Introduction

The industrialization and commercialization of modern society has resulted in many benefits to the average person and human wellness as a whole; longer life spans, increased quality and availability of healthcare, more leisure time, and ever increasing technology to make our lives more efficient. However, in addition to all the of the benefits industrialization and commercialization have had on our society there have been many unintended negative consequences, specifically the side effects that have come to be known that these industrial and manufacturing processes have on our environment and people in general. As many of these consequences have been discovered, controls have been put in place to mitigate their impacts on human health and the environment. Perhaps one of the most difficult consequences to tackle has been the proper handling and disposal of our waste. Both ordinary household waste and various forms of industrial waste pose a threat to our health and the environment if not properly handled.

Since the beginning of the industrial age the typical methods for removing waste, both household and commercial had been to bury it (now known as landfilling) or burn it (incineration). These processes were initially done with little knowledge of their impacts on the environment, and in turn how those impacts affected human health. Burning the waste would release many of the chemicals found in the material into the air, which pose human respiratory risks. Landfilling the waste was done in an unregulated fashion, with generators of the waste often oblivious to where the material was going, and what happened to it once it was buried in the landfill. The material deposited in these landfills, either industrial or household waste, would leach harmful compounds into the surrounding soil and more dangerously, the groundwater, which posed a significant threat to anyone who lived in the surrounding area and used well water.

(Rendering of a modern landfill - Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio)

The beginning of the environmental movement in the 1970s sparked a great deal of public concern for our impacts on the environment and consequently our own health. One of the programs to come from this increased concern was the Superfund Program or CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act). Superfund was established in December of 1980 as a method for the government to respond to threats to the environment or public health from contaminated sites. Specifically, the program was instituted after the Love Canal and Times Beach toxic sites discoveries in the 1970s. (Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], 2011) In Southern New Jersey, one of the earliest sites to receive attention of the Superfund program was Price’s Landfill (also known as Price’s Pit), former gravel pit turned landfill which was located along the border of Egg Harbor Township and Pleasantville, and was very close to several public drinking water wells. The proximity of these wells to the drinking supply of Atlantic City made the site a national headline (Janson, 1981).