Final Report:

Introduction

Imagine a woman discovering an “oil slick and dead fish sloshing in her basement, bobbing along the scummy surface of the floodwaters like toxic soup… smells of poop and chemicals.”[1] One can assume the horror, sight and smells that would come along with such an event. Water Pollution is a global issue which impacts humans and all living beings on the planet. Thinking about day to day life, we may take water in general for granted. When one goes to have local fish for dinner, one may not even question or think about the water that fish was living in and what chemicals they may be eating as they consume that fish. When one drinks water, they don’t normally think much of where it came from or what negative compounds it may contain.

Image 1 “Port of Newark – Newark Bay a Passaic River – showing channels and facilities from Union County Line to Belleville, NJ” from The Newark Public Library Charles F. Cummings New Jersey Information Center 

Newark, seen in the map above, is the most populated city in New Jersey, with it being one of the nation’s major hubs for shipping, air, port and railways. Newark is a large city on land that slopes towards the Passaic River with meandering streams, rivers, and bays. Specifically, The Newark Bay is at the junction of where the Hackensack and Passaic rivers meet. It is around 5.5 miles long and is on the west end of Newark. Refer to Image 1 above to see specifically how these waterways meet and flow into one another. This image also depicts a nice blue waterway, however this waterway is the complete opposite. If it was realistically depicted as it truly is, it would appear more toxic, blurry, sludgy and brown. The most imperative area in question can be seen in the bottom right hand corner of the map where the red box has highlighted the main part which shows the channels and facilities of the bay.

When it comes to the correlation between Newark and water, the more common and well known news titles include the Newark Drinking Water Crisis. However maybe not as talked about but still as important is the crisis of pollution within Newark Bay, especially its impacts on the surrounding African American communities. For hundreds of years this body of water has been subjected to tons of toxic pollution from a variety of different pollutants possibly linked to industry. In particular, anthropogenic sources such as industrial discharges, direct discharges via spills, runoff, groundwater migration, outfall pipes, as well as indirect sewage discharges are the main contributors to the Newark Bay’s water pollution. This pollution status is crucial to the health risk of the surrounding communities of the waterway.  In lower income and minority neighborhoods within the city of Newark, the citizens there had less of a voice when it came to big industry giants and their moves to put factories and industrial facilities within the area, discharging their waste starting as early as the 1940s when the first manufacturing facility began pumping waste into the bay, specifically, Agent Orange, DDT and herbicides.[2] Not only did this affect the African American communities in the area with tainted water, but also it affected their wildlife and food production by the polluted water’s effect on fish populations. The Newark Bay has been polluted since the 1800s due to the rise of industry and other non-industrial incidents, causing an environmental injustice and a negative impact to the African American neighborhoods that border the body of water.

Environmental Justice is defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as being “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies” (EPA). The Natural Resources Defense Council defines it as “Environmental justice really reflects the fundamental reality that vulnerable communities are all too often subject to the disproportionate burden of pollution and contamination.”[3] The ties between this specific location’s pollution and the communities of African Americans being negatively affected by it prove an environmental injustice. It is not fair treatment in the slightest. Especially when skin color and economic status may be a factor in not allowing their voices to be heard by higher governmental authorities or big power industrial companies.

This project aims to investigate the change over time with the pollution of the Newark Bay and determine its effect on the bordering African American communities. The goal is to analyze the pollution and known facts from an environmental injustice perspective to make historical conclusions based on scientific evidence and documentation. Multiple questions in regards to Newark Bay’s polluted water and its effects on the surrounding African American communities to be addressed are as follows. How did the development of industrial practices contribute to health impacts of African American and minority communities in Newark?  Were there any other contributions besides industry that contributed to the polluted water like the Newark Sewer System? What steps are being taken to clean up the Bay now, any progress made? How do the demographics of Newark impact how the state and city government has handled the issue? What has been the legal side to this crisis?

