DuPont in Pompton Lakes
by Aiden Ban
Site Description:
Having access to safe drinking water is a necessity that many Americans take for granted. Water contaminated with dangerous chemicals can lead to various negative health effects to citizens within a community. Unfortunately, Pompton Lakes, NJ is a site in which a drinking water crisis has taken place and has created long term damage to many of its citizens. Lead, mercury, and other solvents plague the drinking water as the result of DuPont’s poor waste control practices in what was their plant 3 decades ago. Dupont also attempted to keep the extent of the pollution that they caused a secret by actions such as delaying house testing to avoid negative repercussions. These contaminants would run through the “Acid Brook” and eventually make its way into “Pompton Lake”, the big lake that the down is centered around and receives its drinking water from. This project will explore the historical actors of this site being the people of Pompton Lakes and the struggles they faced such as cancer and other illnesses as well as answer the question of how they fought for their community in this time of need. The practices of DuPont, the perpetrator, will also be examined to answer the question of how a big corporation is able to deceive the public and deny them the truth of how bad they were suffering as a result of their contamination. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also played a big role in the intervention against DuPont so their actions/remedies for this problem will be looked into as well. Any community should not have to worry about not having safe enough water to drink as it is something necessary for survival and flourishment, and big companies responsible for the mess should not be able to jump through hoops to avoid just compensation. Many communities have suffered similar fates from DuPont and likely other big corporations so looking into the damage that was done and the actions made by the people and the EPA will help to prevent similar issues from happening in the future.
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Primary Sources:
Dave, Dhaval M. “Lead in Drinking Water and Birth Outcomes: A Tale of Two Water Treatment Plants.” ScienceDirect, July 2022. https://www-sciencedirect-com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/science/article/pii/S0167629622000637.
This source is a journal article from ScienceDirect concerning fetal issues in pregnancy caused by the Newark water crisis in 2016. The source estimates the effects of prenatal exposure to lead using data such as all the births in New Jersey between 2011 and 2019. I find that this source will be useful for my research because it is an outside example close by of how lead contamination in drinking water can have lasting effects on the people consuming it. It also involves uses data from the entire state of New Jersey so Pompton Lakes may have a part to play in this.
https://ecode360.com/PO0300 (Just posting the url for this because I am not certain how to cite it)
This source is the borough administrative and land use codes found via Pompton Lakes’ official website. These codes include all the laws/guidelines for zoning in this municipality including general provisions. I believe that this will be a good source because it will allow me to see how the town conducts its town structure and help me make inferences about who was/is being affected by the DuPont plant. It also involves zoning maps so that could potentially make for a good primary source as well.
James M. O’Neill and Scott Fallon. “Toxic Secrets: How Poisonous Chemicals from a Dupont Factory Wound up beneath 400 Homes.” North Jersey Media Group. Accessed March 1, 2025. https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/watchdog/2018/02/14/dupont-chemical-contaminate-pompton-lakes-homes/947802001/.
This is an article posted by NorthJersey.com, a local media group, in 2018. This is a story on the former Pompton Lakes mayor John Sinsismer and how he discovered the lead problem during his campaign and his reaction. A big detail in this story is that DuPont knew of the contaminates that entered the water source, but kept it a secret. The article accounts the reactions of locals, including a former DuPont worker who died at 52 of brain cancer. I believe this will be helpful because it will give me an idea of how the locals reacted to this discovery as well as actions taken to combat it.
“EPA Directs Dupont to Remove Mercury from Pompton Lake in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey.” ProQuest, May 20, 2015. https://www.proquest.com/socialsciencepremium/docview/1682452861/42AEB71DC1DA4326PQ/1?accountid=13626&sourcetype=Reports.
This is a press release from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on their “final plan” for the Pompton Lake water and soil cleanup. This plan involves removing the mercury and lead that has contaminated the lake and requiring DuPont to remove the contaminated soil from the “Acid Brook” delta in which all of the contamination is coming from. This will be a great source as it highlights the efforts made from people/environmental agencies that were much needed to combat the environmental problem affecting this community for decades.
James M. O’Neill and Scott Fallon. “Toxic Secrets: N.J. Community Faces High Rates of Cancer, Rare Illnesses.” North Jersey Media Group, February 19, 2018. https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/watchdog/2018/02/14/dupont-pompton-lakes-pollution-cancer-home-values/931861001/.
This is a digital article posted by NorthJersey Media Group reporting on a high rate of cancer or other rare illnesses in residents in Pompton Lakes, NJ. The article provides historical context involving DuPont and their delay and pushback to testing surrounding homes in this community due to the effect it may have on a lawsuit in 1990 put forth by hundreds of residents. Coincidentally, there has been a spike in Cancer rates within the community. While there was no proven correlation, it is suggested by the author that the various forms of pollution likely had something to do with the illnesses. This is a good source because it brings light to DuPont’s avoidance of revealing the extent of the issue as well as resistance of the people bringing forth the serious lawsuit.
