the Federal Environmental Protection Agency wants your input on the cleanup of one of the state's most toxic superf fund sites a nearly six acre stretch of land known as The Diamond Alkali site a site we focused on in our Hazard NJ podcast where the chemical company for years dumped hazardous waste into the paic river polluting nearby communities in and around newark's Ironbound the EPA oversaw an interim cleanup of the site back in the 80s and is now proposing a more permanent fix senior correspondent Brenda Flanigan has the details What Lies Beneath the cement cap along the riverfront in newark's Ironbound makes it one of America's most toxic superf fund sites the diamond Alkali chemical plant manufactured agent orange used as a defoliant during the Vietnam war it poisoned the site with dioxin a cancer causing byproduct so toxic the EPA sent workers in Moon suits to vacuum the streets when cleanup started in 1983 residents remember that and during a public hearing on the site's future they asked via Zoom what's the plan to keep the community safe in the past the community got screwed they were sitting outside watching people with hazmat suits cleaning up it is not migrating the community has no access or there are no risks from it EPA officials explained that for 37 years it's imprisoned the toxic chemicals on site locked up within underground slurry walls the agency believes that's the best most coste effective option to safely secure the site for years to come it provides long-term protection for both human health and the environment which is our primary our primary Mission EPA officials said the material buried here remains far too dangerous to excavate there's no place to dump it they advised residents to optimize current containment assess and make any repairs to the cap reactivate and reinstall extraction Wells that remove tainted groundw upgrade the system to treat that water and continue to regularly repair and review the site monitoring it for problems and by reactivating and installing new extraction Wells along the flood wall we aim to improve the groundwater capture and containment and prevent any contamination from migrating from the site and another Resident asked about decontamination consider waiting another decade to see how technology progresses so it's been 37 years and we've been looking at the Technologies over time and there really hasn't been you know anything really new that can treat this material The epa's Proposal would cost about $16 million and take a year to implement the sites protected by flood walls designed to withstand hundred-year storms but with ocean levels rising and threatening neighborhoods along the paic River Advocates worry what is the life expectancy of of the remedy that's in place are we going to have to replace any of the components in time the site also leeched dioxin into the pic River where dredges have already removed some contaminated mud but the larger EPA cleanup awaits along miles of Waterway for now Ironbound residents remain focused on the cement expanse along liser Avenue dioxide is one of the most carcinogenic substances known and that is what we're facing and so we have to be really careful with it the public comment period on the epa's containment proposal remains open until October 10th I'm Brenda Flanagan NJ Spotlight News [Music]