14 DAY TRIAL // About 30 years ago, whopping amounts of hexavalent chromium made their way under the commercial and residential buildings in Garfield, New Jersey, “courtesy” of a leaking tank owned by EC Electroplating Co.
Despite efforts to deal with this problem as efficiently as possible, it appears that traces of said chemical compound are still very much present in this urban area.
Hoping to make head and tail of this situation, a team of scientists working with the New York University have now taken it upon themselves to collect and analyze the toenail clippings of the people living in this part of the United States.
As they explain, this will allow them to figure out whether or not the local population runs any significant health risks as a result of their being exposed to dangerous levels of hexavalent chromium.
The Examiner quotes Professor Judith Zelikoff, who reportedly made a case of how, “Because toenails grow slowly, it is possible to see how much chromium has accumulated in the body over the past 18 months or so.”
For the time being, both scientists and health officials wish to reassure the local population that, all things considered, their groundwater and drinking water sources are not contaminated.
However, they did admit that, during their investigations, they managed to pin down high levels of chromium dust in a total of 14 homes. Furthermore, low levels of chromium dust were found in 30-40 houses.
Specialists warn that exposure to high levels of chromium can cause people to experience health issues having to do with their immune systems, their kidneys, their respiratory systems and their urinary tracks.
In certain cases, said chemical compound can be linked to an individual's developing various types of cancer.
The same source informs us that, back in 2011, the country's Environmental Protection Agency decided to call this urban area a Superfund site and argued that it constituted one of the country's most toxic uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.