Primary Source Analysis
The analysis of “Toxic Secrets: N.J. Community Faces High Rates of Cancer, Rare Illnesses” published by NorthJersey.com makes a significant speculation on DuPont and the pollution of the water and soil in Pompton Lakes, NJ. The article expresses DuPont’s hesitation and delay of testing to avoid affecting a big 1990 lawsuit initiated by Pompton Lakes residents. By coincidence, it was found that there was a big rate of cancer and other rare illnesses in residents. Despite no proven correlation between the pollution and the spike in illnesses, the article heavily suggests that the pollution caused by DuPont is what is responsible for these ailments.
There are big points made to suggest that DuPont’s actions have to do with the rapid rate of cancer cases. It is stated that “a review of 10 years’ worth of government documents shows DuPont engaged in a pattern of delay and pushback when regulators prompted the company to investigate the extent of its pollution in Pompton Lakes”. This is a big tell that they were hiding the fact that the pollution was on a great level which leads to great health effects. An account of Rick Orefice is included where at 23, he was diagnosed with a form of cancer, but on an extreme level to where “his spleen had grown to 15 times its normal size”. He also says to reporters that “his family does not have a history of cancer” and that “he is convinced cancer-causing pollution that migrated from a shuttered DuPont munitions plant under his neighborhood is to blame”. Although there has not been a study to prove for or against these claims, “the chemicals were found in 26 private wells, some of which were used for drinking water. Years later, those chemicals were found vaporizing from polluted groundwater under the neighborhood. They have been detected in more than 100 homes”. While there is no clear study proving there is a clear correlation between the contaminating chemicals and the spikes in cancers/illnesses, there is a lot of coincidences and nuances that may suggest that DuPont’s plant is the source.
Secondary Sources:
(TO BE REDONE)
Chemours (formerly Dupont) Pompton Lakes Works Site, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, September 2017. https://dep.nj.gov/wp-content/uploads/srp/dupont_fact_sheet.pdf.
This source is a fact sheet published by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection on the work site in Pompton Lakes which was formerly owned by DuPont. This fact sheet provides a lot of information including historical context about the DuPont site that operated until 1994 and the damage that it did to the soil and water in the community. I believe that this source will be helpful for my research because not only is it provided by a reputable environmental agency, but provides information about the plant and the responses from the community/agency to remedy these issues.
Rome, Adam. “DuPont and the Limits of Corporate Environmentalism.” Business History Review 93, no. 1 (2019): 75–99. https://doi-org.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/10.1017/S0007680519000345.
This source is a journal article published online by Cambridge University Press. The article goes into more detail about DuPont and their bad environmental track record despite their improved environmental sustainability in today’s world. This source will be useful for my research because it will enlighten me on DuPont’s vulnerabilities in their practices professionally and legally on cases even if it is not regarding the Pompton Lakes case.
Dave, Dhaval M. “Lead in Drinking Water and Birth Outcomes: A Tale of Two Water Treatment Plants.” ScienceDirect, July 2022. https://www-sciencedirect-com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/science/article/pii/S0167629622000637.
This source is a journal article from ScienceDirect concerning fetal issues in pregnancy caused by the Newark water crisis in 2016. The source estimates the effects of prenatal exposure to lead using data such as all the births in New Jersey between 2011 and 2019. I find that this source will be useful for my research because it is an outside example close by of how lead contamination in drinking water can have lasting effects on the people consuming it.
https://ecode360.com/PO0300 (Just posting the url for this because I am not certain how to cite it)
This source is the borough administrative and land use codes found via Pompton Lakes’ official website. These codes include all the laws/guidelines for zoning in this municipality including general provisions. I believe that this will be a good source because it will allow me to see how the town conducts its town structure and help me make inferences about who was/is being affected by the DuPont plant. It also involves zoning maps so that could potentially make for a good primary source as well.
James M. O’Neill and Scott Fallon. “Toxic Secrets: How Poisonous Chemicals from a Dupont Factory Wound up beneath 400 Homes.” North Jersey Media Group. Accessed March 1, 2025. https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/watchdog/2018/02/14/dupont-chemical-contaminate-pompton-lakes-homes/947802001/.
