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Each year in the United States, thousands of people are injured by toxic exposure. Groundwater exposure, toxic waste exposure, benzene exposure and asbestos and mesothelioma are common forms of toxic exposure. On May 19, 2010, New Jersey officials announced that harmful levels of a cancer-causing chemical that polluted groundwater in a Garfield neighborhood for more than 25 years was found in the basements of 16 homes, according to a recent Northjersey.com news report.

The findings, which were discussed at city hall meeting the next day, have prompted state health officials to study if there is a higher rate of cancer among residents of a neighborhood bordered by Sherman Place, Monroe Street, Van Winkle Avenue and the Passaic River on the city’s west side.

Officials would not say where the 16 homes were located or if they were on the same block, citing privacy concerns. They are among several locations throughout the neighborhood that have been contaminated with chromium over the last three decades including a senior complex and a firehouse that had to close.

The latest contamination, which seeped into basements from polluted groundwater, was found as part of a large-scale study conducted last year by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which tested dust, water and air samples from 163 homes.

Investigators are concerned that adults and children could accidentally swallow hexavalent chromium found in dust. The chemical was also found in air samples and water from sump pumps, but officials don’t consider those a threat.

An EPA spokeswoman said the agency has begun cleaning the basements at the 16 homes and will take measures to try to prevent recontamination.

The EPA is still studying samples from 90 more homes. Owners of 35 other homes that have had water seepage have not granted the EPA access to their basements.

The cancer study will look at data collected in the state’s cancer registry, which tracks cases of the disease from 1979 to 2007, to see if there is a statistically higher rate in the Garfield neighborhood. A report is due in the fall.

In the meantime, officials are advising residents to:

Limit basement use.
Remove shoes before reentering the rest of the house and wipe them down.

Wash hands after using the basement.
Frequently wash toys and other items that come in contact with a child’s mouth.
Chromium was used in several of the city’s industrial facilities including a tannery, a chemical plant and two electroplating companies that were located close to residential neighborhoods.

The contamination dates back to 1983 when 5,460 pounds of chromium leaked from a storage tank at E.C. Electroplating Inc. at 125 Clark St. Only 1,600 pounds were ever recovered.

The state Department of Environmental Protection began monitoring the chromium spill, but in 1985 it agreed it would be prohibitively expensive to continue the cleanup and instead suggested the company monitor the chromium levels beneath its plant. The company failed to do so, according to DEP records.

In 1993, Fire Company 3’s building on Willard Street had to be closed after firefighters noticed greenish water seeping from the basement walls. Water samples found about 25 parts-per-million of chromium much higher than the then-safety standard of 0.1 parts-per-million set by the DEP.

In 2000, county health officials found chromium groundwater contamination at two Palisade Avenue homes. They also found crystallized residue containing very low levels of a less dangerous form of chromium in the basements of four other nearby houses.

In 2002, the DEP required E.C. Electroplating to remediate the area where the chromium spilled. The company said it didn’t have enough money for a cleanup. The DEP then turned the case over to the EPA.

In 2004, chromium was discovered in basement of the Golden Tower senior apartments on Midland Avenue. The EPA tested two apartments on each floor and found no trace.

One of five dust samples taken from Roosevelt School 7 on Lincoln Place in August 2008 contained low levels of chromium that does not pose a health risk, officials said.

Toyota Motor Corp. continues to face safety issues. On April 16, 2010, Toyota Motor Corp. announced a recall of 600,000 Sienna minivans sold in the United States, to address potential corrosion in the spare tire carrier cable, according to an Associated Press news report.

Toyota says the recall affects the 1998-2010 model year Siennas that have been operated in cold-climate areas. The automaker says rust from road salt could cause the carrier cable to break. The spare tire could become separated from the vehicle and cause a road hazard for other vehicles.

The government says it has received six complaints involving spare tires falling off Siennas.

The recall involves two-wheel-drive Sienna minivans in the District of Columbia and 20 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

On September 9, 2009, New Jersey health officials announced that several thousand patients of a New Jersey doctor should get tested immediately for blood-borne diseases because of an outbreak linked to his office that has led to more than two dozen being diagnosed with hepatitis B.

In March, the state of New Jersey said five of Dr. Parvez Dara’s patients were found to have hepatitis B and that nearly 2,800 patients should get tested for it. To date, there are now 29 positive cases, plus 68 others who tested positive for antibodies but cannot be definitely linked to the outbreak, according to the state Health Department.

The state is aware of nearly 1,400 patients who have been tested so far.

On Aug. 12, state epidemiologist Dr. Christina Tan sent a letter to 2,000 more patients and to patients in the first group who had yet to get tested urging them to do so.

In July, the department responded to an Associated Press open records request by declining to release any information about the test results, citing the ongoing investigation. The department quietly released the test results on its Web site Sept. 1, nearly three weeks after sending out the letter to patients.

Health Department spokeswoman Donna Leusner said the investigation is ongoing, but a report was prepared at the request of the Board of Medical Examiners, which suspended Dara’s license in April.

Health inspectors visited Dara’s office in March and described conditions there as unsanitary. The inspectors said they found blood on the floor of a room where chemotherapy was administered, blood in a bin where blood vials were stored, unsterile saline and gauze, and open medication vials.

Inspectors also cited problems with cross-contamination of pens, refrigerators and countertops; use of contaminated gloves; and misuse of antiseptics, among other health code violations.

Following the inspection, county health officials sent a March 28 letter to Dara’s patients warning them of the risk and suggesting they be tested for the liver diseases, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, and for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

“Evidence gathered at this time suggests that since 2002, some clinic staff provided care in a manner that put patients at risk for infection caused by blood borne viruses, including hepatitis B,” the Aug. 12 letter told patients. “The investigation to date suggests that the hepatitis B infections identified may be associated with the method by which medications were administered and procedures performed at the practice.”