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Matthew Staples
Professor Susan Lago
College Writing 1100
30 April 2014
Clifton’s Pollution Crisis
I have spent most of my life just three-hundred feet from a major highway, and
less than a mile from a pharmaceutical industrial park. Despite the constant noise
coming from Route Three, I have found the pollution in my community to be relatively
inconspicuous. However, the most insidious aspect of pollution is precisely that trait: its
effects will go unnoticed until disaster strikes. My hometown, Clifton, is situated in one
of the most polluted parts of the entire country. The EPA identifies 113 active superfund
sites in New Jersey (“Final National Priorities List (NPL) Sites”). In contrast, California
has 97 and is over eighteen times its size. Clifton borders the Passaic River, a large
body of water whose river bed contains dozens of carcinogenic, teratogenic, and
mutagenic chemicals. The toxic condition of the river is the result of years of
unregulated industrial dumping, mismanagement, and disregard for the residents in the
state. Yet its continued existence signifies that the situation is an ongoing problem
without any easy solution. And while legal and governmental representatives endlessly
debate over who will cover the payment of its cleanup, the citizens of Clifton will
continue to suffer its damaging effects. The contamination of the Passaic River is
arguably the single most important issue in my community, because it represents the
transient nature of responsibility in a state plagued by corruption.
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The origins of the Passaic River’s contamination are a direct result of the
booming chemical industry once prevalent in Northern New Jersey. During the Vietnam
War, a potent chemical known as Agent Orange was produced by the Diamond Alkali
Company of Newark (“Agent Orange Record”). This herbicide was used extensively in
the War to clear away jungle foliage, and contains a toxic group of chemicals known as
dioxins. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, some of the diseases
associated with dioxin exposure include, “acute and subacute peripheral neuropathy, AL
amyloidosis, chloracne (or similar acneform disease)… Parkinson’s disease, porphyria
cutanea tarda, prostate cancer, respitory cancers, and soft tissue carcinoma. Spina
bifida in offspring of VN veterans is also compensated” (Cecil and Young 32). These
illnesses often become apparent many years after the initial exposure, which means a
person poisoned with dioxins may not realize when and where it happened. These
chemicals were haphazardly introduced into the Passaic River sometime during the
War, and became trapped in the riverbed. In addition to dioxins, heavy metals have also
been detected in the soil. A study published in 2005 indicated that both mercury and
lead have accumulated in dangerous quantities: “[A]verage metal concentrations tended
to fall at the high end of the reported values, confirming that the lower Passaic River
remains one of the most contaminated waterways in the NY/NJ Harbor” (Armstrong et
al. 48). Despite the multitude of hard evidence confirming the severity of the pollution,
little has been done to amend the situation. The biggest obstacle to the cleanup comes
from the same companies that made it happen, and these companies evaded
responsibility through legal protection.
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Legal entanglements have effectively halted the cleanup of the Passaic River as
well as the surrounding land in Clifton. The first step a company usually takes to defend
itself is through a refusal to acknowledge the issue. There was another superfund site
located just four miles west of my home that demonstrated this habit. The Abrachem
Chemical Company, a now-defunct packaging firm based in Clifton, improperly stored
hundreds of barrels of toxic chemicals from its site, some of which included benzene
and PCBs. They outright refused to cooperate with authorities until an official warrant
was issued for their investigation: “After receiving a request from DEP, EPA contacted
both the operator and the owner of the facility, but they denied access. EPA pursued
the matter and referred the case to the U.S. Department of Justice. On January 8, 2009,
a federal Magistrate issued an access warrant to EPA to perform the removal action”
(“Abrachem Chemical”). While the site was ultimately decontaminated, it is not known
how much and how long the general public was exposed to these substances. Such
irresponsible behavior is often typical in the realm of environmental policy. Even when
brought to court, these cases have taken decades to reach justice. A recent article
published by The Star Ledger examined the debacle: “Rep. Bill Pascrell raised concerns
that legal battles could delay any cleanup ‘by another 10 years.’ The state had been in
court for a decade, seeking damages against many of the companies blamed for the
river contamination, before reaching a partial settlement with some only last year”
(Sherman, “Massive, $1.7 billion environmental cleanup of Passaic River proposed by
EPA”). The drawn-out legal process is a deliberate tactic of these companies. Such a
technique is often utilized to diminish the general public’s awareness of these issues.
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The residents of these affected communities can quickly become distracted from
the environmental issues surrounding them. An unwavering obstacle facing any EPAsponsored cleanup is how slow and expensive the process often is. Even if some
companies pay financial compensation, it easily could still cost tax payers millions of
dollars to dredge the polluted soil, decontaminate it, and return it to the ecosystem. A
study on public concerns regarding pollution found that, “In March 2000, 54 percent of
New Jersey respondents reported that environmental problems in the state were very
serious; in May 2003, the proportion was 32 percent” (Greenberg et al. 261). It should
be noted that in the time between these two polls, the Iraq War and the 2001 stock
market crash both put new strains on the lives of average Americans. It is therefore
understandable that these issues can take precedence, especially when their effects
are immediate. However, companies such as Abrachem and Diamond Alkali have used
this to their advantage to evade public scrutiny. The greatest remedy to this issue is that
online coverage has made it possible for citizens to constantly monitor the progress of
this issue. By maintaining attention to the cleanup of the Passaic River, the public can
urge representatives to take the appropriate actions to be taken at a faster rate.
The unchecked pollution in Clifton is just a single case of how the interests of
large corporations often take precedence over public safety in New Jersey. The Passaic
River, which has irrefutable evidence of its pollution, continues to remain a threat to
those who live in proximity to its banks. And even when the companies responsible
have gone bankrupt and left the sites, the pollution will remain indefinitely. I cannot
claim that any of these chemicals have directly affected me, but there is little doubt their
presence contributes significantly to the degradation of Clifton’s quality of life. With
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increasing exposure from the media, as well as long-needed attention from the EPA, the
firms responsible are now faced with public scrutiny. Constant attention and
participation from our community is critical to finally spur action from our elected
representatives. Doing so will ensure that these harmful practices are curtailed, and
future generations will not suffer from the negligence of the past.
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Works Cited
"Abrachem Chemical." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 5 Oct. 2010. Web.
30 Apr. 2014. <http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/removal/abrachem/>
"Agent Orange Record." Agent Orange Record. War Legacies Project, n.d. Web. 30
Apr. 2014.
<http://www.agentorangerecord.com/information/what_is_dioxin/sites/>.
Armstrong, Tina N., et al. "Characterization Of Chemical Contamination In ShallowWater Estuarine Habitats Of An Industrialized River. Part II. Metals." Soil &
Sediment Contamination 14.1 (2005): 35-52. Academic Search Complete. Web.
16 Apr. 2014.
“Final National Priorities List (NPL) Sites." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 18
Sept. 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/query/queryhtm/nplfin.htm#NC>.
Greenberg, Michael and Kristen Crossney. "The Changing Face of Public Concern
about Pollution in the United States: A Case Study of New Jersey."
Environmentalist 26.4 (2006): 255-68. ProQuest. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.
Sherman, Ted . "Massive, $1.7 billion environmental cleanup of Passaic River proposed
by EPA." NJ.com. The Star Ledger, 11 Apr. 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/04/massive_17_billion_cleanup_of_pas
saic_river_proposed_by_epa.html#incart_river>.
Young, Alvin L., and Paul F. Cecil. "Agent Orange Exposure And Attributed Health
Effects In Vietnam Veterans." Military Medicine (2011): 29-34. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.