When Denise and David Murray of Colfax Avenue heard about the new DuPont pollution, they immediately thought, "Here we go again!"
We raised three children who played soccer in that soil for years and we're very frightened," said Denise.
On nearby Cedar Street, Jamil Aburomi was upset about the depreciation of his house, one of up to 350 homes with chemical vapors contaminating the soil below them. "I've put a lot of money in my house but who is going to want to buy it?"
Tests last month in a neighborhood near DuPont's former explosives plant found elevated levels of hazardous vapors emanating from ground water pollution that is a legacy of the factory's 92 years of operation. The contamination comes on the heels of DuPont's ongoing, $130 million efforts to clean the area of mercury, lead and solvents.
Fast factsA public information hearing will be held, with presentations from DuPont, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the borough at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. today and July 2 at the new Carnavale Center at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church on Lenox Avenue, across from Borough Hall.Weary from the first, ongoing cleanup, residents see this latest revelation as another disruption to their lives.
"The new findings are icing on the cake," said Councilwoman Lisa Riggiola, who was raised in and lives on Orchard Street in the area above a plume of contaminated ground water.
"Residents are angry and wonder why they are paying the same amount in taxes (with the pollution.)"
DuPont tested under seven homes for soil vapors last month at the direction of the state Department of Environmental Protection. Elevated levels of chemical vapors were found under five homes, prompting wider testing of the neighborhood, which is in the northeast corner of town between the former plant and Pompton Lake.
The chemicals are tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE), which were used as degreasing agents. Both are listed by the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry as probable human carcinogens.
DuPont's legacy in Pompton Lakes is more than pollution, however...