This is an article posted by NorthJersey.com, a local media group, in 2018. This is a story on the former Pompton Lakes mayor John Sinsismer and how he discovered the lead problem during his campaign and his reaction. A big detail in this story is that DuPont knew of the contaminates that entered the water source, but kept it a secret. The article accounts the reactions of locals, including a former DuPont worker who died at 52 of brain cancer. I believe this will be helpful because it will give me an idea of how the locals reacted to this discovery as well as actions taken to combat it.
Image Analysis:
Data Analysis:
Pompton Lakes has been dealing with environmental issues surrounding the water and soil in their town. The town was victim to DuPont’s negligence running lead, mercury and other dangerous solvents through the Acid Brook into the big Pompton Lake. A report on the socioeconomic and environmental factors is revealing to what is taking place in this community. The data comes from an area I drew out based heavily on 3 census tracts covering both sides of the big Pompton Lake also including the source (plant site and Acid Brook). It was imperative to make sure both sides of the lake were examined that way everyone who is affected by the pollution was accounted for. This analysis aims to pinpoint, if present, any signs of disproportionate damage done within the community or potential systemic exploitation based on demographics.
When conducting this analysis, it was important to refer to the Environmental Data on Pompton Lakes to get an idea of the extent of their pollution problem. The data revealed that there were vulnerabilities within this environment. This was demonstrated by the big outliers in the report including “drinking water non-compliance” being at a high percentile (85th in the state, 89th in the nation). This signifies that the towns practices in supplying safe drinking water are not consistent with the EPA’s standards causing a vulnerability for the health and wellbeing of this community. With “wastewater discharge indicator” and “hazardous waste proximity” being about the 50th percentile in the US, it reveals that the extent of the damage done by DuPont’s plant has done damage to Pompton Lakes worse than most towns/cities in the whole country. Surprising data was found within this report, such as traffic proximity count evaluated at 730,000 likely contributing to the high Nitrogen Dioxide level (53rd percentile in New Jersey) along with other fossil fuel emissions likely caused by the plant creating negative effects on the air. Having the soil and water contaminated is bad enough for the town’s health, but corrupting the air quality further increases the risk of serious illness caused by pollution.
Along with the health effects, looking at the socioeconomic indicators may signify potential reasons why Pompton Lakes specifically is suffering. In terms of demographics, white people make up 77% with the other 23% being people of color (lower than both state and national averages). The low-income rate is 9%, which is lower than the state and national averages but the unemployment rate is just higher than both state and national averages at 7%. Education challenges are also a slight factor with 3% of the population having less than a high school level of education. It is also worth mentioning that 21% of the population are over the age of 64. Although the majority of the Pompton Lakes population is mostly white people, there is a minority being people of color at 23% which makes it possible that there is a disparity between the quality of life of a white person in Pompton Lakes versus everyone else.
Examining both environmental and socioeconomic statistics are important for their own reasons, but you can compare the statistics to find potential vulnerabilities prone to exploits or patterns/parallels. For example, people of color are a minority at 23% while other factors such as low-income, unemployment, and low education are also in the minority of the population statistics. It is logical to make the inference that the majority of the population are middle class white people while a certain contingent of the minority lack a high education, are impoverished and unable to find jobs. With this being the case it raises the question of how can they afford to live in Pompton Lakes with the most likely answer being that they live in lower value homes that are closest to the waste and pollution. Another question is how was DuPont able to get away with polluting the water for so many years? There are many reasons as to how this may have happened, but it is worth considering the percent of people with less than a high school education and a good piece of the population being 64+ years old. The contents of a population says a lot in this case. This shows that some individuals did not have the resources or political standing to challenge a big corporation such as DuPont. DuPont likely built a reputation within the white population by hiring locals. The decently high senior population also suggests that there were not enough people willing to engage in resistance efforts or were unaware of the situation.
There are a great deal of environmental hazards that exist in Pompton Lakes, and the topic of socioeconomics makes this case that much more complex. There are many reasons why things are the way that they are or why people do what they do so determining motivations can be hard. While data reports do not suggest anything outright, known information and hypotheses can be confirmed and inferences can be made. It is known that DuPont was responsible for environmental burdens such as wastewater discharge, but socioeconomic factors such as lower education and an above average level of seniors made it easier for DuPont to exploit the location that they selected for their plant.
Oral Interviews:
Video Story:
This video story provides historical context to Pompton Lakes involving the origins of DuPont’s factory, the environmental damage they caused, the negative health effects suffered by the people, and how they were eventually able to earn justice against DuPont.
Link: https://youtu.be/rsWGrg_5uik
Sources used in this video:
https://www.epa.gov/nj/chemours-pompton-lakes-works-site-pompton-lakes-nj
https://pomptonlakes-nj.gov/DocumentCenter/View/505/2017-PL-Historic-Guide?bidId=
(Also used photo gallery)