The Newark Experience

Division of Environmental Health.

The Division of Environmental Health of the Department of Health and Community Wellness provides comprehensive delivery of inspection services, investigations, and education programs to citizens and consumers in order to assure a healthful and protected environment. The Division includes: Animal Control; Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program; Food & Drug Bureau; Rodent Control; and Weights and Measures.

Bird's Eye View of New Water Supply System of the City of Newark

Scientific American, August 8, 1891.

When it Rains: Stormwater Management, Redevelopment, and Chronologies of Infrastructure

Kessie Alexandre. Geoforum 97, December 2018, pp. 66-72.

"This article offers an ethnographic account of flooding and stormwater management in the city of Newark, New Jersey, examining stormwater management, urban redevelopment, and their entanglements in a postindustrial landscape." Rutgers-restricted Access

Optimizing the Maintenance Strategies for a Network of Green Infrastructure: An Agent-based Model for Stormwater Detention Basins

Rayan H. Assaad, Ghiwa Assaf, and Michel Boufadel. Journal of Environmental Management 330, 2023, Article 117179

"This paper used agent-based modeling (ABM) to devise an optimal maintenance program for detention basins to ensure that they function properly and continue to perform their water quality and flood control functions...The developed ABM was applied for the entire network of stormwater detention basins in Newark, NJ." Rutgers-restricted Access

Air Pollution
Lead Poisoning
Newark Bay
Passaic River

Air Pollution

Remedies for Environmental Injustice: Addressing the Localized Concentration of Air Pollution and Asthma among Newark's Poor

Zachary Aboff. 10, October 2022.

"This analysis investigates the available legal remedies for residents of Newark’s Ironbound and similarly positioned communities that could be used to halt or possibly reverse the concentrating of pollution sources in their neighborhoods."

Daily Satellite Observations of Nitrogen Dioxide Air Pollution Inequality in New York City, New York and Newark, New Jersey: Evaluation and Application

Isabella M. Dressel et al. Environmental Science & Technology 56(22), 2022, pp. 15298-15311

"We statistically analyze daily NO2 inequalities, presenting empirical evidence of the systematic overburdening of communities of color and low-income neighborhoods with polluting sources, regulatory ozone co-benefits, and worsened NO2 inequalities and cumulative NO2 and urban heat burdens with climate change." Rutgers-restricted Access

Chemical Characteristics of Precipitation at Metropolitan Newark in the US East Coast

Fei Song and Yuan Gao. Atmospheric Environment 43(32), October 2009, pp. 4903-4913.

"To investigate the chemical characteristics of precipitation in the polluted coastal atmosphere, a total of 46 event-based precipitation samples were collected using a wet-only automatic precipitation collector from September 2006 to October 2007 at metropolitan Newark, New Jersey in the US East Coast." Rutgers-restricted Access

Air Pollution, Meteorology and Public Health in New Jersey: Case Studies of Newark and the Meadowlands

Dawn Roberts-Semple. Thesis (Ph.D). Newark, N.J., Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, 2012.

"This dissertation adapts an integrated approach to improve understanding about the role of meteorological factors on air pollution concentrations and their cumulative effects on public health in Newark and the Meadowlands, New Jersey."

Environmental Justice Education and Atmospheric Particulate Analysis in Urban Environmental Health Policy Development: Indoor Airborne Particulate Concentrations in Preschools of Asthmatic Children in Newark.

Rita L. Thornton. Thesis (Ph.D), Rutgers University - Newark, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2006.

"This study analyzes the community locations and evaluates literature and other available air pollution data for the target communities in the city of Newark. The study focuses on asthma or reative airway diseases as a target health risk. It also performs data collection on particulate pollutants and levels of trace metals in particulate matter in target communities and schools of preschool children in two of the five Wards of Newark." Available?

Outdoor Aeroallergens, Air Pollutants, and Daily Asthma Hospitalization in Two Urban Areas of New Jersey Rutgers-restricted access

Stella Manchun Tsai. Ph.D. Thesis, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, 2007.

Evaluates the association between ambient aeroallergen and air pollutant concentrations and asthma hospitalization rates in Camden and in Elizabeth/Newark from 1999 to 2002. Available?

"Manganese Pollution in the City Environment and its Relationship to Traffic Density," Rutgers-restricted access

Morris M. Joselow et.al. American Journal of Public Health 68(6), June 1978, 557-560.

"Street soils from various locations...[in Newark] were analyzed for manganese and lead...Highly significant inverse relationships were found between the concentrations of both contaminants and distance from major traffic arteries."

"Benzene, Artificial Leather and Aplastic Anemia: Newark, 1916-1928,"

William D. Sharpe. Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine 69(1), January-February 1993, 47-60.

