Environmental Toxins: Pace of Toxic Site Cleanup Criticized

U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Barbara Boxer say that the federal government is being too slow in its cleanup of toxic waste sites across the country. Boxer said that under the Bush administration the pace of toxic cleanups has dropped about 50% and is expected to fall further. "It is the community that pays . . . They have the right to know why the Environmental Protection Agency has not done more. There should be a light at the end of the tunnel," said Boxer.

Pace of Toxic Site Cleanup Criticized

New Jersey has the most Superfund sites in the country, in large part because of its industrial past. The Cornell-Dubilier site once was home to an electronics manufacturing plant from 1936 to 1962. During that time, the company contaminated the area with chemicals used to manufacture polychlorinated biphenyls, also known as PCBs. The EPA says that 18 buildings at the located are contaminated with PCBs and metals like mercury, chromium, lead, and arsenic.