUSE IS HAUNTED.

REEL AFTER MICROFICHE REEL... I SPUN THROUGH THE SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES... THE CHURCH BAKE SALES... THE NOT-POLITICALLY-CORRECT OP-EDS... UNTIL THE N-L INDUSTRIES SITE MADE HEADLINES...

NATIONAL SMELTING FAILED TO CLEAN UP THE WASTE SITE.

ABOUT FIVE MONTHS AFTER THE SITE WAS ADDED TO THE SUPERFUND LIST IN 19-83... IT WAS BOUGHT BY NATIONAL SMELTING OF NEW JERSEY.

THE PLANT HADN'T BEEN IN OPERATION SINCE MAY 19-82 BECAUSE OF THE AIR POLLUTION.

IN MARCH 19-84... TODAY'S SUNBEAM... THE LOCAL PAPER IN SALEM COUNTY AT THE TIME... WROTE ABOUT THE FINE NATIONAL SMELTING RECEIVED FROM THE D-E-P FOR FAILING TO PREVENT THE RELEASE OF LEAD-CONTAMINATED SURFACE WATER FROM THE LANDFILL.

THAT LANDFILL IS ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE N-L INDUSTRIES SITE I VISITED BEFORE COMING TO THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

I THEN FOUND AN ARTICLE FROM 19-89 THAT TALKED ABOUT TESTS FROM SIX PRIVATE WELLS NEAR THE SITE SHOWING NO MAJOR CONTAMINATION.

MY FINAL STOP ON THE SALEM COUNTY TOUR WAS THE HOME OF FORMER OLDMANS TOWNSHIP MAYOR HARRY MOORE. HE'S THE MAN WHO REALLY KICKED THE N-L INDUSTRIES SITE CLEANUP INTO GEAR.

HARRY WAS DOING YARD WORK AND HIS WIFE WAS ON A RIDING LAWNMOWER WHEN I ARRIVED. HARRY WILL BE NINETY THIS YEAR.

HE GOT INTO POLITICS IN 19-91.

Harry Moore: I don't know if you call it working your way up or not, but I worked my way up to the mayor, because it's only a three-man committee and it makes a difference who your friends are.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

AT THE TIME... THE COMMITTEE WAS TRYING TO GET THE N-L INDUSTRIES SITE CLEANED UP... ONCE AND FOR ALL.

HARRY SAYS THE TOWN WENT ROUND-AND-ROUND WITH THE D-E-P AND THE E-P-A AND GOT NOWHERE.

UNTIL HE ENTERED THE PICTURE.

Harry Moore: So, myself and the mayor went to a // welcoming committee and what you might say, for an individual that was nominated to the prosecutor's office. So, I went down for the ceremony. Well, after the ceremony here was Congressman Hughes there. And Congressman Hughes was two grades ahead of me in school.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

SO... HARRY WENT UP TO HIM AFTER THAT MEETING IN 19-93 TO SEE IF THE CONGRESSMAN COULD HELP.

Harry Moore: When I walked up to him, he said, "Oh, hi, Harry." I said, "Hi, Bill." He said, I shook his hand, and I didn't let go. He looked down. I says, "I'm not letting go of your hand until you tell me what you're going to do with National Lead.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

CONGRESSMAN HUGHES AGREED WITH HARRY THAT SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT THE POLLUTED SITE. SO... HE CONTACTED THE POWERS THAT BE AND THEY GOT TO WORK. THANKS, HARRY.

ORIGINALLY... HARRY SAYS THE E-P-A WANTED TO PUT A CAP ON THE SITE'S CONTAMINATED MATERIALS.

Harry Moore: I said, "No, it's not acceptable." "Well, we'll see what we can do." And what they did -- so, they contacted chemical companies and they were glad to come down and get it and clean it up a little bit and resell it. They were tickled to death with that. So, that's what they did, so we weren't left with chemicals.

Jordan Gass-Poore' -- Host

WHEN HUGHES LEFT CONGRESS IN 1995 ... HARRY SAYS A LOCAL GROUP HE WAS A MEMBER OF INVITED HIM AS A GUEST SPEAKER FOR A DINNER IN THE CONGRESSMAN'S HONOR.

DURING THE EVENT... HARRY PRESENTED HUGHES WITH A SPECIAL GIFT.

Harry Moore: I went to K-Mart, where they had the display cameras on or display batteries on sale, just plastic, nothing in 'em. So, I told them what I wanted to use them for; they gave them to me. So, I had a company make up a plaque on there, and it went into detail about all relating to a battery, but "we want to thank Congressman Hughes for jumpstarting the cleanup," and anything related to a battery jumpstart, we laid out the speech to him and gave him this battery. Well, he was overwhelmed. Since he's passed away, but I've been wanting to contact one of his kids to see if that battery is floating around so we can put it in the municipal building.

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 N-J.

OR... LEAVE ME A VOICE MEMO AT... HAZARD AT MY N-J P-B-S DOT ORG.

WE MAY PLAY YOUR COMMENTS IN A FUTURE EPISODE.

HAZARD N-J IS AN N-J SPOTLIGHT NEWS PRODUCTION.

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

Sound Designer & Engineer – Mark Bush

Music composed by Nick Pennington

Artwork by Matthew Fleming

Special thanks to Rae Walzer and Salem County Historical Society