Waterfront South
 Waterfront
South is a desolate industrial section of
Camden City with large numbers of known contaminated
sites and many still-active polluting industries. Pockets
of remaining residential neighborhoods are mixed throughout
this industrial wasteland of at least seven
scrap metal recyclers and junkyards, a petroleum coke
transfer station, several auto body shops, a paint
and varnish company, a chemical company and three food
processing plants and the large and dusty G.P. Gypsum
plant. Despite strong neighborhood opposition, Camden
County has continued to use these neighborhoods as
a dumping ground for undesirable and polluting facilities.
The erection of the sewage treatment plant was followed
by a regional trash-to-steam incinerator, one of the
largest in the state, and by a cogeneration power plant
in the early 1990s.
>>>
take an online EJ tour of South Camden/Waterfront South
Studies show that this environmental injustice has taken
a toll: Residents
of these polluted neighborhoods have unusually high rates
of respiratory diseases, especially asthma. Camden City residents
also have elevated rates of cancer of the lung, esophagus,
stomach, liver, kidney, and pancreas.
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The
Camden Waterfront South neighborhood
is located in Census tract: # 6018.
Its boundaries are:
North: Atlantic Avenue,
South: Newton Creek,
East: I-676, and
West: Delaware
River. |
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South Camden is
exposed to the highest air toxics exposures in New Jersey.
The study employed a suite of inventory, modeling and monitoring
methods to identify exposure to air toxics in the neighborhood. The
study also generated a set of risk reduction strategies.
South Camden was already an area of concern as an Environmental
Justice community. The
Final Report, published in August 2005,
is available on the Internet (pdf file
- 80 pages). The author of the report is Joann Held, Project
Manager, Bureau of Air Quality Evaluation, New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection, P.O. Box 027, Trenton, NJ 08625;
telephone number (609) 633-1110.
 "The
toxic air pollutants of greatest concern are those that cause
serious health problems or affect many people. Health problems
can include cancer, respiratory irritation, nervous system
problems, and birth defects.
Some health problems occur very
soon after a person inhales a toxic air pollutant. These
immediate effects may be minor, such as watery eyes. Or they
may be serious, such as life-threatening lung damage. Other
health problems may not appear until many months or years
after a person's first exposure to the toxic air pollutant.
Cancer is one example of a delayed health problem. "
>>> READ
THE FULL REPORT (EPA, March 1991)
Environmental
Sciences Seminar
April
25, 2008, 2:15PM
in the ENRS Bldg, Room 223 . Seminars are open
to all faculty, staff, and students.
Refreshments
at 2:00 PM.
Abstract:
Spatial
Variation of Volatile Organic Compounds
in a "Hot Spot" in New Jersey
Zhi-Hua
(Tina) Fan
Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
Institute
UMDNJ - Rutgers
The spatial variations of volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) were characterized in the Village of Waterfront
South neighborhood (WFS), a "hot spot" for
air toxics in Camden, NJ. This was accomplished
by conducting "spatial saturation sampling" for
11 VOCs using passive samplers at 22 sites in
WFS and 16 sites in Copewood/Davis Streets neighborhood
(CDS), an urban reference location. Sampling
durations were 24 and 48 hours. For all 3 sampling
campaigns (2 in summer and 1 in winter), spatial
variations and mean concentrations of toluene,
ethylbenzene, and xylenes (TEX) were found significantly
higher (p < 0.05) in the "hot spot",
WFS, than in CDS, where the spatial distributions
of these compounds were relatively uniform. The
highest concentrations of methyl tert-butyl ether
(MTBE) (maximum of 159 µg/m3) were always
found at one site close to a facility in WFS
during all 3 sampling campaigns. Poo r corr elation
was found between TEX and MTBE in WFS but high
correlation was observed among these species
in CDS. These observations indicated significant
impact from local stationary sources on the ambient
levels of TEX and MTBE in WFS but mobile sources
for these pollutants in CDS. The spatial variation
of benzene in WFS was found to be marginal higher
(p = 0.057) than in CDS during one sampling campaign,
but similar in the other two sampling periods.
A correlation of R > 0.8 was found between
benzene and MTBE in both areas, suggesting benzene
being primarily emitted from mobile sources.
The low concentrations of chloroform (0.02-0.23 µg/m3)
and carbon tetrachloride (0.45-0.51 µg/m3)
and homogenous spatial distributions (%RSD < 24%)
of these two species indicated contribution from
regional background in both WFS and CDS. Proximity
analysis results showed that the inverse distances
to local roads contributed significantly to the
variability (1-41%) of M TBE an d BTEX in CDS.
In contrast, only the inverse distances to industrial
sources were found to be significant predictors
for the variability (16-46%) of these compounds
in WFS. Wind speed and temperature were found
to affect the concentrations and spatial distribution
of VOCs significantly. Further, results showed
that the sampling at the fixed monitoring site
underestimated air pollutant levels in a small
community, particularly in a "hot spot" area.
The study demonstrated that the "spatial
saturation sampling" can provide robust
data for conducting accurate assessment of local
community air pollution, helping to identify
potential sources of concerns, is cost effective,
timely and a valuable approach for future air
pollution and exposure research in communities.
Department
of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University
(last retrieved 04/02/2008
)
Note: This presentation reports findings
from a Health Effects Institute
(HEI)- funded project, "Personal and Ambient
Exposures to Air Toxics in Camden New Jersey" -
Dr. Paul J. Lioy, P.I. 12/03-12/06 $864,347 Environmental
and Occupational
Health Sciences Institute, (EOHSI)
Personal Exposures to
and Spatial Variations of Air Toxics in a “Hot Spot” in
Camden,
New Jersey. PJ Lioy, Z Fan, J Zhang, P Georgopoulos,
SW Wang, PA Ohman, JL Held,
and LJ Bonanno -- Read
abstract of findings
For more information on Mobile-Source Air Toxics
and Health Effects, click
here!
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 South
Camden residents have organized themselves and forged alliances
with others to put polluters on notice and prepare for the
battles that lie ahead. ... South Camden Citizens In Action
(SCCIA) came together in 1997 when a local nonprofit organization
in Waterfront South decided to sponsor a grassroots neighborhood
planning project. Its members were mostly African-American,
mostly women, all low-income and some in poor health. They
were not experienced activists, but they were long-time residents
of Camden and shared a commitment to making their community
safer and more livable.
>>> READ
THE FULL ARTICLE
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Each of these facilities was identified
in the risk assessment step as having a significant
impact in Waterfront South for one or more of the 10
pollutants with predicted risk ratios of 1.0 or more.
(Source: Camden
Waterfront South Air Toxics Pilot Project,
NJ DEP, Aug 2005: p. 31)
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Three areas in Camden Waterfront South - in the
vicinity of GP Gypsum, Camden Iron and Metal, and
Colonial Processing - have potential concentrations
more than 10% higher than the annual standard, with
a maximum predicted impact 30% above the standard
near Colonial Processing. (Source: Camden
Waterfront South Air Toxics Pilot Project, NJ
DEP, Aug 2005: p. 32)
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The
NJ DEP's EJ Program did an extensive series of studies
and risk assessments of Waterfront South in Camden,
NJ. On this website are many reports from 1991 - 2005)
