2010 / Q2 News Briefs

Mike McCabe, seated, meets with resident at recent public meeting.
Experts answer residents' questions in one-on-one setting spacer

JERSEY CITY, N.J., June 27, 2010 – Members of the Chromium Cleanup Partnership met with residents and answered questions in a one-on-one setting during an information session Thursday night.

Partnership members fielded a wide range of questions for two hours at the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center
in connection with PPG Industries' cleanup activities at the Garfield Avenue site, which are scheduled to begin in early July.

Representatives were also available to respond to questions about supplier opportunities at cleanup sites, the residential inspection program, health topics and steps being taken to protect the community's health during cleanup activities.

Mike McCabe, the independent, court-appointed site administrator to PPG's cleanups, began the meeting with brief opening comments. Area residents then met with more than 15 individuals from the site administrator's staff, the independent technical consultant and contractors for PPG, including the company's lead environmental consultant and the firm that will perform initial cleanup activities at the Garfield Avenue site.


McCabe presents at two meetings

JERSEY CITY, N.J., June 23, 2010 – The independent, court-appointed site administrator for PPG Industries' chromium cleanups made presentations to a caucus meeting of Jersey City's City Council and the Communipaw Avenue Block Association on Monday night.

On both occasions, Mike McCabe reviewed the court settlement that created a five-year goal for the cleanup of all PPG chromium waste sites and the activities undertaken by PPG, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the City of Jersey City since the document was signed nearly a year ago. For example, McCabe cited the creation of a master schedule for the cleanup of all 20 sites by the end of 2014 and a program that enables residents living near the Garfield Avenue site to have their homes inspected if they suspect the presence of chrome in or on their property.

McCabe also focused on the initial cleanup work that is about to begin at the Garfield Avenue site next month and steps being implemented to protect community health while the work is under way. Among the safety measures is a dust-control plan that includes the water misting of work areas and restricting truck traffic to paved areas on site. An air-monitoring program, meanwhile, is designed to prevent exposure to chromium dust.

McCabe concluded his presentations by encouraging area residents to attend the one-on-one information session scheduled for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center, 140 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Jersey City.


Experts on cleanup available June 24 for one-on-one talks

JERSEY CITY, N.J., June 17, 2010 – With the cleanup about to begin at the Garfield Avenue chromium waste site, Jersey City residents and interested parties can ask their questions in one-on-one discussions with members of the Chromium Cleanup Partnership in an information session June 24.

Experts will be available to answer questions on a variety of topics including protective measures that will be in place throughout the cleanup; the residential inspection program; supplier opportunities; health studies; and the remaining four-year timetable for cleanup completion.

Mike McCabe, the independent, court-appointed site administrator for 20 site cleanups, including the Garfield Avenue site, will participate in the meeting, which will be conducted from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center, 140 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Jersey City.

If unable to attend, residents and interested parties can ask their questions by:

  • Calling 201-777-2099;
  • Sending an e-mail to info@chromecleanup.com; or
  • Writing to Chromium Cleanup Partnership, P.O. Box 15981, Jersey City, N.J. 07305.

Deadline is June 11 for blood-testing program

JERSEY CITY, N.J., June 6, 2010 – The deadline for residents living near the Garfield Avenue cleanup site to sign up for participation in a voluntary blood testing program is June 11.

The testing program is open to residents living south of Bramhall Avenue, west of Halladay Street, east of Ocean Avenue and north of Bayview Avenue.

At the suggestion of residents, Mike McCabe, the independent, court-appointed site administrator for PPG Industries’ cleanups, is offering the program to test volunteers’ blood for recent exposure to hexavalent chromium before, during and after cleanup activities at the site.

Click here for a signup form. Forms can be returned by mail to the Chromium Cleanup Partnership at P.O. Box 15981, Jersey City, N.J. 07305. Residents can also drop off their forms at 334 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

Comprehensive protective measures will be in place throughout the cleanup and no unsafe exposure is expected, McCabe said. In fact, the proven steps being taken to protect the community are similar to those that have been used successfully at the Jersey City Honeywell site, which is nearing completion without incident.

