Like many of you, I recently read about the discovery of [steel drums] at 990 Inman Ave. across from a day care center in Edison. The fact that such blatant contamination is still happening in this day and age is just plain scary. One thing that you may not have heard was the fact that three Edison residents and local activists spent a good portion of their day monitoring this situation. Bob Spiegel, Jane Tousman and Toni Ricigliano are to be commended for their dedication to such issues and for truly making a difference in the lives of Edison residents.
Unfortunately, this incident also raises many questions regarding the lack of accountability in the Health Department and the mayor’s office. First, when there is a known environmental cleanup going on at the site, why was there no monitoring by Mayor Jun Choi’s Environmental Committee, his Emergency Management team or the Health Department? Second, after three well-known activists reported the emergency to the proper authorities and sat watching over the site for several hours, why was there no action taken by the mayor’s administration? This is a far cry from the political “Quality of Life Initiative” Choi talked about before the election.
C
ould this lack of interest be
connected to the mayor’s recent loss in the primary election? Would he have not jumped at the opportunity for a press conference had this incident occurred right before the election? If this is indeed the case, Mayor Choi and his advisers should resign now.
My hat is off to Spiegel, Tousman and Ricigliano for their efforts in acknowledging the severity of this situation and for their years of dedication to environmental issues and the safety of the residents of Edison.
Susan Lombardo
Edison