Ever since the entrepreneur Neziah Bliss purchased majority of the land in Greenpoint in the 1830s, Greenpoint has never been the same: ferry services were established, public turnpikes were opened, and industrialization by the waterfront began. Greenpoint soon thrived with shipbuilding industry and petroleum refineries. Oddly enough, after hundred years, what has brought wealth into Greenpoint became the source of major health concerns.

The petroleum industry can date back to 140 years ago when petroleum-refining operations began with kerosene as the major product. By 1870, 50 refineries were built and few decades’ later, gasoline and fuel oils became the dominant product refined. Some of the refineries were recorded to have the capacity to refine 33,000 barrels of crude oil.1 All the refining of oils brought business and workers to Greenpoint, but in return, the environment was sacrificed.

The refineries were juxtaposed alongside the Newtown Creek, a core area of the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary. During 1978 the United States Coast Guard reported seepage of petroleum into Newtown Creek. Further investigation found that approximately 17 million gallons of contaminants were released into the Creek.2The released products were mixture of oil, kerosene, and gasoline. This mixture is known as a free product: any petroleum based product that does not mix with water and floats on top of the water due to its lighter weight. While some residents still enjoy their recreational activities such as fishing and kayaking, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated that various water samples showed “potentially harmful” substances for people. Riverkeeper, New York’s clean water advocate, identified the environmental threats of the spill: the water supply beneath Greenpoint is destroyed due to the presence of carcinogenic hydrocarbons in the aquifer, the growth of aquatic life is hindered, and the oil soaked-soil produced a fire hazardous area.

Michael Heimbinder, founder and executive director of HabitatMap (an environmental health justice organization), emphasized the crucial reasons why the conditions of Newtown Creek should not be neglected. He stated that as an estuary boarding Queens and Brooklyn, Newtown Creek is “the center of New York City.” He explained that Newtown Creek has the largest sewer system that dumps everything into the river including toilet water and garbage, oil and gas from the infrastructures, and ethanol. In result, the water is contaminated creating a public health hazard. Mr. Heimbinder, therefore, underscored the need for the EPA to add Newtown Creek to its Superfund List, which will provide government funding to perform a long-term, clean up programs.

The toxic plume also contaminated nearby soil and underground water, which rests about 30 feet below the ground surface in residential areas. The soil vapor intrusion data summary prepared by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) determined the current BP property as the source of the petroleum free product plume. They stated that chlorinated solvents such as tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) were found in soil vapor, soil and groundwater. The indoor air concentration of PCE ranged from 0.73 µg/m3 to 12 µg/m3 and the indoor air concentration of TCE ranged from not detected to 13 µg/m3. Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment stated the TCE level of 1.6 µg/m3 or higher is enough amount to require the responsible party to provide an adequate ventilation, but the level of TCE found in some area far exceeded that amount indicating the health risk of the residents who were exposed to toxic air for many years. In contradictory, a recent Department of Environmental Conservation report tested indoor air of residential area above the oil spillage and concluded that it does not have dangerous vapors. Although no hard data is provided, TCE is concluded as ”highly likely” toxin to cause cancer, birth defects and infertility.3 Michael Heimbinder linked the air pollution with an increase in asthma rate in the vicinity of industrialized area.

Despite the variance among test results on the effect of contaminants, every environmental organization, advocate groups, and alliances are pursuing consistent cleaning up of Newtown Creek. Major project is a petroleum remediation project aimed to remove any untreated petroleum products and purify contaminated water. As of January 2009, approximately 10 million gallons of petroleum product has been recovered and over 3.5 billion gallons of groundwater has been treated.4ExxonMobil Terminal, former Paragon Terminal, and BP Terminal are main focus of the remediation project. As for TCE and PCE, Spic and Span Cleaners and Dyer, Klink Cosmo Cleaners and Acme Steel are accused of polluting soil and groundwater. These polluters will be hunt down by New York State to either fund the cleanups or reimburse New York State for our costs to perform these cleanups.5

Greenpoint residents also demand an increase in clean up projects. Laura Hofmann believes that it was more than a coincidence that her mother developed a brain cancer and that her father had degenerative brain disorder. 6 Her epiphany came when she realized that the grey ashes on her tomatoes every morning were from former Greenpoint Incinerator. She concluded that her children have been eating food from soil contaminated with cancer causing toxins. Similar stories of Laura are currently recorded as part of the Newtown Creek Community Health and Harm Narratives. This study aims to document the public health concerns of Newtown Creek area residents.7