GREENSTEIN /McKEON POLLUTER ACCOUNTABILITY PACKAGE CLEARS KEY ASSEMBLY HURDLE

GREENSTEIN /McKEON POLLUTER ACCOUNTABILITY PACKAGE CLEARS KEY ASSEMBLY HURDLE
Measures Are Response to W.R. Grace/Zenolite Pollution Case in Hamilton Township(TRENTON) - The Assembly Environmental and Solid Waste Committee today released two bills that would better protect the public's health and safety by forcing polluters to accept responsibility for their environmental crimes.

The measures were crafted by Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-Mercer/Middlesex) and Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex) after they spearheaded a special joint Assembly committee investigative hearing examining issues arising from the asbestos contamination at the former W.R. Grace/Zonolite plant in Hamilton Township

The hearing came in response to an exhaustive series of articles The Times of Trenton published on the contaminated factory site, which was given a clean bill of health by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1995 but later found to have ridiculously unsafe levels of asbestos contamination.

The first measure (A-1840) would eliminate the statute of limitations for environmental crimes, including making false and misleading reports to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

"Pollution to the environment regardless of when it happens -- contaminates our soil, water, and air and jeopardizes the health of our residents," said Greenstein. "Companies must be held accountable for past environmental crimes by the same standard as crimes committed today. These companies should face the music for negligence that threatens the viability of our communities."

The other measure (A-1893) would direct the DEP to provide municipalities with written notification of any contaminated sites located within its boundaries.

"By providing cities and towns with the location of sites impacted by hazardous waste, we can protect the well-being and safety of thousands of residents from exposure to dangerous contamination," said McKeon.

From 1950 until 1994, the Hamilton insulation factory produced Zonolite insulation and other products from asbestos contaminated vermiculite ore.
The company potentially exposed thousands of residents to tremolite asbestos and left over 9,000 tons of contaminated soil at the former factory site.

News reports indicated that an alarming number of surviving former workers at the Hamilton plant suffer from asbestos-related ailments. Also, there were indications that asbestos strayed off the site, contaminating nearby residential neighborhoods.

"Both plant employees and neighbors of the plant were needlessly and irresponsibly put in harms way for decades," said Greenstein. "Indeed, we may never know the full human toll resulting from this insulation operation."

In 1994, W.R. Grace & Co. shut down operations at an insulation manufacturing facility it owned in Hamilton Township. The plant had been in operation for 45 years and was owned by W.R. Grace since 1963.

Additionally, serious questions have been raised about the state's oversight of the plant's shutdown in 1994. The state Department of Environmental Protection issued in 1994 an order that effectively gave the plant a clean bill of health, meaning no further testing or cleanup was necessary at the site. The DEP's order appears to have been based on false reporting.

Asbestos concentrations as high as 40 percent were found on the property in 2000 and 2001. These findings are alarmingly different from a report W.R. Grace issued 10 years ago that cited only "trace amounts" of asbestos on the property.

In response to the misleading reporting, Greenstein and McKeon crafted their legislative package to fix loopholes in environmental laws that left companies room to pollute and conceal crimes.

A-1840 was released by the panel 7 to 0 . A-1893 was released 7 to 0. The bills are being referred to the Assembly Judiciary Committee for further consideration.

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