The Problem: The Chromium Crisis in Jersey City

People put at risk for health problems and devalued property

During the last century, Honeywell and PPG disposed of more than one million tons of chromium waste at over one hundred sites across Jersey City.  The waste, referred to as chrome ore processing residue, or COPR, is a by-product of their respective Jersey City chromium chemical production operations of the 1900’s.  COPR contains high levels of hexavalent chromium, known to cause cancer.  The problem started and remains because the corporations

• Disposed of and transported a known carcinogen throughout Jersey City (internal records show they knew chromium could cause cancer)
• Failed to properly clean-up
  

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• Put profits above people’s health, safety and property values

Lung cancer increases and chromium dust still found

Health and environmental protection agencies had assured Jersey City residents that the chromium in their neighborhoods did not pose any cancer risks.  However, a 2008 study by the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) showed certain residents living near the waste sites had up to a 17% increase in the rate of lung cancer.  Another report found chromium dust has been detected in various homes across Jersey City.   People who lived near one of the chromium waste sites for at least six months may have been affected.   It is important to alert current and former residents about these concerns.

Health problems related to hexavalent chromium are:

• Cancer
• DNA damage
• Ulcerations
• Kidney damage
• Reproductive damage

Medical monitoring for the residents in affected areas of Jersey City is important to help provide them with early diagnosis and treatment of serious illness such as cancer.