In regards to this topic, previously written papers discuss the pollution, its progress and facts but there is nothing specifically found that ties the Newark Bay’s pollution with environmental injustice to African American Communities. There is a more generalized opinion piece by Delaware Online titled “Poor, Minority Communities Bear The Brunt of Pollution”[4] mentions Newark’s Ironbound heros and their fight for environmental justice with tainted drinking water, emissions and air pollution. With this paper there is much more detailed analysis of the pollution from an environmental injustice perspective to make historical conclusions based on scientific evidence and documentation. I will discuss first the ties between the pollution and the people, going into depth with African American demographics within the vicinity, census data, and superfund site status. Then with the use of scientific research reports, proof of the correlation between the pollution and industrial practices will be proven with their health effects within African American communities. Within this will be the different time frames of pollution progression for the theme and analysis of change over time throughout. Subsequently, the discussion will proceed to the African American community response to this environmental injustice and anger towards industry. The origin of the Newark Bay’s pollution stems from industrial practices and its effects on the African American population of Newark Bay.

The main sources of research sources and evidence are compiled from two different categories, scientific history and social history. The Newark Public Library, The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, The U.S Department of Interior, The Environmental Protection Agency, newspaper articles, letters etc. There is a large variety of source types from legal documents, dissertations, scientific studies, maps, articles, images and more. These documents will be examined and used throughout the paper, in order to support the correlation between the scientific documentation and societal historic documentation to prove environmental injustice to African Americans and the pollution within Newark Bay.

The Pollution and The People

In the city of Newark, over time the Black and minority population grew and dominated the area. From the 1960s where the Black population made up about 34% to the jump where just 20 years later in the 1980s the Black population made up more than half of Newark at 58%.[5] Over this time frame, industry and pollution was on the rise, so the white flight began and protests rose alongside it. It can be said “Like a puzzle, the racial makeup of Newark’s neighborhoods are explicitly linked– where Newark’s white residents leave, the city’s Black residents take their place” (Astudillo). At this time in the 1980s is when the properties of industry along Newark Bay, specifically the manufacturing facility at 80 Lister Avenue, became a huge problem and was taken notice by the Environmental Protection Agency. Although industry in the 1940s-1960s Newark was thriving with its factories, immigrant labor and rich transportation and ports; along with that came devastating environmental injustice effects to surrounding Black communities. It can be seen that African Americans have their voices silenced by big industry giants.[6] This can be seen through protests and letters written throughout time, complaining of this pollution and its effects were quite prevalent.  In comparison to these African American communities, when these large polluting industry giants try to go into wealthy white neighborhoods there is the concept of “not in my backyard” where they could fight it and most likely win due to economic status. With such high poverty levels, and high unemployment rates among the Newark African American Communities, they are not as likely to win the fight against these Industry Giants. This shows environmental injustice as they are being taken advantage of and have to suffer consequences due to things they cannot control.  With these circumstances, industry giants took over the area, polluted without care and the result of such is how the pollution got to a severity where it was declared Superfund status.[7]

The Superfund site of Newark is titled the Diamond Alkali Co. Dating back to the 1940-1960s, DDT, Agent Orange, among other toxic chemicals were dumped into the body of water. The entire superfund site is one of the largest within the United States stretching 17 miles. It was found that with Diamond Alkali Co’s manufacturing production of Agent Orange, factory workers had elevated levels of toxic chemicals like Dioxin within their body systems which increased their risk of cancer and immune diseases. As discussed previously, once realized, the surrounding Black communities wanted to fight back, specifically the 6th footnote discusses one particular protest from 1983 which correlates to this superfund site where children can be seen with signs that read “Diamond Shamrock Why are you killing our dads?”. This contaminated water greatly affected the groundwater, fish populations and soil. There was also an overload of sediment contamination as well which all leads to negative health effects.

