Officials from the city, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and PPG Industries anticipated residents’ concerns about the project timeline, contaminant runoff from Hurricane Irene and other recent storms, potential health hazards and job creation.

In his opening remarks, Mayor Jerramiah Healy said that 72,800 tons of “green-gray mud,” soil contaminated with hexavalent chromium, had been removed from the Garfield Avenue site since excavation began there in July 2010. The second phase of the work is set to begin in January.

The cleanup site, which is bounded approximately by Garfield and Caven Point Avenues, Halladay Street and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail line, actually comprises six separate sites, and the nearly 73,000 tons of toxic waste that was removed came from only one of them, number 114, and represents only 10 percent of the cleanup. Scott Mikaelian of PPG explained that they began there because it showed the greatest concentrations of hexavalent chromium.

“We really went after the heart of the matter to start off with,” he said.

The final phase of cleanup is scheduled to start in June 2012 and be completed by December 2014.

Mikaelian and site administrator Mike McCabe detailed the project’s safety measures, including steel reinforcements to contain groundwater and round-the-clock air quality monitoring that show contaminant levels “way below the limits set by the DEP,” McCabe said.

Ben Delisle of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency gave a brief update on the nearby Berry Lane Park project, where he said ten of 12 parcels have been taken over via eminent domain, with two still in negotiations. Delisle said that hexavalent chromium and underground storage tanks have been found at the Berry Lane site — though McCabe noted these were at considerably lower levels than at Garfield Avenue. The deadline for cleanup at the site is also in 2014.

The chromium plant on Garfield Avenue began operation in 1924, refining raw chromium ore into paint pigment and other items 24 hours a day. PPG bought the facility in 1954 and ran it until its closing in the fall of 1963. Until the past few years, it had sat largely untouched, a toxic hazard for the Jersey City residents who happened to live or work near it.

Nearly 3 million tons of chromium ore processing residue (COPR) was produced at Hudson County’s three plants (one was located in Kearny), according to the DEP. Much of this COPR was given away to developers to use as fill material during construction in the 1950s and ’60s.

The COPR produced by the sites includes chromium of the trivalent and hexavalent kind. Hexavalent chromium is known to cause lung cancer in humans, and has been linked to other types of cancer, including nasal, stomach and blood, in a number of studies. Trivalent chromium is more common, and while many consider it “safe,” many scientists say it can and does convert to hexavalent chromium. One study by the state DEP found that the rate of lung cancer incidence near chromium sites was 7 to 17 percent higher than in other areas of Jersey City.

McCabe reiterated to residents the findings of recent studies showing no link between cancer and hexavalent chromium and normal blood levels of chromium in nearby residents.

“When we first started meeting two years ago, one of the first things the community asked for was…testing,” McCabe said. A round of blood samples taken from 42 volunteers in February, he said, “showed that the blood levels in this area are no different from what you’d get living in any urban area in New Jersey.” A third round of blood tests is planned for Spring 2012.

McCabe also spoke about the recent flooding in the area and the resulting seepage of groundwater around the cleanup site.

“We didn’t wait to take samples; we removed it… as a precautionary measure,” he said. Later testing showed water removed from Halladay Street and Carteret Avenue to be contaminated; water taken from Van Horne Street was found not to have been. Residents in these areas have been enrolled in the Residential Inspection Program, which McCabe said is still open to anyone living in the defined areas.

“It’s a very valuable tool…in the sense that [owners] can feel comfortable…and if they ever try to sell the property they have good, solid documentation,” said Brian McPeak, the site project manager and Residential Inspection Program lead.

“Obviously, the rain events produced conditions that were unusual…but we want to make sure we do everything we can to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again,” McCabe said.

In the question-and-answer period that followed, citizen leaders remained skeptical about the cleanup timeline, continued health risks, jobs and, ultimately, the CCP’s intention to truly clean up the site.

Ward F councilwoman Viola Richardson remained unconvinced that the rainwater problems were fully contained. She pointed out the area around the Rudolf Bass machinery warehouse on Halladay Street, parts of which tend to puddle.

