NJ: Companies Caused Toxic Contamination At North Jersey Sites

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — DuPont and other companies are targeted in a lawsuit filed by New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal for a toxic plume under 400 homes in Pompton Lakes and other pollution at three other New Jersey sites.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and its commissioner Catherine McCabe filed four lawsuits in New Jersey Supeior Court against DuPont, Chemours Co., a DuPont spin-off company, and 3M, for contamination they allegedly caused at facilities in Pompton Lakes, Pennsville and Carney's Point, Sayreville, and Greenwich Township.

The contamination includes chemicals known as pre- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS substances are man-made used to make a variety of household products and classified as "likely human carcinogens." They may cause kidney, liver, and testicular cancer and autoimmune and endocrine disorders in adults.

Attorney General Grewal and McCabe announced the lawsuits at a press conference in Passaic County Wednesday.

"The companies we’re suing today knew full well the risks involved with these harmful chemicals, but chose to foul our soil, waterways, and other precious natural resources with them anyway," Grewal. "On our watch, polluters like these who put profit above public well-being now can expect to pay for the clean-up of their contamination, for their violation of State laws designed to protect our environment and health, and, where appropriate, to fully compensate the State and its citizens for the precious natural resources they’ve damaged or destroyed."

DuPont used to have a explosives factory on its Pompton Lakes site for years. DuPont is being held responsible for allowing mercury, lead, and copper to seep into the lake for years. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered DuPont to remove 100,000 cubic yards of sediment from the lake. (See related: Volatile Compound Found in Well Water Near Pompton Lake)

The three other sites, and the contamination that occurred there authorities allege in their lawsuits, are:

• The DuPont/Chemours' large Chambers Works in Pennsville and Carney's Point. The companies released "massive amounts of PFOA, a toxic EM compound, into the air, water, and on-site landfills, including the Delaware River.
• The DuPont Parlin Site in Sayreville in Middlesex County. DuPont made nonstick Teflon using PFAS there.
• The Repauno Site in Greenwich Township where DuPont made dynamite and chemicals for more than a century. Waste was dumped into unlined landfills, sand tar pits, and ditch basins and contaminated the area.

Authorities also allege that DuPont and 3M knew about the health and environmental risks posed by PFAS for decades, but they continued to use and release them into the environment without disclosing the risks to the public or regulators.

Minnestoa-based 3M, for example, spent decades "obscuring the facts" surrounding PFAS, and actively suppressed scientific research on the dangers associated with the chemicals, state officials also alleges. 3M is the primary manufacturer of PFAS, authorities said.

Authorities alleged in two of the lawsuits that groundwater, surface water, and other natural resources at the Repauno and Pompton Lakes sites were contaminated with volatile organic compounds, mercury, lead and other substances. Brain and kidney damage have been linked to lead and mercury exposure.

PFAS are at the heart of the DEP's complaints against what occurred at the Chambers Works and Parlin facilities.

The DEP issued a statewide directive on PFAS against DuPont, Chemours, 3M, Solvay, and Dow Chemical, the main users, manufacturers, and suppliers of PFAS in New Jersey. The directive orders the companies to pay for continued testing and treatment of PFAS-contaminated waters at and near the affected sites and of private and public water supplies. The companies are also responsible for the cleanup and removal of the contamination.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is assessing the Pompton Lakes contamination. A directive by Grewal and McCabe calls for DuPont and Chemours to pay for more assessment costs linked to pollution from the Pompton Lakes site.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com