Figure 1: Map of The Newark Bay and Surrounding Area

The site focused upon is the Newark Bay and its surrounding areas and neighborhoods. The Passaic River which is located slightly north of the Newark Bay is one of those surrounding areas that had an effect on the Newark Bay. Heavy commercial and industrial practices typically located on the borders of the Passaic River and Newark Bay had dumped their waste and produced many harmful effects to the surrounding communities. Specifically African American community concerns were looked past because of their economic, education and minority status. The Figure 1 map above was mapped out with the use of an EPA provided website tool called EJSCREEN. When using the tool of mapping the site there is an option to include a buffer, which would provide a particular mileage past the area that you have provided. However, I outlined the exact area in which I would like to cover and I decided to keep a 0 mile buffer on the map to get more specific data. After I mapped out the region, the website provided a data report of the demographic and environmental data from it. With this, they also compare and contrast the data for regional, state and national quantitative data. Some of the environmental indicators include wastewater discharge indicator, hazardous waste proximity, NAIA Cancer Risk, etc. These specific indicators are important to my site, The Newark Bay, because of the heavy industry along its border and also with many ports there, transportation frequently coming in and out of the area. To better understand the correlation between the demographics and environmental indicators, comparing and contrasting this data will help to prove that environmental justice is taking place within this area along the Bay.

Figure 2: Table of Environmental Indicators Data Report

In the data above, it is important to focus upon the high percentiles of superfund proximity, wastewater discharge, hazardous waste proximity, traffic proximity, NATA Diesel PSM and RMP proximity. Although all factors above that are included are important, these specifically related closely to the site. To begin, with superfund proximity, Newark Bay is considered a superfund site, so that explains why the percentiles are so high at 98% national, 91% state and 95% regional. The Newark Bay is categorized as a superfund site due mostly to its manufacturing facilities. Specifically one the EPA superfund site titled Diamond Alkali Co which includes a 17 mile tidal stretch of the Passaic River and Newark Bay area where toxic chemicals, hazardous substances and sediment from industrial practices have contaminated the water. As for wastewater discharge and hazardous waste proximity, these percentiles are extremely high around the 90% percentile  in all categories, state, region and national. As mentioned previously, this is most likely due to the heavy industry along the bay, where these industrial practices get rid of their waste by dumping it into the Passaic River and Newark Bay. As for traffic proximity and diesel high percentiles, one can conclude that would be due to the ports and constant in and out of transportation nearby the waterway. Finally, proximity to RMP facilities was the highest national percentile at 98% along with superfund sites. RMP stands for risk management plan facilities, meaning places where there are facilities that have potential chemical accident management plans in place. Chemical accidents are most likely due to industrial practices and could have serious health effects to the surrounding populations.

Figure 3: Table of Demographic Indicators Data Report

The following data table from figure 3 indicates the demographics of the map area drawn, bordering the Newark Bay and part of Passaic River that flows into the Newark Bay. At first glance, it is obvious that this area is a minority populated area with mostly a low income population that has an education lower than high school. The minority population percentile is 80% nationally, 76% state and 72% regionally. The low income population percentile is 67% nationally, 80% state and 73% regionally. The less than high school education percentile is 78% nationally, 83% state and 77% regionally. From this data one can determine that these areas that are experiencing this kind of environmental injustice with pollution and environmental hazards are mostly minority, low income populations that do not have a higher education which makes it very unfair and unjust. However, the highest percentile within this demographic data is the Linguistically isolated, meaning people whose primary language is not English, where it is maybe a 2nd or 3rd language. This percentile is 90% nationally, 84% state and 81% regionally. With so many in this region not being able to speak English that well, it can be interpreted that it may make it more difficult for people in this region to fight back and have their voices be heard in order  to prevent these big industries from coming in and polluting.

Figure 4: Map showing data of Black Population

Figure 5: Map showing data of Black Population Below Poverty Level

Continuing with demographic data, it can be seen in figure 4 and figure 5 that in the specified region around the Newark Bay, it is mostly Black population and that Black population has many that are below poverty level. Within these maps as well it can be seen that as one moves left, away from Newark Bay and it’s industrial pollution, there is less Black population. This shows that in these areas where these high percentiles of hazardous conditions are happening, it is mostly the Black and minority population that is being most affected, proving the environmental injustice.

