To address community concerns, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), the City of Jersey City and PPG Industries have established a program in which residents living near PPG chromium cleanup sites can request an inspection of their homes if they suspect chromium waste is in or on their property.

Homes within 400 feet of PPG cleanup sites in Jersey City and Bayonne are eligible for the program as well as homes south of Bramhall Avenue, west of Halladay, east of Ocean Avenue and north of Bayview in Jersey City. Residential-related properties located within these boundaries, such as daycare centers, school and playgrounds, are also eligible.  A renter can request an inspection but the property owner must approve and grant access to the property. Commercial properties are not eligible for the program.

Ron Riccio, the independent, court-appointed site administrator overseeing  PPG’s chromium cleanups, will administer the program.  Residential property inspection, testing and/or remediation will be assigned the highest priority in his scheduling of site work.  

Each property will be handled on a case-by-case basis, and residents will be consulted at every step of the process.  PPG will pay for the cost of inspections, required cleanup work and restoration of properties to their conditions at the time the cleanups began.

If chromium waste is detected below state-required cleanup levels, no action is necessary. Chromium waste that exceeds cleanup standards must be cleaned up to standards.

Chromate refining operations in Hudson County generated approximately 2 million tons of a waste product known as chromate chemical production waste or CCPW, which contains hexavalent chromium.  Exposure to hexavalent chromium may have significant health effects.  CCPW is solid material that often has the characteristics of dirt and was widely used as residential and commercial construction fill material in Jersey City.

Many residential sites were identified and cleaned up 20 years ago. However, continuing concerns in the community led to the creation of the program, which is part of the 2009 agreement in which NJDEP, the city and PPG agreed to work together to clean up 20 chromium sites for which the company is responsible.

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