An ominous “toxic” situation brewing at 14th & Bloomfield in Hoboken?
One Hoboken411 reader, who lives near the St. Louis building at 14th & Bloomfield, received a letter which concerned them greatly.
It was about a toxic situation regarding Benzene and other dangers currently being re-mediated in that area.
The letter wasn’t publicized anywhere, and it may cause concern for nearby areas due to the uncertainty of the situation. Read on…

Are toxic chemicals harming uptown Hoboken residents?
“Last weekend, my entire building received certified letters regarding a big clean-up at 150 14th Street (The St. Louis). I also see that the firm that is handling this cleanup was deposed in a lawsuit – “Onafets, Inc v. ExxonMobilCorp” in 2007.
The St. Louis was built on top of a parking lot that had previously been a gas station. When they started digging at that site, the stench of gas fumes was all over the block and into the apartments on the block. They were trucking black wet dirt out of there, truckload after truckload, just reeking of gas. The guy who used to own the gas station there kept saying he “spilled a lot of gasoline there, and he couldn’t understand how they could get permits to build residential units on the site.”
The St. Louis was completed and opened sometime in 2006. So, it appears within a year there was a lawsuit. I’m wondering what they mean in the certified letter when they say “subsequent investigative activities indicated that petroleum contaminated groundwater had migrated off site.” Has it leeched into the Garden Street Lofts Building next door? Are they getting fumes and having problems within the St. Louis itself? Are other buildings in the vicinity at risk from them?

The letter mentions very serious contaminants (like benzene). Shouldn’t more people know when there are pregnant women and babies all up and down the block? If you had smelled the horrible air when they first started digging the site, you’d understand my concern. In my apartment, with all doors and windows shut tight, you could smell gas.
What I don’t understand is if they supposedly re-mediated the site back in late 2005 / early 2006, why is the site still contaminated?
Sincere concerns! Here are some other questions to ponder:
CLICK FULL SCREEN BUTTON ON THE LOWER RIGHT…
CLICK FULL SCREEN BUTTON ON THE LOWER RIGHT…
Hopefully, it’s not a major issue – but toxic chemicals are always reasons for alarm!
Hoboken NJ
Technorati Tags: 150 14th Street, Benzene, environment, gas station, Health Risk, Hoboken, Leak, Letter to the Editor, New Jersey, NJ, Plumes, Reader Letter, Reader Mail, Remediation, St. Louis, Toxic Chemicals