As we have stressed several times on this blog, Lakes Charles residents may be at risk for benzene exposure because the dangerous chemicals is used in many industrial capacities, such as those performed in factories and production facilities in our region.

But Louisiana is not the only state where benzene exposure is a very real risk. New Jersey, for example, is dealing with own benzene scare right now.

According to a local citizen's group, a former American Cyanamid factory north of Bridgewater leaked benzene into the Raritan River in 2006, which put the residents of the Bridgewater at risk for coming into contact with the known carcinogen. But the state's environmental department and the federal Environmental Protection Agency did not disseminate news of the spill.

A spokesman for the group said the group cannot yet tell if this was bureaucratic error or a deliberate cover-up. Neither New Jersey's state environmental department nor the Environmental Protection Agency has commented on the claims.

The former American Cyanamid factory is a Superfund site, meaning it has been designated as one of the most environmentally polluted sites in the country. It is now owned by pharmaceutical company Pfizer, which is mulling how to best restore the site to productivity.

If the citizen's groups allegations are true, than the residents of Bridgewater should be very worried because benzene exposure has been linked to a great many health problems, not the least of which is cancer. Hopefully everything will turn out okay, but at least for now, local residents have reason to be concerned.

Source: The Somerset Messenger-Gazette, "Monitoring agency says EPA failed to share reports of Raritan River benzene contamination near American Cyanamid Superfund site in Bridgewater," Warren Cooper, Feb. 13, 2012