Update to the May 2010 Health Exposure Study Recommendation

June 1, 2018

The June 2009 judicial consent judgment (the “Consent Judgment”) in which the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the City of Jersey City and PPG agreed on a process for addressing PPG’s chromium cleanup sites in Hudson County assigned the Site Administrator with a number of duties, including the following:

Review previous and ongoing health studies concerning the health impacts of chromium in Hudson County and consult with experts in the field and, if necessary, to recommend a protocol for a future medical study (health exposure study), that would monitor the people living within the vicinity of the Garfield Avenue Site to ascertain chromium exposure risks.

As required, the Site Administrator at the time, W. Michael McCabe, reviewed more than 50 relevant health studies and consulted with top health and science experts in the field. In May 2010, Site Administrator McCabe issued his “Health Exposure Study Recommendation” (the “McCabe Report”).

The McCabe Report recommended the initiation of a comprehensive Community Health Exposure Prevention and Testing Program consisting of the following recommendations: (1) a comprehensive Air Monitoring Program to ensure the protection of the surrounding community during the remediation of the Garfield Avenue Site, (2) an accompanying health exposure program to determine whether the community is being exposed to hexavalent chromium related to the site cleanup, and (3) a mapping project using results from the Residential Inspection Program established by the Consent Judgment to outline areas of soil contamination, if detected.

On June 1, 2018, new Site Administrator Ronald J. Riccio issued his “Update to the May 2010 Health Exposure Study Recommendation” (the “Riccio Report”). The Riccio Report chronicles the work that has been done by PPG and the parties to the Consent Judgment to implement the recommendations made in the McCabe Report. The Riccio Report concludes that the McCabe Report recommendations have been successfully implemented.

In addition, the Riccio Report makes the following recommendations:

Air Monitoring Program: This Program shall continue at the PPG Sites during remedial activities. All data generated from the Program shall continue to be uploaded to the Chromium Cleanup Partnership web site. In addition, all such data and any future modifications to the Air Monitoring Plan that are required due to changing conditions at the PPG Sites will be reviewed by the Independent Technical Consultant and approved by NJDEP.

Health Exposure Testing: No further health testing activities are planned at this time.

Residential Inspection Program: It is recommended that this Program be discontinued, unless good cause exists to reopen the Program on a case-by-case basis with respect to residents located in the Program Area.

The McCabe Report can be downloaded in English and Spanish. The Riccio Report can also be downloaded in English and Spanish. Please be aware the Spanish versions were translated from the English. In the case of any discrepancies between the English and Spanish versions, the original English version shall control.