The first round of testing will be conducted the third week of June, because ground-disturbing activities at the Garfield Avenue site are scheduled to begin the first week of July. After the initial testing, participants will be asked to provide a blood sample approximately every six months during the site cleanup process. The testing will be conducted at no cost to volunteers.

“It is important that as many residents as possible participate in the program,” McCabe said. “The more residents participate, the better we can monitor the effectiveness of exposure-prevention measures. “

McCabe added participants’ privacy is of “primary importance and personal information will be protected.” Participants will be contacted to make an appointment to have their blood drawn. Due to the need to accurately order necessary supplies and hire medical personnel, walk-ins on the day of sampling will not be tested.


Exposure protection, prevention plan shared with public

JERSEY CITY, N.J., May 29, 2010 – Approximately 50 Jersey City residents and interested parties attended a Chromium Cleanup Partnership meeting at the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center May 20 to learn about a program designed to protect and prevent exposure to chromium when cleanup activities begin at the Garfield Avenue site next month.

Developed by PPG Industries and its lead environmental consultant, AECOM, plans for dust control, air monitoring, traffic safety and site health and safety were presented. These plans were “reviewed and improved” before the meeting by  Mike McCabe, the independent, court-appointed site administrator of PPG’s cleanups; the independent technical consultant assigned to PPG’s cleanups; the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; and the City of Jersey City and its technical consultant.

A proven and comprehensive set of dust-suppression methods will be employed on the site during PPG’s cleanup, including the misting of work areas with water and limiting truck traffic to paved areas. A key feature of  the exposure prevention plan is an air action level 10 times tougher than the one at the Honeywell  site in Jersey City. Air action levels determine when additional dust- suppression methods are to be implemented and work is to be halted,
if required.

Waste material will be safely removed from the site using trucks whose beds are lined, covered and contained. Furthermore, truck traffic will be routed to minimize community impacts and noise. Safe work practices and procedures will be employed on site to protect workers and the public.

To supplement the plan to protect and prevent community exposure to chromium, McCabe is implementing a voluntary blood testing program for Jersey City residents, a measure included in his Health Exposure
Study Recommendation
.

The blood testing will be conducted before, during and after cleanup activities to determine whether community exposure to hexavalent chromium changes during and after the cleanup.

The testing program is open to residents living south of Bramhall Avenue, west of Halladay Street, east of Ocean Avenue and north of Bayview Avenue.  Deadline for submitting a sign-up form is Friday, June 11. Click here for more information about the testing program.

Removal of highly contaminated soils at the Garfield Site will begin in June and is expected to continue
until next February.


Public health plan for Garfield cleanup to be presented

JERSEY CITY, N.J., May 14, 2010 – A comprehensive program designed to protect public health while cleanup activities occur at the 900 Garfield Ave., chromium site beginning this summer will be the subject of a public meeting conducted by the Chromium Cleanup Partnership.

Mike McCabe, the independent, court-appointed site administrator for PPG Industries’ cleanups, including the 900 Garfield Ave., site, will chair the meeting, which will be conducted Thursday, May 20, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center, 140 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Jersey City.

The meeting will also include a discussion of McCabe’s recommended Community Health Exposure Prevention and Testing Program, which has been incorporated into the comprehensive health and safety plan for the 900 Garfield Ave. site.


Supplier Expo set for May 13

JERSEY CITY, N.J., May 11, 2010 – PPG Industries and its lead environmental consultant, AECOM, will conduct a Supplier Expo to raise awareness among Jersey City-based businesses about procurement processes and expected needs in connection with PPG’s chromium cleanups.

The meeting will be conducted May 13 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at PPG’s Garfield Avenue Renewal Company subsidiary, 334 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Jersey City.