“It’s an ongoing problem every time it rains,” she said. “It makes the community uneasy — it makes me uneasy. Even if the water is not contaminated, you have to get it out of there,” Richardson said.

June Jones, executive director of the Morris Canal Redevelopment Area, expressed concerns about the link between inhaled contaminants and certain cancers and questioned whether the blood testing the CCP offered was enough.

“If hexavalent chromium were inhaled, it would show up in the testing we’re doing,” McCabe responded. The toxin lingers in the blood for about 120 days after exposure; however, he said, “it may not show [previous] exposure.”

Ralph Daniels, who attended the meeting, said he was “appalled” that only 35 percent of the workforce and three contractors involved with the job are from Jersey City. “We’re at cleanup stage. The people here need jobs,” he said, pushing for more job assistance and training for local workers.

Robert Harper, who identified himself as a concerned citizen and has been a vocal critic of the CCP in the past, asked for more definitive data on the contamination at Berry Lane Park.

“The city…is not obligated by court order to clean up Berry Lane Park,” said Harper, who lives across the street from the site at 900 Garfield Avenue. “Residential cleanup would be far more stringent.”

McCabe said that levels of contamination are lower there than at the central site but will be cleaned up by the same standards. “It will be pursued, chased, and it will be cleaned up,” he said.

Attendance at these meetings has dwindled considerably since they began more than two years ago, according to Deputy Mayor Kabili Tayari, and the public discussion period centered around worries about health risks and jobs. Still, the prevailing atmosphere was one of general anxiety that is unlikely to ease until the site is cleaned up.

“People think, ‘My safety is not at risk so it’s not a real issue,’” Tayari told JCI after the meeting. “It needs to be an issue until it’s gone.”

To enroll in the Residential Inspection Program, contact the CCP at 201-777-2099, inspection@chromecleanup.com, or through chromecleanup.com. PPG’s public information center, located on Carteret Avenue between Halladay and Garfield Streets, is slated to open late next week.

Chromium Cleanup Meeting: The Chromium Cleanup Partnership provided the community with an update on the progress of the remediation project on Garfield Avenue; JCI will have the full scoop later today.

Trick-or-Treater Hit by Car: A Jersey City boy was struck by an SUV while trick-or-treating Downtown Monday; look for more from JCI later today.

U.S. Senate Approves $15 Million for Amtrak Tunnel: The U.S. Senate approved $15 million yesterday for design and engineering work on Amtrak’s proposed tunnel project, at the same time New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and local politicians are touting a plan to extend the MTA 7 line to Secaucus.

Construction Noise Keeps Residents Awake: Late-night jackhammering at Tonnelle Circle is keeping Jersey City residents up at night; but after hearing complaints from residents and local officials, the state will ask construction workers not to jackhammer beyond midnight starting tonight.

BOE Seeks Parent Input on Strategic Planning: The Jersey City Board of Education announced Tuesday that it is circulating two surveys to parents and other residents as part of a strategic five-year planning process for the school district.

Bank Robber Caught on Video: Jersey City police have released several security camera images of the man being sought in Sunday’s robbery of $3,600 from a bank on the Hoboken/Jersey City border.

Grand Jury Vote on Car Crash Cop: Prosecutors yesterday completed their grand jury presentation in the case of an off-duty Jersey City police officer who was in a seven-vehicle crash in Bayonne that claimed the life of an 82-year-old woman in February. Grand jury proceedings are secret and the result of yesterday’s grand jury vote has not yet been made public.

Boys & Girls Clubs Get a Boost: The University of Phoenix made a $10,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hudson County yesterday afternoon in a ceremony at the Downtown Jersey City center that marked the start of a new mentorship program.

Crime Blotter: An East Orange man was charged with driving while intoxicated yesterday after leading Jersey City police on a high-speed chase through Greenville; a Jersey City man allegedly punched a woman in the face during a robbery, tried to take the gun of an arriving police officer, and attacked Jersey City Medical Center staff Monday morning;

In Statewide News:

New Jersey Lawmakers Settle Improper Firing Suit: The campaigns of U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg and Rep. Rush Holt paid out nearly $40,000 to settle charges by a former election worker who said he lost his job for hiring minorities to get out the vote in predominately white areas.

