By Geoffrey Wertime, Staff Writer
Three area facilities have been named by the New Jersey Work Environment Council as among 97 industrial sites considered hazardous to nearby residents in the event of a “worst-case” accident or attack.
“The main thing that I think people should realize is what they don’t know could hurt them,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club and a member of the board of directors for NJWEC, a coalition of labor and environmental groups.
“Within our communities there are these facilities that store and use these hazardous materials, and if there’s an accident or a potential threat people could be at risk,” he said.
The report compiled by the NJWEC lists facilities, the “extraordinarily hazardous substances” they use, the “danger zone” around the site, and the population in it. It specifically states that people in the area are not necessarily at risk of serious injury or death in the event of an incident, but that the zone “does reflect the potential magnitude of the threat.”
The ratings are based on government reports that companies are required to submit if they use hazardous chemicals.
Garelick Farms in Florence was listed because it uses anhydrous ammonia, and the report says there are 7,463 residents in the 1.25-mile “danger zone” around the facility.
Anhydrous ammonia is used in refrigeration and the production of such products as fertilizer, pesticides, and plastics. Exposure to the gas can cause a number of ill effects, including blindness, and at high concentrations, fluid in the respiratory system, which may ultimately lead to death.
Garelick Farms could not be reached for comment this week.
In Bordentown City, 5,700 residents are said to be in a 0.86-mile area around Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. on Park Street, which also uses anhydrous ammonia, according to the report.
“It has to do with the ammonia tanks that they use in their process,” said Mayor John Collom. “I’ve talked with the management of Ocean Spray about the precautions they’ve taken and are taking to prevent any kind of terrorist activity doing something to those tanks, and I’m satisfied with their effort.”
Chemical manufacturer Stepan Company in Fieldsboro uses sulfur trioxide, which the NJWEC said puts 564 residents inside a 1.07-mile danger zone. The report says the chemical in vapor form can burn the skin and mucous membranes, possibly leading to blindness, and inhalation can also lead to permanent lung damage.
The report calls on the state Department of Environmental Protection to increase regulation of facilities that handle dangerous chemicals.
It calls for the DEP to: adopt inherently safer technology; hold an annual public meeting to address the concerns of residents and workers; effectively inform residents of the steps they should take if a chemical is released; and ensure transparency so that anyone potentially affected by such substances has the right to know about the dangers posed and how to protect themselves.
Elaine Makatura, director of the DEP press office, expressed her displeasure with the report and the fact that it named specific facilities. She said the state has a program, the first of its kind, requiring such sites to evaluate inherently safer technology, which was adopted in May of this year. “We follow up with inspections,” she said, but admitted that companies are not required to implement any such technologies.
She did not say that residents had no reason to be concerned, likening the situation to keeping a house, which a resident can try to keep free of potential hazards but can never be sure is absolutely safe.
Mr. Tittel said the goal of the report is not simply to reveal dangers, but to examine how they can be made safer. “(Residents) should be educated and they should be a little bit concerned,” he said, “because even though most plants have fairly good safety records, accidents can happen.”

