Hoboken Reporter, June 9, 2002

Dear Editor:

The removal of 20 to 30 thousand cubic yards of serpentine rock at Stevens Institute of Technology has posed a serious health crisis for our community. Recent tests commissioned by the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) reveal asbestos levels as high as 15 percent in this rock. Two samples contained 10 percent actinolite, a potent carcinogen, whose sharp needle-like fibers can readily become airborne. Given the choice, I can't imagine anyone opting to inhale the fibers of actinolite, chrysotile or any other form of asbestos.

But for the first five weeks of the drilling, blasting and excavation, during which the site was not hydrated, Stevens Institute did not tell the public, the City of Hoboken or the State of New Jersey. They contend they had no obligation to do so. As a result, we had no reason to avoid the site or protect ourselves from the asbestos that this operation put into the air nearly every workday from March 11 to April 11.

The Fund for a Better Waterfront (FBW) filed a complaint with the Hoboken Board of Health on April 10 after it learned that serpentine rock contained asbestos. Subsequently, Stevens launched a PR campaign to minimize the problem. They repeatedly claimed that the serpentine rock merely contained trace amounts of asbestos and no health hazard exists. If they tested the rock, they did not share the results with anyone. Reports dating back to February of 1999, however, document that Stevens was then aware of serious amounts of asbestos that would become airborne as a result of this operation. Yet they failed to institute the basic recommendations of this report. The recent tests by NJMC confirm that this rock contains high levels of asbestos, far above what would be considered trace amounts, some in a form considered highly dangerous.

Stevens has responded to the concerns of FBW with personal attacks and attempts to demonize and discredit our organization. They have sent a letter to our funders threatening to sue us for libel. They have refused our requests for documents. On April 22, the City of Hoboken ordered Stevens to wet down the site on a daily basis and to send daily air monitoring reports to the Board of Health. But the City has failed to go beyond this. There are many questions about the safety of the workers, dust that may have entered adjoining academic buildings, the reliability of the air monitoring and the safety of surrounding play fields. None of these concerns have been adequately addressed. Rather than engage in a dialogue about these issues, the City seems to wish that this problem would simply disappear.

This is perhaps our first lesson in the dangers posed by the partnership between the City of Hoboken and Stevens Institute of Technology. This is a serious, serious problem that demands forceful action on the part of the City, Stevens, the State DEP and other agencies that are obligated to protect our health and safety. Please visit our website www.betterwaterfront.com for more information.

Ron Hine
Hoboken