What industry can leave behind
For much of the twentieth century, factories, shipyards, rail yards, power plants and storage depots operated under environmental rules that were far weaker than today’s, or under none at all. Materials that were common in industrial work, such as solvents, fuels, oils, metals, coal ash and various chemicals, were sometimes spilled, buried or discharged in ways that are now recognized as harmful. When a facility closes, residues can remain in the soil, in groundwater and in building materials such as asbestos or lead paint.
Older cities on rivers have a particularly dense history of this kind. Camden’s waterfront and nearby areas held many industries over a long period, as covered in the discussion of industrial Camden. This does not mean that every former industrial property is contaminated. It means that the possibility is common enough that careful investigation is a normal first step before reuse.
Why contamination is not always visible
A site can look clean and still carry contamination below the surface. Some substances break down slowly or not at all, and some move with groundwater beyond the property where they were released. Land that was filled in over time, a common practice along rivers, may contain material of uncertain origin. For this reason, assessment relies on testing, usually in phases: a review of the site’s history, then sampling of soil, groundwater and sometimes air or building materials.
Brownfields and Superfund
Two terms often come up. A “brownfield” is generally a property where expansion or reuse may be complicated by the presence, or possible presence, of a hazardous substance or contaminant. Brownfields are typically smaller and less severely contaminated than the sites that qualify for the federal Superfund program, which was created by a 1980 law to address the most serious abandoned hazardous waste sites. Both programs exist at the federal level, and states such as New Jersey have their own site remediation requirements.
In Camden, one widely known example of a federal cleanup involved a former gas mantle manufacturing site, the Welsbach and General Gas Mantle properties, where radioactive thorium contamination was found and addressed under the Superfund program. Other sites in and around the city have been investigated and cleaned up under state or federal programs. Readers interested in a particular property should consult the public records of the state environmental agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rather than rely on general statements.
Why cleanup takes so long
Several reasons recur:
- Investigation comes first. Finding out what is present and where can take years.
- Responsibility can be unclear. The company that caused the contamination may have closed, been sold or gone bankrupt. Legal disputes over who pays can delay work.
- Cost. Removing or treating contaminated material is expensive, and the cost can exceed the land’s value once cleaned.
- Technical limits. Some contaminants are difficult to remove from groundwater, and some cleanup methods operate over many years.
- Permits and oversight. Regulators review plans and require documentation at each stage.
- Financing. Lenders and buyers may be reluctant to take on uncertain liability, which makes it harder to move forward.
Public programs, grants and legal protections for new owners who did not cause the problem can help, and the practical side of preparing land is covered in the article on brownfield redevelopment.
Effects on neighborhoods
Contaminated and vacant industrial land can affect nearby residents in several ways. Vacant property can depress surrounding values and discourage investment, and fenced or unused parcels can divide neighborhoods. Where there are concerns about exposure to contaminants through soil, dust or water, it is important that residents receive clear information from regulators. Advocates have long argued that industrial facilities and waste sites have been concentrated in lower-income and minority communities across the United States, a concern often discussed under the heading of environmental justice. How that applies to a specific place depends on local records.
Even where cleanup is complete, trust can be slow to return. Communities frequently want to take part in decisions about reuse, which links to the broader subject of community participation in planning.
Water and the river
Contamination can also reach waterways through runoff and groundwater, and sediments in industrial rivers sometimes hold historical pollution. The Delaware River has improved in many respects from its worst conditions in the middle of the century, but that is a subject on its own, covered in the article on water quality. Low-lying riverfront land also faces flooding questions that affect how it can be reused, as discussed in the material on green infrastructure.
Important safety note
Former industrial properties can be hazardous because of contamination, structural decay and other dangers. Entering fenced, closed or abandoned sites is unsafe and often illegal, and nothing here should be read as encouraging it. For information about a specific property, use the public records of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or contact local officials.