Description
102 108 South Warren Street, Trenton City, Mercer County, N.J.
During the Second Battle of Trenton in 1777, Warren Street was known as King Street. King Street reaches past Assunpink Creek and is connected to the Delaware River. The area surrounding the Assunpink, including George Page Park, used to contain a string of mills and factories along what are now called South Warren and South Broad Street.
According to trentonhistory.org, South Warren and South Broad Street is where Trenton decided to take part in the Industrial Revolution. The Assunpink’s water power supported the expansion of an early textile industry in the first half of the 19th century.
In 2013, the exact location is now owned by real estate company Woodrose Properties, Golden Swan. One of the businesses on Warren Street is currently an AT&T store, which used to be a cooper’s shop owned by Aaron Furman.
It has been concluded that any possible pollutants discovered in Assunpink Creek would have been caused by the various mills and factories that were present during the 19th century. The primary leads that could have caused any ongoing harm to the Assunpink are the two cotton manufacturing facilities that had existed in the 1920s, The Eagle Factory, and the Trenton Manufactory.
Just below South Broad Street, on the south bank of the Assunpink, was the Eagle Factory. Directly next to it and more downstream, there was a smaller cotton mill, which was the Trenton Manufacturing Company. A group of merchants, named the Walns, were the owners of both factories. Moore Oil Mill Company was also located nearby, in addition to some other Clinton commerce sites that were built around 1828.
Around the 1920s, there had been iron, flour, cotton, wool, copper, and paper mills built along the banks of the Assunpink between South Broad and South Warren Streets. These mills were built in chronological order from east to west on the south bank. The area was considered to be an abandoned site for an extended period of time after these mills and factories were demolished around the late 1900s.
Although there have been allegations that Assunpink Creek is polluted, there is no overall contamination record to back up these suspicions. It is considered a possible brownfield by the city of Trenton, but the NJDEP does not list it among other contaminated sites. Their standards differ depending on the circumstances.
The NJDEP suggests that the previous developments which have become vacant over the years are most likely the cause of contamination. Presently near the Assunpink’s location on Tyrell Avenue, there are some small abandoned pieces of land, and in front of them, there is a large pit filled with what appears to be junk, which Dr. Caruso and a few other Trenton residents speculate to be a scrap yard.
Research scientist and SRP Green Energy Coordinator for the New Jersey NJDEP, Carey Compton, elaborated on New Jersey’s remediation process when dealing with a contaminated sight.
“[The contaminated site], with the help of a hired Licensed Site Profession company, uses the ’s Remediation Standards for soil, ground water, and sediment screening criteria, many of which are based on toxicity to humans via different routes of exposure such as direct contact, inhalation, and/or digestion,” Compton said.
Despite the location not being considered a brownfield site, there are plans to determine the contaminants in Assunpink Creek, due to the fact that it could potentially flood surrounding areas (as it had during hurricane Irene in Aug. 2011). It is referred to as the Assunpink Greenway project, and it is going to involve remediation and an intensive investigation into the suspected groundwater and soil contaminants.
The contaminants of concern are Antimony, Arsenic, Copper, Lead, PCBs, TPH, and Zinc. If humans and animals are exposed to one or more of these contaminants, serious health effects may occur, including lung and cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, birth defects, and a higher risk of cancer, such as leukemia.
According to Rutgers environmental science expert, Professor Lisa Rodenburg, these contaminants are the same kinds of chemicals that have been found in many other rivers in the state of New Jersey, due to our long history of industrialization.
“[The contaminants] that are listed are the most common contaminants found throughout the country. As the name implies, petroleum hydrocarbons come from any kind of petroleum products (oil, gas, etc). PCBs were used in all kinds of electrical equipment, but they have been banned since the 1970s [due to environmental hazards]. The metals can come from a whole variety of industrial processes,” said Rodenburg.
Dr. Compton added, “The contaminants of antimony, arsenic, copper, lead, and zinc are all found naturally in soils with some more than others based on the parent rock from which they are weathered. However, PCBs are man-made.”
The city of Trenton conducted a triad-based (3 phase) project that was conducted at the Crescent-wire property along the Assunpink in 2003, which was funded by the city of Trenton. The project assessed contaminants in groundwater, soil, and sediment.
In March 2013, the Trenton Cities of Service prompted their most recent eco-friendly event which was a clean sweep in Mill Hill Park. As of right now, Trenton is still awaiting funds to go through with remediation.
Online Sources:
brownfieldstsc.org
trentonnj.org
epa.org
trentonhistory.org
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