The meeting is open to businesses that are based in Jersey City or maintain substantial operations within city limits.

A list of products and services PPG and its contractors might require in 2010 includes:

• Backfill

• Construction trailer rental and   setup

• Electricians, labor and materials

• Excavation and remediation   contractors

• Fencing, hay bale suppliers

• Frac tank rental, piping and   pumps

• Paving

• Plumbing

• Portable toilet rentals, servicing

• Roll-off rentals

• Security guards

• Sheet piling and setup for   excavations

• Street cleaning

• Surveying

• Tree cutting, clearing and weed   control

• Utility location

• Vacuum trucks

• Well drillers and Geoprobe   contractors

Individuals seeking employment at PPG cleanup sites should pursue opportunities with firms after they have been awarded contracts by PPG, AECOM or others. Firms awarded contracts with job openings will be offered the opportunity to advertise those openings on this website. Additionally, firms awarded contracts can maintain a list of openings at the office of the Garfield Avenue Renewal Company, which is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays, and by appointment.


Utility poles to be installed

JERSEY CITY, N.J., May 1, 2010 – Workers will install approximately 20 utility poles at the Garfield Avenue site beginning the week of May 3.

The utility poles are required to distribute electrical power for the air monitoring stations and construction trailers that will support the initial cleanup at the site beginning in June. The poles will be installed at the perimeter of the site inside the existing security fence along Garfield Avenue, Carteret Avenue, the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail line embankment and Forrest Street. The work is expected to last about three days.

The limited amount of material being removed to accommodate the poles will be placed in drums that will be transported to a secure, federally licensed disposal facility.

Workers will be dressed in protective gear such as hard hats, gloves and synthetic jump suits and boot covers in accordance with a health and safety plan approved by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection because they will be working in close proximity to hazardous materials. Individuals living and working near the site will not require special protection because monitoring measures will be in place to prevent them from being exposed to hazardous materials from the site.

Once the poles are in place, electricians will be on site for approximately three weeks to install wires and
initiate service.


Volunteers Needed For Blood Testing

JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 26, 2010 – A community blood-testing program for residents living near the Garfield Avenue site is being developed by the independent, court-appointed site administrator for PPG Industries’ chromium cleanups.

The sampling program will test volunteers for elevated exposure to hexavalent chromium before, during and after cleanup activities at the site, which PPG is responsible for cleaning up.

Residents south of Bramhall Avenue, west of Halladay Street, east of Ocean Avenue and north of Bayview Avenue in Jersey City are eligible for the program.

Details of the blood-testing program will be discussed at the May 20 public meeting on health exposure study recommendations, which will be conducted at the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center, 140 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Jersey City.

The community blood-testing program will be used to measure hexavalent chromium exposure before the cleanup begins so that subsequent sampling can detect if there is elevated exposure after work starts.

Site Administrator Mike McCabe said comprehensive protective measures are being taken to protect public health during cleanup activities. Based on experience at other cleanup sites, these proven measures will protect the surrounding community from elevated exposure.

Volunteers can enroll in the program by returning a sign-up form to: Chromium Cleanup Partnership P.O. Box 15981 Jersey City, N.J. 07305

Forms can also be sent via fax to: 201-777-2099.

Additional forms are also available at PPG’s Garfield Avenue Renewal Company office at 334 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Tuesday and Thursdays, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.


Plans for beginning cleanup focus of public meeting

JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 19, 2010 – Nearly 100 people attended a public meeting tonight conducted by the Chromium Cleanup Partnership to hear PPG Industries’ plans for the initial cleanup at the Garfield Ave. site and steps that will be taken to protect the public while the work is being conducted.

Scott Mikaelian, an engineer with AECOM, environmental consultant to PPG, said work to remove the most highly contaminated material, often referred to as green-gray mud, is scheduled to begin in June as a part of PPG’s efforts to test a variety of soil and groundwater cleanup technologies.