State Gets Mixed Scores on National Ed Report Card: New Jersey’s public school students excel in math and reading, but wide achievement gaps persist, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress released yesterday.

Corzine Financial Firm Admits Possible Violation: MF Global, the securities firm led by former governor Jon Corzine, admitted using clients’ money as its financial troubles mounted, a federal official says. The FBI is reportedly expected to investigate whether the firm’s actions violated criminal laws.

State Transportation Commissioner Blasts Failed ARC Tunnel Project: The canceled second rail tunnel under the Hudson River “wasn’t supported by New York and lost some of its value when NJ Transit decided not to route it to Penn Station, New Jersey’s state transportation commissioner James Simpson said Tuesday.

Sports Betting Referendum Lacks Attention: New Jersey voters will be asked Tuesday whether sports betting should be allowed at the state’s racetracks and Atlantic City casinos, but the ballot question has received so little discussion in political campaigns this fall that many state voters aren’t aware of it.

Federal Sting Leads to New Jersey Arrests: Several New Jersey residents were among 13 indicted on charges of racketeering and other offenses for allegedly taking over FirstPlus Financial Group, a publicly traded mortgage company in Texas, and looting its accounts to finance lavish lifestyles.

City Crews Cleaning Up After Storm: Five crews of Jersey City workers, aided by a private contractor, are working to remove the “unprecedented” number of trees downed by this weekend’s freak snowstorm.

Final New PATH Car in Service: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey yesterday put the 340th new PATH train car into service, completing a three-year project to replace the entire system’s rail car fleet.

DeGise Dismisses Departure Rumors: Running for his third full term in next week’s general election, Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise, 61, yesterday dismissed rumors he’s eyeballing another job and said he’s not through making his mark as county exec.

Chromium Cleanup Progress: According to the public-private Chromium Cleanup Partnership, now that about 10 percent of the contaminated material on Garfield Avenue has been removed, the next phase of land remediation is set to begin. Look for more coverage from JCI this week.

Political Insider: Augie expresses doubts over a reported pair of polls that show Mayor Healy getting favorable job ratings and 2013 mayoral challenger Steven Fulop with low scores; he also reviews a campaign spot for At-Large incumbents Kalimah Ahmad and Ray Velazquez.

Body Identified: Detective work on both sides of the Hudson River has led to the identification of a drowned woman found floating near Jersey City’s Newport community on Saturday as a 59-year-old Queens woman.

Crime Blotter: An unidentified man robbed more than $3,600 from TD Bank on 18th Street yesterday afternoon; when a Paterson woman ignored the advances of a man trying to chat with her on a street in the Lafayette section of the city Sunday night, he opted to rob her instead.

In Statewide News:

Afterschool Program Not Closing After All: New Jersey After 3′s surprise reprieve by the governor on the eve of elections has some Democrats questioning its timing.

Praise for State Utilities: Gov. Christie praised Jersey Central Power & Light Co. and Public Service Electric & Gas Co. for making adequate progress returning power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses knocked offline by the weekend storm.

State Help for Rutgers Athletics: Gov. Christie has told Rutgers University officials he’s ready to help the athletic department respond to the string of defections that have weakened the prestige of Big East Conference and threatened the future of the state university’s $58 million sports program.

Day of the Dead Commemorations on the Rise: As New Jersey’s Mexican population soars, Day of the Dead festivities are growing more common.

Christie Fundraising for Romney: Now that he has given his endorsement, Gov. Christie will start generating some cash for GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Corzine Financial Firm Woes: Former Gov. Corzine’s revived Wall Street career is in trouble. His firm, MF Global — a powerhouse in the world of commodities and derivatives trading but little known outside Wall Street — was working frantically toward a potential sale late on Sunday. Failing to find a buyer, the firm is reportedly filing for bankruptcy.

New Marketing Targets Emergency Room Visits: Some New Jersey hospitals are marketing their emergency rooms to insured patients, while the state struggles to reduce ER visits by Medicaid recipients.