Overall, this data provided by the EJSCREEN mapping tool, helped provide great figures to show the correlation between these environmental indicators and the demographic indicators within the area of Newark Bay and its surrounding areas. With minority and Black populations being most affected, their lack of education and money probably makes them easy for industry to take advantage of. The community is filled with many people whose goals are to live the American dream, and have happy and healthy families. These people’s voices are silenced when it comes to their environmental concerns due to their minority, education or low income status and that within itself is environmental injustice.  With these factors showing the high risk associated with the area due to pollution, it is obvious that the problem is quite prevalent. Having such a large percentage of the surroundings of the bay consisting of African American communities, environmental injustice can be seen with the pollution happening in their backyards.

The Rise of Industry and its Repercussions

Over time with the rise of Industrial practices, with the exception of some other contributors, toxic waste was dumped into Newark Bay and the Passaic River putting African American communities in danger of serious health effects and impacting the local fish populations, limiting their food source.

Known to be heavily impacted by negative industrial activity, “over the past two centuries… the metropolitan region around Newark Bay has been recognized as the largest manufacturing and industrial center in the eastern United States since the early 1800s.”[8] In addition to the excessive amount of industry and their waste, Newark’s industrial transportation practices are also to blame. The Port of New York and New Jersey is the largest seaport on the United States east coast and the third largest port in the country.[9] These ports are constantly used for transportation and are a main pollution contributor towards the water with waste and air pollution with the greenhouse gas emissions these ships produced.

Going into more detail, I examined the Concentrations and Loads of Organic Compounds and Trace Elements in Tributaries to Newark and Raritan Bays Report, it is obvious to see how toxic the water in the Newark Bay really is. This report is from the United States Geological Survey in collaboration with the United States Department of Interior. The study’s goal was to measure concentrations in the Newark Bay and corresponding waterways in which intersect. Using these measured concentrations, estimations were made for flow and river discharges. Not only are there concentrations of harmful chemicals such as dioxins, furans, and dioxin-like PCBs, but also high levels of sediment. Suspended within this sediment was found DDT, DDE, and DDD. Chemicals such as these within the water and sediment can cause serious health effects such as seizures, liver failure, negative effects on reproduction, etc. Most of these are even considered human carcinogens, causing cancer after exposure. Mercury, cadmium, arsenic and lead were also found. As for the cause of these chemicals and sediment within the water, the report states that it is the result “of emissions, atmospheric deposition, and other sources present in local river basins throughout the region as well.”[10] These levels shown within the report are alarming, and this contamination within the water trickles into groundwater, fish populations, contaminated drinking water, negative economic and health effects as well. These concentrations do not pass New Jersey water quality criteria and is partly the reason the Newark Bay and Passaic River have the reputation for being “swamp-like”. Not only the mention of industrial factories, but in the industry category which is to blame for this pollution also falls Industrial Transportation.

The behaviors of these chemicals and sediment within the water and the consequences that follow outside of the water are extremely dangerous. When it comes to aquatic populations within the Newark Bay, it was proven in a study done by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection that the crab population specifically was disrupted. The crabs and other aquatic life had absorbed the chemicals and sediment from the water. Therefore when fishing was not monitored and crabbing was taking place, these fish and crabs were being sold and eaten by local African American communities. Through surveys, it was shown that there was a lifetime cancer risk of Newark Bay Complex crabbers with an upper percentile,[11] and also this risk to anyone within the population that consumed those polluted aquatic life as well.  It was said by the Newark Bay Confined Disposal Facility that “In relation to all the other chemicals of concern present in this ecosystem, dioxins and PCBs are considered to have the greatest potential to adversely affect the health of people consuming fish and crustaceans from this estuary.”[12] Therefore human health risk was extremely dangerous for anyone who consumed this aquatic life, but some did not even know it.Imagine just going to the local market and purchasing food for dinner, your entire family eating it, only to find out later in life the chemicals in your body that have lingered and now caused serious health side effects. It is a terrifying thought. One that no one should have to fear, and the fact the bordering African American population have historically and still to this day, in the area have a food desert situation… on top of that to find out the local food that is available is practically poisonous! Newark was not always this way however, industry grew to be a polluting machine over time.

