NYC, NJ flooding could unleash hazardous chemicals at these sites
Tens of thousands of tons of hazardous waste are stored in coastal facilities threatened by sea level rise in New York and New Jersey, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. If the sites aren’t properly safeguarded, EPA officials said,New York City broke rainfall records last month due to a slew of tropical storms that also threatened the tristate area with storm surge and coastal flooding. Such weather is on the rise due to climate change, compounding the risk.
Local scientists added that the sites pose a special risk to densely packed coastal communities like the New York metro area. “It’s not a problem if the waste is in a cupboard,” Bostick said. "But if that waste can dissolve in water and that water can get in and out, then it can carry contaminants from where they are — a hazardous waste site — to places you don’t want them to be — like your neighborhood.”
In 2020 and 2021, the facility received more than 15,000 tons of hazardous waste from states up and down the eastern seaboard, according to EPA data. That tally includes 100-plus tons of used acid containing chromium, a metal involved in welding and chrome plating that is linked to breathing problems; nearly 700 tons of lead-contaminated soil; and 290 tons of sludge containing arsenic, chromium, lead and other dangerous chemicals.
Two New York City sites — a Con Edison plant and a waste treatment facility called Triumvirate Environmental — are also far enough from the coastline to be spared from the next few decades of sea level rise. Still, Yan said, the map points the way for waste managers and local officials, who can work together to bolster waste treatment plants against rising seas.The EPA recommends a host of strategies to keep the hazardous waste sites out of harm’s way. Flood walls, landfill caps, elevated electrical equipment and resilient redesigns can all help mitigate the risks. The agency also urges local governments to include the facilities in their disaster planning.
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