Lead Poisoning

Childhood Lead Poisoning: Newark, New Jersey's Preventable Disease: An Exploratory Study

Gwendolyn G. Grant. (Masters Thesis) Newark State College, 1971. Rutgers-restricted Access

"Lead Poisoning in Newark: The Situation Prior to a Case Finding and Intervention Program,"

Ann A. Browder. Journal of the Medical Society of New Jersey 69(2), February 1972, 101-6.

"Assessment of lead poisoning in Newark during the 15 months January 1, 1969 through March 31, 1970 showed that the number of children screened, treated, and followed were far below the number projected at risk of lead poisoning." Available?

"Lead Poisoning: More Than a Medical Problem,"Rutgers-restricted access

D. Jean Schneider and Marvin A. Lavenhar. American Journal of Public Health 76(3), March 1986, 242-244.

Lead paint used in pre-1950 housing is a major source of lead poisoning in children. In 1980 66 percent of Newark's housing stock predated 1950. An examination of the medical records of 236 Newark children treated for lead poisoning between 1977 and 1980 found that the number of cases began to rise after 1976, when a decrease in federal funding resulted in cutbacks in prevention and screening programs.

"Successful Ways to Increase Retention in a Longitudinal Study of Lead-Exposed Children," Rutgers-restricted access

Susan Adubato et. al. Health & Social Work 28(4), November 2003, 312-315.

Looks at the factors that contributed to a 97 percent retention rate over a five-year period in the Treatment of Lead-Exposed Children (TLC) study in Newark.

Part 2: Housing Crisis Causes Health Crisis: Lead Prevention in Newark Proves Almost Impossible.

Judy Peet and Russell Ben-Ali. November 5, 2001.

Part of a Newark Star-Ledger series on lead poisoning.

Newark Sues Lead Pigment Industry: Charges Lead Manufacturers with Knowingly Poisoning Newark Children

December 4, 2001 Press Release

City of Newark v. Lead Industries Association December 2001.

Childhood Lead Poisoning in New Jersey Annual Reports

Essex county continues to have the largest number and percentage of children with elevated blood lead results in the state. The city of Newark has the highest number of children with elevated blood levels.

Childhood Lead Poisoning in New Jersey Annual Report

New Jersey. Department of Health and Senior Services, 19??. Available?

Newark Bay

"Wartime Mobilization and the Newark Bay Home Front Environment: A Case Study Revealing Opportunity for Federal Leadership in Resolving Mega Site Problems" Rutgers-restricted access

Michael Reis. Environmental Claims Journal 18(4), December 2006, pp. 293-320.

Effect of Changes in Sediment and Contaminant Loads in Newark Bay on Future Disposal of Dredged Sediments Rutgers-restricted access

Thomas H. Wakeman. D.E.S. Thesis, Columbia University, 2006. Available?

"Sources of Pollution and Sediment Contamination in Newark Bay, New Jersey," Rutgers-restricted access

David W. Crawford, Nancy L. Bonnevie, and Richard J. Wenning. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 30, February 1995, 85-100.

Reviews the literature and data on chemicals and water quality stressors throughout the Newark Bay estuary. Looks at the historical and current sources of pollution.

"Fishing in Urban New Jersey: Ethnicity Affects Information Sources, Perception, and Compliance," Rutgers-restricted access

Joanna Burger et.al., Risk Analysis 19(2), April 1999, 217-229

"Examines fishing behavior, sources of information, perceptions, and compliance with fishing advisories as a function of ethnicity for people fishing in the NewarkBay Complex."

"Consumption Patterns and Risk Assessment of Crab Consumers From the Newark Bay Complex, New Jersey, USA"

Kerry Kirk Pflugh et al. The Science of the Total Environment 409 (21), 2011, pp. 4536-4544. Rutgers-restricted Access

Concentration and Loads of Organic Compounds and Trace Elements in Tributaries to Newark and Raritan Bays, New Jersey.

Timothy P. Wilson and Jennifer L. Bonin. Prepared for the New Jersey Toxics Reduction Workplan for NY-NJ Harbor Ambient Monitoring of Loading to Major Tributaries at Head-of-Tide Study I-C. Scientific Investigations Report 2007-5059. Reston, Virginia, U.S. Geological Survey, 2007.

"Geochemical and Hydrological Study of Coastal Groundwater Discharging to an Urban Estuary in Northern New Jersey."

Hun Bok Jung. Environmental Earth Sciences 79(6) March, 2020.

"In summer 2017 and 2018, groundwater (n = 39) and sediment (n = 13) samples were collected at depths of 20–175 cm from a sandy coastal aquifer in addition to surface water samples (n = 10) along the Newark Bay, a highly urbanized estuary."

Passaic River

American River

2021 documentary produced and directed by Scott Morris. Based on Mary Bruno’s 2012 book, An American River: From Paradise to Superfund. Rutgers-restricted Access

A Common Tragedy: History of an Urban River.

Timothy J. Iannuzzi et. al. Amherst, Mass., Amherst Scientific Publishers, 2002. Available?