Image 1: Comparing 1916 vs 2016 Copyright Myles Zhang 2016, older image from Newark Public Library

This photo was retrieved from The Newark Public Library Digital Repository in the Newark Then vs Now collection. Myles Zhang photographed the image to the right which is 2016. He is a Newark born and raised American historian, who upon researching his website, I learned has many studies and photography of Newark specifically. He also has corresponding artwork inspired by his photography and visits to the Newark Bay and Passaic River. Zhang states on his page with this artwork  “It is now this industrial town’s polluted heart. The corporate towers of Newark’s “Renaissance” meet industrial history at the riverbank. The murky waters contain secrets of illegal dumping and toxic pollution that will remain buried for eternity, gradually leaking their oily toxins down stream. The industrial past clings on, refusing to vanish in forgotten waters. The river of change, the Passaic River, is a place of shifting contrasts, where past meets present.”[13] It is important to understand who took this photo in the same spot as the one 100 years prior, their intentions and opinions. His artwork and photography shows how he interprets how this once maybe beautiful clean river was filled with toxic waste and runoff.

In Image 1 it is quite noticeable that there is not as much water traffic by the ports within, however although maybe there is less transportation, the spirit of the past mistakes and industrial pollution may be less noticeable now but the lasting effects linger. One can see the development of industry within the 100 year span difference in this side by side.The focal point of both images is the kind of disappearing body of water, making one wonder where this contaminated water may move into next. The photo moves your eye towards the right where that kind of vanishing point where the water disappears into. One can assume this image of the Passaic River is flowing into the Newark Bay neighboring it. Zhang also made the 2016 photo black and white as the original photo to mimic it. The scale, curve and size are almost exact as he tried to replicate the photo to show the area now.

Image 2 & 3: Artwork by Myles Zhang, left titled Dredging Toxic Industrial Runoff buried in the River and right titled Forgotten Industrial Waste on the Passaic River

In Zhang’s artwork, images 2 & 3 it is obvious that the industry shown is being displayed in a negative connotation, and rightfully so. In image 2 “Dredging Toxic Industrial Runoff buried in the River” the main focus of the image is that kind of crane like contraption in the water and the industrial buildings behind it. All the colors in the image seem to come across as dull, except for what looks like a barn to the left of the industrial building. It is obvious that the water is cloudy with remnants of the previous blue water being mixed with this smoggy black water with blurry reflections. This kind of depiction of the water is similar to the way the water is drawn in image 3, “Forgotten Industrial Waste on the Passaic River.” Image 3 is particularly striking as you see the beautiful trees above with the grass, and on the ground level to the average person that is what they might see. However, below it is the green goop toxic waste being dumped into the river. This hole with the waste pouring out seems to be the focal point of the image, making the viewer’s eye move from left to right. As you move across the drawing, one notices the buildings in the background by the horizon line. There are even tires floating in the polluted water which shows that many industrial contributions were dumped into the water including toxic waste, and even product litter.

All images discussed show that the Newark Bay and its surrounding areas were heavily polluted and filled with toxic chemicals. In the historic image we can see that this pollution may be more discreet now, but it still exists. Especially the effects of past industry can still live in present day waters.

Other contributors to the polluted Newark Bay include the flawed Newark Sewage System and it’s municipal waste. Due to such a large and growing urban population, the discharge of sewage produced was hard to manage and throughout the 1800s to the beginning of the 1900s, this untreated waste was discharged directly into Newark Bay. Newark’s growing industrialization was the reason of attraction for much of this growing population at the time. During this time, a once “idyllic place for boating, swimming and fishing. Some Newark’s finest estates faced the river and much of the city’s social life, including annual regattas, revolved around the waterway. Contamination of the river reached dangerous levels after the Civil War as factory waste and raw sewage poured directly into the river. Newark tried to blame upriver towns, such as Paterson, for the contamination, but an 1882 study confirmed that all of Newark’s 60 miles of sewers emptied directly into the Passaic River. Water samples taken from the Passaic River showed it to be of dreadful quality: “Instead of sweet-tasting, limpid water, we have a bluish-red liquid, disgusting to the taste and smell.” In 1892, Newark tapped into the Pequannock watershed for its water supply and abandoned the Passaic River entirely, using it solely as a repository of sewerage.”[14] Around the 1930s is when proper municipalities were put into place to handle this sewage. However the location of these sewage outfalls still went into the Newark Bay up until the 1980s when proper treatment facilities were added into the equation. That is over an entire millennium of pumped sewage into the body of water. Some of the dangerous compounds from the municipal waste include TSS, BOD, Ammonia and Coliform8. Besides sewage and industry, another contributor to this pollution is stormwater runoff and accidental spills. Some of which include spills of hazardous petroleum and other harmful chemicals. This combination of organic waste with chemicals and industry discharge are responsible for the swamp like, health dangering, toxic conditions. With the unacceptable amount of pollution in the Newark Bay and the realization of the impacts around it, the communities had to fight back.