- Rats: A residential Jersey City neighborhood that is also home to industrial warehouses has been inundated with rats for months, an invasion some residents blame on the massive cleanup on the nearby Garfield Avenue chromium site.

- Port Authority Scraps Bus Depot Plans: Commuters will continue to face a long line of empty buses snarling traffic at the Lincoln Tunnel after the Port Authority scrapped plans to build a new bus garage in Manhattan. Port Authority officials say they can’t afford the $800 million project because recent toll increases were lower than proposed.

- 2013 Council Election: While Jersey City’s politicos are focused on November’s special election to fill two vacancies on the City Council, city teen Demetrius Terry is concentrating on the May 2013 city election.

- Car Accident: Five Jersey City females were injured, two of them seriously, when the 21-year-old driver of the SUV they were in lost control of the vehicle yesterday morning and slammed into a utility pole.

- Failed Meat Cleaver Attack: A naked, meat cleaver-wielding man was arrested Friday morning after he streaked by a police officer while chasing another man.

Today’s Best Bet:

Statue of Liberty historian Barry Moreno will give a talk on the legendary landmark at NJCU today, followed by a reception featuring the student illustrations of Ellis Island created by NJCU students last semester (3 pm).

In Statewide News:

- Christie & the White House: Gov. Christie’s political advisers are working to determine whether they could move fast enough to set up effective political operations in Iowa and New Hampshire in the wake of a relentless courtship aimed at persuading him to plunge into the race for the Republican presidential nomination. As he continues to mull a run for the White House, the Ledger looks to his past races for clues into his thinking, while Politicker wonders who the state GOP would run in the 2013 election.

- ARC Tunnel Bill Settled: New Jersey and the federal government have agreed to settle their tab for money spent on the canceled ARC commuter rail tunnel between Secaucus and New York for $95 million — about a third of the $271 million bill Gov. Christie was originally sent.

- Charter Schools: When the Christie administration last week announced it approved just four new charter schools out of nearly 60 applicants (one of which is in Jersey City), it came with a message of quality over quantity from Gov. Chris Christie’s top education officials. But there were clearly a few factors in play, from the politics of the upcoming legislative election to the changing rules in the department itself.

- Solar Power: New Jersey has passed California as the No.1 producer of solar energy in commercial markets, according to a recent solar trade report. But unless New Jersey changes the way the industry is financed, the system will crash and the state will never be able to maintain its lead, said Lyle Rawlings, founder and president of the Mid-Atlantic Solar Energy Industries Association.

The chromium site on Garfield Avenue in 2009, before the cleanup began.

When workers cleaning up the massive chromium-contaminated site along Garfield Avenue arrived at work this morning, they noticed that potentially contaminated groundwater had been “pushed up” at the corner of Halladay Street and Carteret Avenue, according to site administrator Mike McCabe.

The “small amount” of pooled water “looked like it might be contaminated,” McCabe tells JCI. Crews pulled samples of the water to send out for testing, and then “vacuumed it up [and] took other precautionary measures” to make sure the potentially dangerous water wouldn’t become airborne when it dries (hexavalent chromium is considered most carcinogenic when it is airborne and inhaled).

JCPD cars blocked off the site, and the JCFD hazardous materials truck was sent over, creating a bit of a scene in the formerly industrial and largely vacant swath of land right by the Garfield Avenue light rail station. But McCabe assures us that, because of the steps taken this morning, the incident is “definitely not a threat to the nearby residential community.”

The test results are expected within “a couple of days.” If the tests come back positive for hexavalent chromium, the cleanup crew will have to do additional sampling to make sure today’s initial cleanup rid the area of the dangerous toxin. If that round of sampling also tests positive for hexavalent chromium, McCabe says they will do additional cleaning at the site.

But he says the cleanup crew, which had dealt with similar rain-induced leakages when cleaning up the Honeywell site on the city’s west side, went ahead and did a preemptive cleanup to ensure the highest level of safety on site and in the area.

“We didn’t wait for these test results,” McCabe says. “We thoroughly addressed the problem.”

Joe Morris, director of the chromium cleanup project for the Interfaith Community Organization, which has fought for more stringent cleanup standards at the site, says it’s good that there was a quick response, but the danger posed by a leak like this only illustrates why the site should be cleaned to the maximum possible extent.