An American River: From Paradise to Superfund; Afloat on New Jersey's Passaic

Mary Bruno. Vashon, Washington, DeWitt Press, 2012. Available?

How Did the Passaic River, a Superfund site near Newark, New Jersey, Become an Agent Orange Dioxin TCDD Hotspot?

Kenneth R. Olson and Mike Tharp. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 75(2), March 2020, pp. 33A-37A.

"The Passaic River parallels the Hudson River and was an industrial river, which included plants that manufactured Agent Orange that was used in the Vietnam War in the 1960s. Stretches of river along Newark are postindustrial, abandoned landscapes, and the sediment at the mouth of the Passaic River near Newark Bay remains contaminated with dioxin TCDD, PCBs, and Hg. The USEPA designated a 27 km (16 mi) stretch of the Passaic River as a Superfund site." Rutgers-restricted Access

Passaic River Litigation: Reference and Studies: Investigations

Links to a large number of enviromental reports relating to the Passaic River.

Changing Sources of Polychlorinated Dibenzo- p-dioxins and Furans in Sediments and Ecological Risk for Nekton in the Lower Passaic River and Newark Bay, New Jersey, USA

Mohammed Khairy, Kirk Barrett, and Rainer Lohmann. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 35(3), March 2016, pp. 550-562.

"Polychlorinated dibenzo‐p‐dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) were measured in sediments (surface and deeper sediments) and porewater of the lower Passaic River and Newark Bay (New Jersey, USA) to apportion their sources and conduct an ecological risk assessment... Sediment concentrations exceeded the published sediment quality guidelines for the protection of fish and benthic species, indicating the existence of significant risk to the aquatic life in the Passaic River." Rutgers-restricted Access

Characterization and Assessment of Contaminated Sediments in Lower Passaic River, New Jersey Rutgers-restricted access

Victor Udoka Onwueme. Thesis (D.Env.M.), Montclair State University, 2008. Available?

Effect of water quality model uncertainty on the Passaic total maximum daily load and water quality trading program for total phosphorus.

Josef Sy Kardos. Thesis (Ph.D.), Rutgers University, 2009.

Diversity of Biodegradative Gene Populations in Aquatic Sediments Examined by Gene-targeted Metagenomics

Elyse Anne Rodgers-Vieira. Thesis (Ph.D), Rutgers The State University of New Jersey - New Brunswick and University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, 2012.

"The Passaic River in Newark, New Jersey has a long history of industrial pollution making it an ideal site to study monooxygenase diversity. 16S rRNA and alkane monooxgyenase gene populations were analyzed by pyrosequencing to determine if sampling location on the river influenced the microbial community and if triplicate enrichments yield comparable results...Sediments from rivers and streams in Central Asia were compared to determine if novel alkane monooxygenase families could be found in a largely unstudied geographic region." Available?

Estimation of Fish Consumption Rates Based on a Creel Angler Survey of an Urban River in New Jersey, USA

Betsy Ruffle, Suzanne Baird, Gemma Kirkwood, and Jay F. Breidt

"A one-year angler intercept survey was conducted on the lower 17 miles of the Passaic River, an urban industrialized river that flows through Newark, New Jersey. The purpose of the survey was to collect data about anglers' behaviors and fish consumption habits in order to calculate exposure factors for a human health risk assessment of the Study Area. This paper focuses on estimating site-specific fish consumption rates for LPRSA anglers that consume their catch."

"The Pollution Problem of the Passaic River,"

Daniel Jacobson. Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society 76(3), July 1958, 186-198.

Traces the gradual pollution of Newark's water supply in the 19th century. Available?

"The Passaic Valley Trunk Sewer,"

Stuart Galishoff. New Jersey History 88(4), Winter 1970, 197-214. Reprinted in Safeguarding the Public Health: Newark, 1895-1918. Westport, Conn., 1975, pp. 54-67.

The Passaic river, which for many years served both as a water supply and major recreational site for Newark and the surrounding area, by the latter part of the 19th century had been polluted to the point that it "had the characteristics of an open sewer." Traces efforts to mitigate the pollution, culminiating in the opening of the Passaic Valley Trunk Sewer in 1924. Available?

Metal Sorption with Struvite, and Intersections with Community Engagement and Science Policy

Omanjana Goswami. (Ph.D. Thesis) Rutgers University - Newark, 2021.

"The concentration and speciation of metals in urban farm soils was evaluated to determine the potential impact of metal-bearing struvite fertilizer on soil contaminant content. Soils were sampled from urban farms across the city of Newark, New Jersey."

Soil Lead Concentration and Speciation in Community Farms of Newark, New Jersey, USA

Omanjana Goswami and Askaki A. Rouff. Soil Systems 5(1), March 2021, 2.

"Farmed urban soils often bear legacies of historic contamination from anthropogenic and industrial sources. Soils from seven community farms in Newark, New Jersey (NJ), USA, were analyzed to determine the concentration and speciation of lead (Pb) depending on garden location and cultivation status."