In New Jersey, five chemical companies polluted the state’s water for years with a long-lasting, cancer-causing family of chemicals. Now, the state is directing those companies to clean up the mess.
According to NJ.com, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) issued a directive to five companies – Chemours, Dow DuPont, DuPont, Solvay and 3M – aimed at addressing the contamination of PFAS chemicals.
The chemicals have been linked to cancer and other health effects, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Under the new directive, which the NJDEP called “groundbreaking,” the named companies are required to disclose all information related to their use and discharge of PFAS chemicals in New Jersey. According to NJ.com, the companies will also be held financially responsible for the remediation and treatment of PFAS-related contamination in the state.
“The PFAS group of chemicals are ubiquitous in our environment and pose significant health risks to the public,” said Catherine McCabe, NJDEP Commissioner. “In issuing this directive, we are putting these five companies on notice that many years of contaminating New Jersey’s precious drinking water and other natural resources will not go unchecked. On behalf of all New Jerseyans, we will hold these companies accountable and insist that they step up to address the problem they have created.”
According to NJ.com, McCabe said Solvay will be expected to pay more than $3 million for remediation work that was already done in West Deptford, where the company used perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) from 1985 to 2010. McCabe said she was unsure at this point how much more money the companies will need to commit to clean up.
“We have already spent over $3 million in responding to the contamination in West Deptford," McCabe said. "So we’re asking Solvay to cut us a check, to reimburse us for our costs.”
Company spokesman David Klucsik said Solvay is reviewing the new directive and will respond “appropriately,” according to NJ.com.
“Solvay has been responding to the presence of compounds in the vicinity of its West Deptford plant and has implemented remedial activities,” Klucsik said. “Solvay shares the information it gathers with the NJDEP, and Solvay maintains an ongoing dialogue with the Department and other stakeholders around its West Deptford site.”