“It’s a good example of why it’s important to get all of the source material out of there and remediate the groundwater,” he says.

- Class-Action Chromium Suit: A federal judge has denied Honeywell International’s request that she reconsider her February ruling that allows Jersey City residents to proceed with a class-action lawsuit against the company.

- Indictment in Drug Trafficking Case: Thirteen people, including two alleged leaders and other members of a drug trafficking ring that distributed narcotics in Greenville were indicted Thursday.

- Gypsy Grill: The newest fast-food-ish restaurant along Newark Avenue is now officially open.

In Statewide News:

- Teacher Evaluation: A new system to evaluate public school teachers will be introduced this fall as a pilot program in some districts across the state.

- Family Planning Clinic Funding: The Senate Monday will vote again on a bill that would restore $7.45 million in grants to family planning clinics Gov. Christie eliminated last year because he said the state could not afford them. And state Sen. Loretta Weinberg made an unexpected phone call to Gov. Christie to talk about it during the “Ask the Governor” radio show on New Jersey 101.5-FM.

- Unemployment: New Jersey’s unemployment rate held steady at 9.3 percent in April as the state added 14,000 jobs.

- Paid Sick Leave: Providing paid sick leave for all New Jersey workers would provide public health benefits as well as financial benefits for businesses, according to a new study from Rutgers University’s Center for Women and Work.

- Live Here, Work Here: Gov. Christie has signed a bill requiring all new public employees to move to New Jersey within a year of being hired.

- Homeland Security Cash: New Jersey could receive up to $103 million in federal homeland security funds.

- Bats: The federal government this week unveiled a national plan to better coordinate efforts among state and federal agencies that are fighting the spread of a disease that has wiped out more than a million bats in New Jersey and other eastern states.

To date, nearly 70,000 tons of chromium contaminated waste, including some of the most heavily contaminated material at the site, have been excavated and hauled away.

“These latest blood results are very good news given the considerable level of cleanup activity at the site,” site administrator Mike McCabe says in a statement. “The second-round results confirm that the exposure-prevention measures being taken at the cleanup site are working.”

The blood study is part of an effort to make sure local residents aren’t exposed to toxic chemicals during the massive, multi-year cleanup. The ongoing study of nearly 40 residents is being conducted by the Environmental and Health Sciences Institute at Rutgers University, which takes and analyzes blood samples approximately every six months.

The cleanup agreement, which is estimated to cost PPG up to $600 million and remove an estimated 700,000 tons of chromium waste from the area around the company’s former chromium plant, stems from a citizens’ lawsuit filed in 2009 by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Interfaith Community Organization (ICO) and GRACO Community Organization (GRACO). PPG had twice previously tried to have the advocates’ suit tossed from court, to no avail.

The groups have long claimed that the city’s 2009 settlement with PPG and the state Department of Environmental Protection is not stringent enough.

“What could have been a Swiss cheese approach to the cleanup is now a comprehensive removal of the contamination — no holes to be found,” says NRDC senior attorney Nancy Marks. “This Jersey City community should never have been stuck living on top of someone else’s toxic waste in the first place. They’re finally receiving the justice they deserve and will be soon free from this poisonous legacy.”

Specifically, the new federal settlement calls for chromium levels to be reduced to 5 parts per million (ppm), a much stricter standard than New Jersey’s current standard of 20 ppm, which was guiding the existing cleanup plan.

In addition, PPG will fund a community-hired expert to monitor the cleanup process and test residential properties near the site upon request and clean up any contaminated properties to the 5 ppm level. And the advocates also note that the federal deadlines brought by this settlement add an extra layer of protection, since the state DEP has in the past failed to act on cleanup plans at the site.

However, the Healy administration, which brokered the 2009 settlement between Jersey City, PPG and the state, is choosing to frame this week’s federal settlement in quite a different light, in an attempt to reiterate its repeated claim that the current cleanup plan is stringent enough.