As a result, approximately 36,000 tons of green-gray mud will be excavated and disposed of at a federally licensed, off-site disposal facility, said Mikaelian during the two-hour meeting at the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center. To reach the green-gray mud, PPG will be required to remove approximately 10,000 tons, or about 4 acres, of concrete slabs at the 16-acre chromium cleanup site.

To ensure that safe conditions are maintained during all cleanup activities at the site, PPG will implement a combination of permanent and mobile air monitoring stations that will continuously monitor air quality.  Air monitoring results will be posted weekly on this Web site.

In addition, PPG will implement comprehensive dust suppression methods while work is being conducted, including  water misting of work areas and requiring trucks to drive only on paved areas of the site.

Waste material will be removed from the site using specially prepared trucks. Furthermore, all trucks will be washed twice and inspected before leaving the site to prevent soil from being tracked off-site. Mikaelian added the site will continue to have a fence and 24-hour security.

Meanwhile, Prabal Amin of Weston Solutions, the independent technical consultant for PPG’s cleanups, provided the audience with an overview of the process for the approval of final cleanup plan for the site. Once it has fully determined the extent of contamination at the site, PPG will test a variety of cleanup methods, which is scheduled to begin later this year. Information from these tests will be included in a list of potential cleanup alternatives submitted by the company.

Cleanup alternatives will be reviewed by the independent technical consultant, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the City of Jersey City, the developer and the community. Selection of the final cleanup measure or measures is scheduled to be made by NJDEP in early 2012 with implementation to begin in the Spring of 2012.

Deputy Mayor Kabili Tayari led the meeting in the absence of Mike McCabe, the independent, court-appointed site administrator for PPG’s cleanups, who could not attend for health reasons. Site Administrator/Project Manager Brian McPeak provided an update on a program that offers property owners near cleanup sites to have their residences inspected for the presence of chrome waste. And Markis Abraham, chairman of the Citizen Advisory Board, addressed the audience, explaining the objectives of the eight-member panel selected by Mayor Healy to advise to city officials on PPG’s cleanups. 


Meeting on proposed cleanup plans to be held April 19 : Chrome Cleanup Begins This June

JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 15, 2010 -- Cleanup work is about to begin at the Garfield Avenue site, and details concerning plans to start removing the most highly contaminated waste will be presented at an upcoming
public meeting.

PPG has proposed work plans for initial cleanup activities at the Garfield Avenue chromium site, as well as steps to protect public health while the work is being conducted. These proposed plans will be the focus of a public meeting on Monday, April 19, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center, 140 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Jersey City.

Mike McCabe, the independent, court-appointed site administrator with oversight responsibility for PPG’s cleanups, will chair the meeting.

Representatives from PPG Industries, which is responsible for the cleanup at the Garfield Avenue site, will present details on proposed cleanup plans. Representatives from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Jersey City will be present, too.

Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback. No preregistration is required.

If unable to attend, residents and interested parties can share their thoughts with members of the partnership by:

• Calling 201-777-2099;

• Sending an e-mail to info@chromecleanup.com; or

• Writing to Chromium Cleanup Partnership, P.O. Box 15981, Jersey City, N.J. 07305.

Information about the partnership’s activities is also available at its Web site, www.chromecleanup.com.


April 19 meeting to focus on cleanup at 900 Garfield Ave.

JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 1, 2010 – Initial cleanup activities proposed for the Garfield Avenue chromium site and steps to protect public health while the work is being conducted will be the subject of a public meeting on Monday, April 19, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center, 140 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive,
Jersey City.

Mike McCabe, the independent, court-appointed site administrator with oversight responsibility for PPG’s cleanups, will chair the meeting.

Representatives from PPG Industries, which is responsible for the cleanup at the Garfield Avenue site, will present details on proposed cleanup plans. Representatives from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Jersey City will be present, too.

Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback. No preregistration is required.