Health Consultation: Borough of Wildwood Crest Neighborhood Impacted by the Dupont Department of Public Works Facility Wildwood Crest, Cape May County, New Jersey

摘要

In September 2007, a concerned citizen petitioned the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry regarding potential environmental exposures to hazardous chemicals from the Borough of Wildwood Crest Department of Public Works Facility site, located in Wildwood Crest, Cape May County, New Jersey. The facility was used as a community dump in the 1950s and 1960s. The site was also used as a temporary staging area for items containing hazardous materials, and there were underground storage tanks at the facility. The primary health concern is cancer allegedly related to exposures to contaminants from the Department of Public Works Facility. The petition was accepted in October 2008. Benzene, ethylbenzene and xylene concentrations detected in on-site subsurface soil and benzene concentration in groundwater were identified as the contaminants of concern for the site. The contaminated soils were excavated and removed from the site and the groundwater monitoring results did not identify any subsurface contaminant plume. Based on a review of all site-related information, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is in the process of issuing a No Further Action Letter and Covenant Not to Sue decision for the site. As such, there is no current or past completed human exposure pathway associated with the site. Although past use of the site as a staging area for the disposal of hazardous substances may have exposed some residents to these chemicals (e.g., paint, solvents and gasoline), it is unlikely that the levels were high enough to result in widespread health concerns.