Politics & Government
16 Contaminated Military Sites In NJ Flagged As High, Medium Risk
16 contaminated military sites in New Jersey present a high or medium risk to the public, new reporting published by ProPublica says.
New Jersey has 78 properties or installations currently or formerly owned by the Department of Defense that have at least one hazardous site. Sixteen of these installations have at least one high or medium risk hazardous site, according to data released from the DOD that was acquired and published by ProPublica.
According to ProPublica, which has been documenting toxic pollution left behind by the military across the country, there are more than 40,000 such hazardous sites polluted by U.S. military operations.
Through its reporting, ProPublica found that many of these sites have extensive groundwater and soil pollution or present a risk of exploding bombs and munitions. Some of these sites are part of old facilities that may not be known locally even though a risk of exposure to contaminants may still be present. ProPublica also notes that contamination could affect an area much larger than the site itself.
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According to ProPublica, past and estimated future costs of hazardous sites cleanup in New Jersey is $1.2 billion.
The New Jersey installations with at least one high or medium risk site are:
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(Click on the installation for further details)
- Picatinny Arsenal, Morris County (high risk)
- McGuire Air Force Base, Burlington County
- Colts Neck NWS Earle, Monmouth County
- Fort Dix, Burlington County
- Fort Monmouth, Monmouth County (high risk)
- Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station, Ocean County (high risk)
- Raritan Arsenal, Middlesex County (high risk)
- Atlantic City Mun, Atlantic County
- Fort Hancock, Monmouth County (high risk)
- Millville Bombing and Gunnery Range, Cumberland County
- Atlantic City Naval Air Station, Atlantic County (high risk)
- Burlington Army Ammunition Plant, Burlington County (high risk)
- Palermo Communications Facility, Cape May County (high risk)
- Naval Air Station - Cape May, Cape May County (high risk)
- Deal Test Site, Monmouth County (high risk)
- Green Creek Bombing Target Site, Cape May County
PHOTO by Patch, Bryan Littel
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