Chem plant under microscope

Jersey Journal, Ronald Leir
Published July 31, 2005

A Japanese-owned Bayonne chemical plant that is fighting the city's effort to include part of its land in a redevelopment tract has come under the scrutiny of an environmental watchdog group. The Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based nonprofit, says the Asahi plant on 22nd Street off Route 440 - also known as AGC Chemicals Americas - uses a substance called PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid). The chemical - a product of coatings on items like non-stick cookware, clothing, carpeting and fast-food packaging - "is in the blood of over 95 percent of Americans, never breaks down in our bodies or in the environment and has been linked to serious health risks, including cancer, developmental problems and high cholesterol," the group said. In a case still pending, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is suing multinational chemical maker DuPont for allegedly keeping secret the results of a 1981 study that found PFOA in the blood of seven of eight pregnant workers tested in its plant in Parkersburg, W. Va. Two of the seven later had babies with birth defects. AGC Vice President Susan Baer said the company currently complies with all environmental regulations and the state Department of Environmental Protection concurs. But EWG senior scientist Timothy Kropp says PFOA is unregulated. "This is a new class of chemicals so there are no standards for it," Kropp said. "Regulatory agencies need to look at exactly what plants like Asahi are discharging - who may be exposed - and none of these things are being done." On its Web site, the EPA says it did a "preliminary risk assessment" of PFOA in 2003 and now is following up to fill "significant data gaps to determine if additional regulatory measures are necessary to mitigate any potential risks." Meanwhile, lawyers for AGC and Bayonne are still battling over a lawsuit AGC filed earlier this year to contest the City Council's inclusion of some 16 acres of its vacant property as part of an area in need of redevelopment that is earmarked for a shopping center.