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Environmental Concerns In New Jersey Essay

Disposing of Waste Properly The superfund site that is the subject of this assignment is Chemsol, Incorporated. This site is located in the town of Piscataway, New Jersey. It is on a "40-acre tract of land" (EPA, 2015). Moreover, it is in the midst of an inhabited, residential region. This region includes both single family homes and apartments. The site was active throughout the 1950's until approximately the midway point of the 1960s. Other significant points of interest about the site itself are its proximity to large numbers of people. The site is near one of New Jersey's Interstate highways, which is traversed by myriad people all times of day and night. Additionally, there is a railroad that borders the site, which has also accommodated copious amounts of traffic both during the time the site was operable and in the many decades since it became inoperable. It is also worth noting that part of the site is in close proximity to land that has been dedicated to commercial usage. That commercial usage of the land includes both retail and wholesale activity, the former of which is likely frequented by those living in the residential portion of the land bordering the site, in addition to whichever people frequent those businesses via the aforementioned infrastructure. Chemsol, Inc. functioned as "a solvent recovery and...

Significantly, the site was eventually shut down because a series of accidents, including fire, took place on its grounds.
The major threats to the community that this site poses includes both water and soil contamination. Additionally, during the time in which it operated, airborne pollution was also a likely threat to the surrounding community. The water and ground pollution has been confirmed by the Environmental Protection Agency. The former involves contaminating wells and water supplies which are used by the surrounding residential and commercial businesses. The latter involves a contamination of the grounds of the site, which can possibly spread to the soil in the vicinity of the residential and commercial properties surrounding the site. Therefore, the community is in danger of drinking contaminated water, or utilizing such noxious water for the purpose of either cleaning or bathing. Similarly, the community is in danger of attempting to grow food in soil that is contaminated and which produces harmful food. There is a possibility…

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Environmental Protection Agency. (2015). EPA Superfund Program: Chemsol, Inc., Piscataway, NJ. http://cumulis.epa.gov / Retrieved from http://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0200607

Environmental Protection Agency. (2015). Site information for Chemsol, Inc. http://cumulis.epa.gov / http://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/dsp_ssppSiteData1.cfm?id=0200607#Status
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