EPA Puts Politics Above Risks To Human Health and Environment

EPA Rejects Residents Superfund Request in Advance of RCRA Permit

Disgusted by exclusion from cleanup decisions, lax oversight by NJ DEP, and the slow pace of cleanup, residents of Pompton Lakes have waged a campaign to pressure EPA to list the Dupont site as a Superfund site. More than 10,000 people have signed a petition in support of their efforts.

The campaign began when residents learned that the Dupont site scored an extraordinarily high 70 on the EPA’s Hazard Ranking Score (HRS) back in 1982, a fact that EPA denied and was withheld from residents for over 2 decades.

And the site was scored 70 WITHOUT considering indoor toxic vapor intrusion risks at over 450 homes.

A site qualifies for Superfund if the HRS exceeds 28.5 – so Dupont clearly qualified for Superfund listing a long time ago (Technically, it is important to note that the 1982 HRS was conducted before the 1988 NJ DEP ACO and current RCRA Corrective Action oversight began, so there was no excuse not to list the site long ago).

Residents have received support of Congressman Pascrell and Senator Menendez – Menendez wrote ...

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