PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — State legislators are trying to force an
Argentina-based oil company to help pay and remediate part of the river
despite the company filing for bankruptcy.
The lower 8 miles of the Passaic River is contaminated with dioxin, a
toxic compound that has been linked to cancer, pesticides and
polychlorinated biphenyls, from the former Diamond Alkali Co., which
operated in Newark. The company made DDT, Agent Orange and other
agricultural chemicals there in the 1950s and 1960s. Dioxin and
pesticides were found in sediment in the Lower Passaic River and local
groundwater in the 1980s. Other companies that operated along the river
also contributed to the pollution, officials said.
Legislators
heard testimony from about the about the extent of the contamination at a
panel discussion Tuesday. Assemblyman Kevin Rooney (D-40) said the
testimony was "troubling."
Rooney is co-sponsoring a resolution urging
state and federal authorities to investigate YPF S.A.'s bankruptcy
filing as a possible way of getting the company out of remediation
responsibility. Assemblyman Tim Eustace (D-38) is the legislation's
primary sponsor. A similar resolution exists in the state Senate.
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