Urban Environmenta l Justice
Urban Environmental Justice: Newark's Ironbound District, A.Slideshow
Jan 19, 2015
Learn about the terrible environmental conditions that the 50,000 residents of the Ironbound District, part of Newark's East Ward, live with every day. This slide show presented by the environmental education and activism business, "Envision Blue/Green," will shock you. It will illustrate for you exactly why you should care about this neighborhood which may be located only a few miles from your own neighborhood. Tourists flock daily to the Ironbound shops & restaurants, especially the many Portugese ones, but few know where these streets lead or what's in the air they are breathing. Toxic air, toxic water, toxic soil. The children of the Ironbound have an asthma rate of 1 in 4 as compared with the average 1 in 12 in the rest of NJ. Beginning long ago during the Industrial Revolution, literally 'bound' by railroads and bordering a seaport, then later crisscrossed and surrounded by major highways and finally Newark Airport, this neighborhood was & is a major transportation hub --the largest gateway into the U.S. on the east coast. And all that traffic pours pollution into the air day and night. Meanwhile the huge trash incinerator, oil terminals, chemical companies, power producers, and other manufacturing plants spew smoke into the air. Poisonous fumes and particle dust containing neurotoxins like mercury, dioxin, and lead along with many other pollutants that cause lung disease and other serious illnesses. The soil that children walk to school across and run around on when they're throwing a football or tossing a frisbee, is TOXIC. In fact, the largest dioxin superfund site in the world is located here where pesticides and then Agent Orange were manufactured for years. And 17 miles of the Passaic River flowing past is, in and of itself, a superfund site. And both the sewage treatment plant and a huge municipal and solid waste treatment facility are both located there. And during major storms like Hurricanes Irene & Sandy? The river overflows its banks, flooding the neighborhood, spreading toxic sludge into businesses and homes. The people of the Ironbound are our neighbors. Literally the neighbors of other working class neighborhoods and towns as well as many upper middle class and wealthy communities in Essex and Union Counties. It says in the Bible, "Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself." Organizations like the Ironbound Community Corporation fight for environmental justice, but they need the help of their neighbors. Your house of worship, club, community organization, student group, or any group of concerned citizens can join the movement to stop this injustice in its tracks and create a healthier world for the people of the Ironbound, of all of Newark, of Essex County, and of the world. No one--no CHILD--should ever have to breathe poisonous air or crawl on toxic soil. Not yours. Not any child in the Ironbound District. Please join the Envision Blue/Green movement to help create a healthier planet for all earth's inhabitants.
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Urban Environment
al Justice
12 miles or Less from towns like summit & Short Hills NJ & only 7 miles from Beautiful Maplewood
J Ust a stroll outside the doors of Newark penn station
Summit, Short Hills, Millburn
The Ironbound& Newark Airport
South Orange & Maplewood
Just on the other side of the railway wall…
…lies the Ironbound Disctrict – Famous for it’s
portugese restaurants and colorful shops
The IRONBOUND is a 4 square mile section of Newark’s East Ward. With 50,000 residents, it is the most densely populated section of Newark.
It is a community just like yours, whose residents care about having a quality of life that all human beings deserve. Especially for their children. And so they founded
an organization called the Ironbound Community Corporation or ICC in 1969.
THE ICC SPONSORS WONDERFUL EVENTS FOR ITS RESIDENTS SUCH AS:
The IRONBOUND COMMUNITY CORPORATION is proud of their home. But it has done so much more for its residents than simply sponsoring festivals or other special events. Between 2010 & 2013 alone, they: Celebrated the opening of 15 acres of Riverfront Park Began construction on a new $6 million Early Head Start Center, adjacent to and integrated with
Preschool, creating a model infant-4 program. Developed new community garden projects Opened an 80 unit affordable housing building, the Ironbound’s first in 30 years
But the Ironbound is both literally and figuratively ‘Bound’ Bound by its geography Bound by its history Bound by iron railroad tracks
1904
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD
Lehigh Valley R.R.
The Ironbound
The Ironbound is still bound by the railroads and Port Elizabeth that were built during the Industrial Revolution, but is now also at the crossroads of multiple highways & interstates and bordered by Newark International Airport
The Ironbound, the East Coast’s largest commercial entryway into the U.S.
