A community meeting on March 17, 2009, in Upper Ringwood, NJ made public the information that benzene at 26 times the level considered safe and arsenic at twice the safe level was detected 200 feet below ground in the Peters Mine. At this point, more rigorous testing is planned to pinpoint the exact source of the carcinogen. Some in the neighborhood recall Ford dumping industrial waste into the mines more than 40 years ago but these claims have yet to be substantiated. Ford will conduct more testing beginning in April.
Local residents are concerned that the carcinogens may be seeping into a nearby stream that feeds Wanaque Reservoir, which provides water for 2 million people. Federal officials say that no contamination has shown up yet in the reservoir.
Unfortunately, findings such as the recent one in Ringwood are not surprising. As early as the 19th century, there was evidence showing that benzene was a carcinogen. Industry continued to heavily use the toxin in manufacturing well into the 20th century, exposing workers and improperly and negligently dumping benzene containing industrial byproducts. Decades later, these deadly chemicals are still seeping into waterways and causing Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, or AML, and other cancers.