The People Fight Back

With the unacceptable amount of pollution and the realization of the impacts around it, the communities had to fight back. Big industry giants silenced African American community voices. Dating back to 1983 letters were written discussing the pollution at hand. One example written by June Kruzewski exclaimed “I am a member of the Ironbound Committee Against Toxic Wastes and I am so sick of hearing how safe all of these factories, warehouses and gas tanks are… none of these big companies presidents live in Newark, they just make money here..we live our lives here.”[15] As voices were silenced and industry grew larger, conditions of the Newark Bay got worse as well. From a New York Times article written in 1981, it was said that “Stories of the river’s catching fire and of its eating through the bottoms of wooden canoes have spread among residents of the six counties that border it.”[16] In this time, the early 1980s,  protests were very common when industry, specifically Tacoma Boatbuilding proposed At Sea Incineration which would be located on Port Newark. This process would result in the “importing of millions of gallons of the most toxic chemicals…when 90% of New Jersey’s hazardous waste cannot be legally or economically incinerated at sea.”[17] The ships that would be carrying this waste would have a very extensive journey to sea crossing the Newark Bay, spills and accidents along this route could very easily occur. In 1982 press releases about the project were published and concern was brought up making it a more well known public issue.[18]  The Ironbound Community Corporation along with other African Americans within the vicinity, held a March on Ferry Street against the construction of this at sea garbage incinerator within the Ironbound. With high risks of these toxic chemicals spilling and especially the fact these incinerators emit dioxin, and the country’s highest concentrations of dioxin had already been discovered in Ironbound in 1983, this march was necessary to make a statement against these industry giants.[19] Even though the Clean Water Act was in place which required that industries use technology before dumping their waste into bodies of water, this was not very prevalent until the late 1980s but the industry caused pollution accumulation started in the early 1900s. Signs against swimming and fishing were seen as people were more aware of the issue. As shown previously, the populations and demographics that lived within the area were mostly African American people. These African Americans that lived in the area bordering the toxic Newark Bay were subjected by these industry giants to suffer the negative health consequences due to just simply living near the toxic body of water.

Today Newark still suffers with problems with water. Not only with the pollution of the Newark Bay but the now more commonly known polluted drinking water with the Newark Water Crisis. As time progressed, the government has gotten more strict on industrial waste dumping. The Newark Bay superfund site has worked on cleanup since 1984, but no large accomplishments to the site were made until 2001 when cleanup, removal and disposal of sedimentation occurred. This also was done again in 2012 and 2014.[20] It was especially prevalent in 2012 when Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey. The hurricane however really made this pollution hit home, quite literally, when toxic Newark Bay water and muck was swept into people’s homes. The disgusting water flooded into nearby homes first floors and basements. Some even discovered oil slicked fish. These communities are suffering a prolonged battle against having these industries pay the price for the chaos and trauma they have caused. The New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, a statewide organization that focuses on environmental issues involving low-income residents and communities of color continues to fight this from getting worse. To this day, the Environmental Protection Agency still has a long-term remediation of Newark Bay in place. Study areas and cleanup are still ongoing.

The correlation between African American mistreatment and environmental injustice is obvious when examining both the scientific and societal history. This could even be tied to the present day, as they are still being unjustly treated and subjected to long term negative health effects simply due to their location status.