Historic “Newark Waterfront,” Boylan Fitzgerald, b. 1909
The remains of all this pollution lays in the riverbed & in the soil. And the ongoing toxic emissions & waste disposal from chemical plants, factories, and a massive trash incinerator further contaminates the soil & water.
The Ironbound was a natural crossroads with its proximity to Port Elizabeth and the Passaic & Hudson Rivers and NYC. And so with trains arriving from all different directions along with the shipments, factories sprang up. As long ago as 1881, The New York Times printed an article entitled, “The Polluted Passaic”
Decades & decades of pre-regulation industrial dumping and air pollution along with the heavy concentration of rail, port, and later, highway, & air traffic. All of which continue to flow past and above the neighborhood in a steady stream
Site of Diamond Shamrock Chemical Companywhich began manufacturing Agent Orange in the 1950’s
DIOXIN!
17 Mile Passaic River Superfund Site
DioxinSuperfund Site
1950’SINDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
PRESENT DAYMERCURY!
Covanta’s Incinerator
AGENT ORANGE!
Passic River
Phase 1 Removal
Phase 2 Removal
What Remains of Years & Years of the Manufacturing of Pesticides & Agent Orange
Cardolite Corp. Manufacturing Epoxy Resins & Chemicals for the Automotive Brake Industry
Troy Chemicals, Preservatives, Additives, Coatings, Plastics & More December 2013, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed to add the Troy Chemical Corp. site in Newark, New Jersey to its Superfund list of the country’s most hazardous waste sites. Ironbound
East Ward
Clean Earth of North NJ,Soil & Waste Processing
Synthetic Flavoring & Fragrances, Petrochemicals
Motiva Oil Terminal
Other Corporations Emitting Air Pollution In and Near Newark’s East Ward
Reichhold Chemicals,Resins & Coatings
Doremus Terminal, LLCApex Oil Company
Chafing Fuels
CWC,Metallic Foils
Polymer Extruded ProductsPlastic Film & Sheeting
Synthetic Flavors, FragrancesAdhesives & Sealants
Deleet Merchandising, Printing Equipment
Paints, Stains, Solvents
Roofing & Asphalt
Oil CompanyOil Company Oil Company
Polyurethane &Other Coatings
MERCURY
TOXIC CHEMICALS
“Toxic Release Inventory” In 2004:150,000 lbs of 56 toxic chemicals including hydrazine,
benzene, & mercury were released from 23 facilities in the
Ironbound
Youth marched with Ironbound Community Corporation from a community garden and compost site to the Covanta incinerator, demanding clean air
Thanks to pressure from the Ironbound Community Corporation and Greenfaith, in March of 2012, an agreement was reached with the Port Authority of New York & NJ, who own the garbage incinerator (which is on long-term lease to Covanta, the energy producer), to make a $75 million upgrade to better control emissions, especially of particulate matter.
PSE&G’s Coal Burning Power Plant on the Hackensack
River, near the Ironbound
Two of the leading sources for mercury
pollution are coal burning power
plants and incinerators
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Empower our Youth!
Particulate Matter: What’s Killing People NOW
Newark children suffer from a 1 in 4
ASTHMA RATE, three times higher
than the state average of 1 in 12
Burning Toxins
NEUROTOXINS
ASTHMA & LUNG DISEASE
In the Ironbound neighborhood, storms like Hurricane Irene have brought major flooding (see map of “Flow of Contaminants”). Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge pushed the waters of Newark Bay and the Passaic River into areas that had never experienced tidal flooding before. The water not only carried highly contaminated sediments from these waterways, but as it washed across Superfund sites and industrial plants located along the shoreline it picked up further toxic chemicals. To make matters worse, the Passaic Valley Sewage Commission’s main treatment facility, that handles sewer effluent for much of northern New Jersey, was overwhelmed by the storm’s tidal surge, resulting in 3.1 billion gallons of untreated sewage being released into the water. This noxious brew poured into basements, homes and businesses.