“We are pleased that the NRDC and GRACO are endorsing our settlement with PPG and the DEP that requires PPG to dig up and remove the chromium waste at Garfield Avenue at PPG’s expense,” Mayor Jerramiah Healy says in a statement. “We have no problem with another layer of review of PPG’s cleanup, as long as it does not delay our goal of finishing the cleanup by 2014.”

Like Healy, the state Department of Environmental Protection is downplaying the federal settlement, with a spokesperson telling the New York Times this week that “it doesn’t get much better” than the cleanup plan already in place.

The federal settlement was submitted to the court this week and will become final when signed by a judge. It does not prevent a class-action lawsuit against PPG from going forward.

The chromium plant located on Garfield Avenue began operation in 1924, refining raw chromium ore into paint pigment and other items 24 hours a day. PPG purchased the facility in 1954 and ran it until its closing in the fall of 1963. Until the past few years, it had sat largely untouched, a toxic hazard for the Jersey City residents who happened to live or work near it.

Nearly three million tons of chromium ore processing residue (COPR) was produced at Hudson County’s three plants (one was located in Kearny), according to the DEP. Much of this COPR was given away to developers to use as fill material during construction in the 1950s and ’60s.

The COPR produced by the sites includes chromium of the trivalent and hexavalent kind. Hexavalent chromium is known to cause lung cancer in humans, and has been linked to other types of cancer, including nasal, stomach and blood, in a number of studies. Trivalent chromium is more common, and while many consider it “safe,” many scientists say it can — and does — convert to hexavalent chromium in nature. One study by the state DEP found that the rate of lung cancer incidence near chromium sites was 7 to 17 percent higher than in other areas of Jersey City.

“This is a victory for public health, for environmental justice, and for the rebirth of an area that’s been a wasteland for a half century,” says Rev. Willard Ashley, pastor of Abundant Joy Community Church and co-chairperson of the Interfaith Community Organization. “This is a victory that will mean more jobs and less cancer in Jersey City.”

PPG’s Federal Settlement for Chromium Cleanup in Jersey City

The lawsuit, filed in May of last year, alleges that both Honeywell and PPG Industries dumped and failed to clean up carcinogenic hexavalent chromium at more than 100 sites in Jersey City. It also seeks compensation for property owners whose properties may be devalued as the result of toxic pollution.

“This is an important victory for the citizens of Jersey City. They are now one giant step closer to telling their story to a jury,” says Howard Janet, of Janet, Jenner & Suggs, LLC, one of the attorneys representing residents. “It’s a story of large companies putting profits over people in the worst way. It’s a story of two companies that dumped massive quantities of toxic waste in the middle of a city, let it remain there for decades, delayed cleanups and put so many lives at risk.”

Honeywell and PPG have been in the hotseat in recent years over historic chromium disposal practices. Both companies produced chromium for industrial use during the first half of the 20th century, and a by-product known as chrome ore processing residue (COPR) — a substance that can remain in soil, water and air for decades — has been implicated as a potential cause of lung cancer in those who suffer long-term exposure, such as residents of areas near COPR sites.

“These companies spread more than a million tons of toxic waste across a densely populated city and allowed it to remain there for years,” says Ester Berezofsky, of Williams Cuker & Berezofsky, LLC, who is also representing the Jersey City residents. “We’re looking forward to presenting this case to a jury.”

The groups scheduled this week’s meeting after more than 15 inches of snowfall hit the Jersey City region 24 hours before the first meeting was conducted in January.

The cleanup plan at the chromium site shifted to full excavation in November. Prior to that, there had not been a firm decision on whether to pursue a full excavation or instead implement targeted excavation and treatment, a process that was roundly criticized as insufficient by environmental groups and some area residents.

“After months of first-hand experience at the site, it became even more clear that we should go straight to the cleanup approach most favored by the community and Jersey City: Simply stated, dig it all out and haul it away,” the court-appointed site administrator Mike McCabe said at the time. “I am very pleased that PPG has selected this approach and that DEP has approved it. This has the best chance of meeting our shared goal of a complete remediation by the Fall of 2014, and I look forward to discussing the details of this agreement with the community.”

THE DETAILS

Chromium Cleanup Partnership Public Meeting; Thursday, March 3 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm; Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center, 140 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.