Endnotes

[1] Erik Ortiz, “’We’ve Been Forgotten’: In Newark, N.J., a Toxic Superfund Site Faces Growing Climate Threats,” NBCNews.com (NBCUniversal News Group, October 4, 2020), https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/we-ve-been-forgotten-newark-n-j-toxic-superfund-site-n1240706

[2] Lower Passaic River Restoration Project and Newark Bay Study, Community Involvement Plan. 2006. United States Environmental Protection Agency. https://semspub.epa.gov/work/02/207079.pdf

[3] The Natural Resources Defense Council, “What Is Environmental Justice?,” NRDC, August 25, 2020, https://www.nrdc.org/stories/what-is-environmental-justice.

[4] Tammy Duckworth and Cory Booker Sens. Tom Carper, “Poor, Minority Communities Bear the Brunt of Pollution. That Has to Stop. (Opinion),” The News Journal (The News Journal, May 16, 2019), https://www.delawareonline.com/story/opinion/contributors/2019/05/16/poor-minority-communities-shouldnt-bear-brunt-pollution-opinion/3677864002/.

[5] Census Data Maps.  National Historical Geographic Information System, 1960-2010. Map. https://www.nj.com/news/2017/07/how_newark_has_changed_since_1960.html

[6] Reina Gattuso, “The Swap-a-Fish Program That Traded Tilapia for Seafood Contaminated by Agent Orange,” Atlas Obscura (Atlas Obscura, March 19, 2019), https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/passaic-river-cleanup-fish-swap.

[7] Superfund site can be defined by The Environmental Protection Agency as “Thousands of contaminated sites exist nationally due to hazardous waste being dumped, left out in the open, or otherwise improperly managed. These sites include manufacturing facilities, processing plants, landfills and mining sites.” United States Environmental Protection Agency, “What Is Superfund?,” EPA (Environmental Protection Agency, November 30, 2018), https://www.epa.gov/superfund/what-superfund.

[8] Crawford, D. W., et al. “Sources of Pollution and Sediment Contamination in Newark Bay,

[9] Santasieri, C. (2012). Port of call or port of conflict : the evolution of the port of New York

[10] Wilson TP, Bonin JL. Concentrations and Loads of Organic Compounds and Trace

[11] Pflugh, Kerry Kirk, et al. “Consumption Patterns and Risk Assessment of Crab Consumers

[12] Newark Bay Confined Disposal Facility (NBCDF) [NY,NJ] : Environmental Impact Statement. : F. 1997. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=ien.35556031002553&view=1up&seq=9

[13] Myles Zhang. Accessed December 14, 2020. https://www.myleszhang.org/. 

[14] Modica, G. R. (2014, March 24). THE HISTORY OF THE NEWARK SEWER SYSTEM.

[15] Kruszewski, June. 1983. Letter to the Editor. January; https://digital.npl.org/islandora/object/ironbound%3A0bb3cf85-e75d-4469-92d1-53cd5f8af224#page/1/mode/1up

[16] Williams, Lena. “PASSAIC RIVER’S 2 FACES: ONE DIRTY, ONE SENIC.” The New York Times. The New York Times, September 8, 1981. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/08/nyregion/passaic-river-s-2-faces-one-dirty-one-senic.html. 

[17] Greater Newark Bay Coalition. “At Sea Proposal.” At Sea Proposal | Newark Public Library Digital Repository, 1983. https://digital.npl.org/islandora/object/ironbound:7000d8a6-6b08-44a9-84fb-7c46b7c0d79d

[18] Cohen, Arnold. “Press Release: At Sea Incineration.” Press Release: At Sea Incineration | Ironbound Community Corporation. Charles F. Cummings New Jersey Information Center | Newark Public Library Digital Repository, 1982. https://digital.npl.org/islandora/object/ironbound:271ad0a2-375d-498e-8f93-18a9387c91bc. 

[19] Ironbound Community Corporation Collection. “Photo: March Against The Incinerator.” Charles F. Cummings New Jersey Information Center | Newark Public Library Digital Repository. Accessed December 14, 2020. https://digital.npl.org/islandora/object/ironbound:06b500de-c4d6-4986-bd67-07b53a0dea9f. 

[20] “DIAMOND ALKALI CO. NEWARK, NJ.” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed December 14, 2020. https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.Cleanup.

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