LETTERS

From the issue of Aug. 16, 2007.

Save dollars, not wells
To the editor:
   The South Brunswick Post recently reported that South Brunswick Wells No. 11 and No. 13 are contaminated with radioactivity (radium etc.). The radioactive elements can be removed using a zeolite filter similar to a home water softener. But the price of the filters to remove the radioactivity was stated to exceed several million dollars.
   The cost of removing radioactivity from well water does not end with the equipment cost. It costs money to pump the water through the filter. When the filter material is saturated it must be replaced, another cost. The used material is radioactive. The cost of transporting and disposing of a quantity of radioactive material may be very high. Further, a special room and equipment may be needed to handle the radioactive material and package it for shipment. Personnel may be exposed to radiation. Special uniforms may be necessary so the personnel will not bring radioactivity back to their homes. And perhaps the list goes on?
   Not just equipment costs but all the additional costs just mentioned should be used to determine whether it is worth remediating Wells No. 11 and No. 13.
   An EPA paper on the Web states that a similar zeolite filter for removing heavy metals (like radium) in the City of Odessa Texas costs $1.44 per thousand gallons of treated water, not much less than the $1.80 I get charged for delivered water.
   South Brunswick should seek the lowest cost alternative before spending millions of dollars and ongoing costs to remediate Wells No. 11 and No. 13. Possibly the best alternative would be to abandon and cap those wells and apply to the state for permission to drill two replacement wells.
   If this were to fail, the next best alternative may be to continue to purchase "peeking" water from New Jersey American Water Company. If the additional purchase cost incurred is less than the extremely high costs of remediation, all of us will pay less for our non-radioactive water.
Paul C. Murray

Kingston

Fight warehouse, save green space
To the editor:
   
What is the Matrix? In the 1999 movie, it was an evil computer that stuffed humanity into capsules for its own benefit. In 2007, it is a vulgar sprawl machine that wants to stuff the south side of South Brunswick into warehouses, again for its own profit.
   Unfortunately, with machine-like precision, Matrix Development Corporation has prepared and launched its assault against the open space and residential character of our communities. They mean to put an entire cluster of huge warehouses in the area of Friendship and Stults roads. They further intend to force the township (meaning you, gentle reader) to pay to convert those rural avenues into truck-friendly megaslabs. These are the pleasant, green places that our citizens fought so long and so hard to save in the Route 92 battle. I was in that fight. I did not fight it just to see our victory thrown away.
   I urge the Planning Board and the Township Council to use all the means at their disposal to defeat and reject Matrix’s self-serving and community-destroying scheme. Citizens, keep close watch, and man the polling places.
Steve Masticola

Kingston

Build houses not warehouses
To the editor:
   How many more tractor trailers does it take to make living and traveling on Route 130 a total nightmare?
   If Matrix’s current plan for a 150+ bay warehouse on Route 130 and Friendship Road and plans for more warehouses nearby is approved, you would soon have an answer.
   Picture tractor trailers rolling along one after another, lining up to get on and off the N.J. Turnpike at Exit 8A. How many cups of coffee would you consume before entering the toll plaza? How many phone calls could you make? Your car would become your office. Pack a lunch.
   And while you are sitting in traffic, consider the amount of diesel exhaust you are inhaling even with your windows closed and air conditioner running full blast. Don’t forget to pack a gas mask. And the whole scenario would be repeated for your return trip.
   It takes one of these big trucks 30 seconds to make a three-lane turn. A traffic light stays green for 40 seconds. With a mere 10 second margin, you will have more time stuck in traffic.
   Now picture this. A southbound tractor trailer or car traveling at 55 mph, downhill towards Georges Road collides with another tractor trailer exiting onto Route 130 from the proposed Matrix warehouse facility. A young mom traveling with her two toddlers securely belted in the backseat driving in "off hour" traffic is hit. These are just two scenarios. There will be many more to come. Quick timing and rapid reactions will be needed for all drivers to safely navigate this dangerous corridor.
   Do we really need the added congestion and increased accidents on Route 130 in South Brunswick inevitable with the addition of the Matrix warehouse complexes? There is already a glut of vacant warehouses in the township.
Lynne Hyman, Betsy Nisbet,

Elisabeth King

and Judy Caccavale

Dayton
The writers are members of the Friends of Southern Middlesex County.