100 In N.J. Town Possibly Exposed To Toxic Chemicals, Suit Claims

One New Jersey town could have as many as 100 people exposed to harmful and potentially deadly chemicals, a lawsuit claims.

Homeowners in Carteret have banded together to file a suit against U.S. Metals Refining Company alleging that 80 years of extracting copper has polluted nearby properties and exposed residents to unsafe levels of lead and arsenic, according to nj.com.

The suit also seeks to force the company to cover the costs of specialized medical monitoring for the residents, which could total to about 100 people, according to the report. So far, no one in the area has shown any signs of illness, but residents believe it's important for them to be continually monitored beyond standard physicals, according to the report.

Carteret Mayor Daniel J. Reiman, who said the civil suit covers issues the municipality couldn't address in its own lawsuit, told nj.com that "we've gone after any of these chemical operations that have done business in Carteret and have left without cleaning up."

In an emailed statement, the company told nj.com: "USMR has completed remediation of most of the former smelter site and has commenced a program to sample, and if necessary, clean up soil that exceeds regulatory thresholds at residential and commercial properties near the historic smelter site."

Arsenic typically is a naturally-occurring element in the earth’s crust, and traces of arsenic can be found throughout the environment, according to New Jersey officials.

Arsenic is one of a relatively small number of chemicals that has been classified by USEPA as a known human carcinogen, based on human epidemiological data. Ingestion of large amounts of inorganic arsenic is associated with increased risk of several types of cancer in humans including skin, lung, liver, kidney and urinary bladder.

The Department of Environmental Protection requires monitoring for arsenic at more than 600 public community water systems and 900 non-transient, non-community systems, which combined serve around 85 percent of the state's population.

Arsenic in drinking water is odorless, tasteless and colorless. The only way to tell if arsenic is present is to test for it. If you decide to test your well, the DEP recommends that you use a laboratory that is DEP-certified to conduct low level arsenic analyses.

Patch file photo