Following the storm, New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection was remiss in providing residents with information and people were pumping water and cleaning up muck filled with PCB’s, Dioxin and the residue of raw sewage including high levels of E.Coli and coliform bacteria.
Passaic RiverToxic Floods
EnviroSolutions, DART facility, is, a rail served transfer station that uses ‘bale and rail’ technology. Over ninety-five percent of the outbound waste is transported via rail. “We take pride in servicing our customers and providing exceptional service - "The Answer to Waste.””
Aside from processing waste, DART is the place where much of Essex County’s recycling is processed. Recycling is a must, but this process also emits toxins into the air.
Disposal Materials Accepted• Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)• Construction & Demolition Debris (CDD)• Contaminated Soils• Residual• Filter Cake/Treatment Sludges• Drums• Auto Shredder Residue• Dredge Spoils• Certified Destruction of Products
DART, Doremus Avenue Recycling & Transfer StationEssex County’s Legal & Illegal Dumping Ground
ILLEGAL DUMPING
What’s in this mound & who dumped it here?
NEUROTOXINS BRAIN DAMAGE!
Toxic Soil, Toxic Water, Toxic Air
Soil at the Abandoned Tidewater Baling Site Contains PCB’s
MERCURY
This little bundle of joy is now a reservoir of mercury
Cleanup of PCB Contamination at Abandoned Tidewater Baling Facility
Even as the Department of Environmental Protection and state and city officials like Chris Christy & Corey Booker support efforts to clean up the toxic air, water, & soil in and around the Ironbound, more industries seek to build toxic waste facilities.
NJ has the most (114) federal Superfund sites in the country and more than 20,000 other toxic sites. The NJ DEP’s state cleanup program has been privatized, and now “Licensed Site Professionals” (LSP) are in charge of certifying cleanup with little or no DEP oversight. Given the inherent potential for abuse, the DEP must develop engineering performance measurements that challenge the certifications of cleanup by the LSP’s.
In July of 2012, in response to a request by Newark Energy Center for permits to build a natural gas power plant in the East Ward, more than a dozen speakers urged officials from The Department of Environmental Protection to deny the permits. Following on the heels of the city’s planning board approval of an application by Hess Corp. to build a 655-megawatt plant in May, Jeff Tittel, director of the NJ Sierra Club said, “This is a dirty deal for dirty air that affects the lives and health of the people of Newark. DEP is permitting a health crisis by allowing more pollution into Newark and the Ironbound community.”
STOP the INJUSTICE!
Dredging the Passaic River
Long Overdue Incinerator Filters to be Installed
Environmental Justice Bus Tour
Groups like GreenFaith work together with the Ironbound Community Corporation to educate citizens—neighbors of the Ironbound, about the Environmental Injustices
they live with every day
“Ironbound Athletic Field B”
LEAD!
Until it was closed in 2009, 3-6 year old children played daily on this LEAD CONTAMINATED artificial turf athletic field
over the span of 8 years
Where Can the Children of the Ironbound Play?
Newark’s Riverfront Park
Just beside “Athletic Field B” is the new Ironbound Community Center. Housing an ice rink and a beautiful state if the art swimming pool. However, the ground upon which the center was built is so toxic, that the building was designed so that the pool is suspended above the ground.
As of 2004, there were over 100
contaminated & hazardous waste sites in the East Ward
Ironbound Recreation
Center
IRONBOUND An History of Determinated People of All Ethnicity's Against The
Indifference, Unmoral, Provocative Environmental Discrimination Suffered That
"...Never Lets The Flame Die"
Essex County’s Maplewood Mayor & former Ironbound resident, Vic Deluca
“One law rules over all other laws. This royal
law is found in the Scriptures: “Love
your neighbor the same as you love
yourself.” If you obey this law, you are doing
right.”James 2:8
Ironbound mother drops off her 23 month old daughter at the early Head Start Program
They are our NEIGHBORS
Community Garden
Riverfront Park
“Picturing Justice” New Jersey Institute of Technology Professor of Architecture & Ironbound Resident, Troy West
engages students in ways to better their communities
Urban Environmental
Justice
Envision…
…then change the world!Contact Envision Blue/Green Owner, Andrea Correll at [email protected] to learn about this or other Environmental Justice Projects
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