Painting by Vi Huntley-Franck
As I promised, I have done some digging and have come up with some facts about some of the Superfund sites that I will begin sharing. The first of these is the Ringwood Mines landfill site in the borough of Ringwood, New Jersey. This sits close to Mahwah in Passaic County. This is a 500-acre former iron mining site going back to the old colonial times. Ford Motor Company bought it in the 1960s and used it for waste disposal. Paint sludge was dumped down the old mine shafts, spreading into the water table and soil.
The EPA added it to its superfund priority list in 1984 demanding that a cleanup be conducted of the hazardous wastes. In 1994, it was deleted from the list, only to have it relisted later due to failed environmental remediation. Portions of the landfill site there had even been used for affordable housing for the Ramapough people in the 1970s. They dared to build there even though they knew the land was contaminated. All for the sake of the almighty dollar.
It was placed back on the Superfund priority list in 2006. By 2011, over 50,000 tons of industrial and hazardous waste was removed from the site. Millions of gallons of paint sludge had been dumped in the area. Even the Mafia got in on the act, fighting for the rights to conduct illegal dumping there.
Environmentalists worry that contaminants could get into groundwater supplies and pollute the waters feeding into Wanaque Reservoir, which supplies water to a fourth of the state.
On top of that, the rates of cancer are high in the area, and levels of lead and antimony are also well above the safe range.
For a detailed look at the past injustices done by Ford Motor Company and others at this Superfund site, go to https://actionnetwork.org/letters/ramapough-ringwood-environmental-justice-comment-campaign
You will be shocked by the atrocities that occurred there. Other links pertaining to this site are:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringwood_Mines_landfill_site
http://ringwoodnj.net/content/3886/9451/default.aspx
For a truly heart-breaking article, read https://www.enn.com/articles/2760-new-jersey-community-endures-decades-of-fords-toxic-legacy
This Superfund site is one of the worst ever. It's all about greed. The people who allowed this to happen are pure scum, through and through. Don't let this happen in your corner of the world, folks. The lives of you, your family, and your friends are all at stake. Keep alert and don't sell out to the evil-mongers.
Blaze McRob
No comments:
Post a Comment