At this point in the studio project, we realized that it would be helpful to break apart our site into three pieces for closer study: the power plant, the super fund site, and lastly the landfill and its relationship to the marsh and Kearny’s edge. As we continued to develop our research, we discovered information that focused more specifically on how our sites of study affected the natural ecosystem(s) around them.
Upon conducting research on the landfill, data was retrieved from a Rutgers University study that focused on the way development around the wetlands has contributed to contamination. Interestingly enough, we found that there was indeed a source of contamination coming from, what we now know to be, the newly re-operated landfill; however, the data further informed us that there was also a significant amount of contamination coming from municipal stormwater inputs as a result of development occurring in Kearny. This data basically suggested that there was a large concentration of contamination from this stormwater at the site of Frank’s Creek, which can be contextualized in the Relevant Structures blog post. In addition to deriving this substanital set of information, a brief inquest was done to determine the types of waste being put into the landfill by external sources.
Regarding the power plant, research was done on the integral way that the energy-producing site both takes and gives back to the Hackensack River. Better known as the Hudson Generating Plant, operated and owned by PSEG, is located on the eastern bank of the Hackensack River. Research showed us that the power plant uses water from the river in its cooling process, which is then excreted back into the river. This coal-powered generating station was declared one of the top 10 biggest pollution agents in the United States and was involved in a law suit with the EPA, the state of New Jersey and the city of Newark in 2006 due to their lack of sufficient cleaning procedures. Because of this, PSEG installed a 700 million dollar selective catalytic reduction system. We found that this system was ultimately able to reduce their emissions by 88 percent in 2010. All data found here.
The Standard Chlorine Site was deemed a Superfund Site by the EPA in 2001. According to a Public Health Assessment released in 2005 by the US Department of Health and Human Services, the 25-acre site contains tanks and drums holding dioxin and asbestos contaminants, soil filled with various contaminants and PCB in the vicinity of a former transformer. As stated in the report, all areas of this site appear to drain directly into the Hackensack River. This possesses an environmental health threat which has warranted warnings against the consumption of fish, especially crab, from the Hackensack River. On either side of the Standard Chlorine Site sit the former Kopper’s Coke and Diamond Shamrock sites. A 2003 study conducted by the New Jersey Institute of Technology and North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, Inc. shows that although the Kopper’s Coke and Diamond Shamrock sites have not been given Superfund status, they also hold toxins in the soil which poss a threat to the river.
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