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Public wants the dish on squirrel

by Teresa Edmond
Staff Writer
Suburban Trends
December 10, 2008)

WEST MILFORD - Ignore the public’s squirrel jokes and let’s see how much the disposed toxins have affected local wildlife, environmentalists and local residents have said.

Upper Ringwood residents and conservationists are twisting government officials’ arms to come up with a complete, finalized report on the contamination’s presence in local wildlife brought on by the lead-based paint sludge Ford Motor Company disposed around 40 years ago.

Among the severe consequences of Ford’s actions, the toxins are believed not only to have wreaked havoc on the Upper Ringwood food chain, but also on the residents who hunt and then eat the game animals, like squirrels.

At the Dec. 2 community advisory group (CAG) meeting, Edison Wetlands Association Executive Director Robert Spiegel pressed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a “full-blown” biota report.

Since the biota report was last unveiled at the November 2007 CAG meeting, “the whole thing kind of dropped,” Spiegel said.

In November 2006, the EPA first discovered presence of lead in game animals, starting with squirrels. The state issued a squirrel consumption advisory in early 2007 while the EPA continued to investigate squirrel samples because of inconsistencies in levels.

In November 2007, it was revealed that the amount of lead collected in animal samples wasn’t as high as originally thought because of a lab mix-up. The worn-out hub of the blender used to process animal samples tainted the meats with more metals than had originally existed.

In spite of the residents’ dilemma, some of the media and the public – including late-night comedian Jay Leno – poked fun at some Ringwood residents’ unusual diet that includes squirrel.

Spiegel insisted on seeing a thorough report and that it be made available at the January or February CAG meeting. He called the report’s delay “an insult” because it belies government health officials’ insistence that the Upper Ringwood Superfund site is an urgent matter to them.

“This (the Superfund site) is a pathway of exposure,” he said.

Joseph Gowers, EPA project manager, explained that the agency and government health officials did a “pretty thorough” biota study where they collected wild carrot samples and different animals like deer, turkeys and crayfish.

Gowers further said the report concluded that the wild carrots and the lower half of the lower food chain in the O’Connor Disposal Area, like shrews, has been affected by the contamination. The same report revealed that the upper-level animals like deer, squirrels and turkeys were safe to consume.

Gowers said that the EPA is open to investigating other matters of concern to residents and environmentalists.

“If there’s something more for us to look for, propose it to us in writing, and we’ll look at that proposal, but I think we did a pretty thorough biota study,” Gowers said. “(But) there is a report that hasn’t been finalized yet.”

Sharon Kubiak, program specialist for the state health department, reasoned that state officials are taking their time with the report’s preparation even though she says, “The results won’t change.”

“Part of the issue is, we don’t want to come out saying we have a brand new report,” she said. “We want to finish it and give it to you. We don’t want it to be on Jay Leno again.”

A state health department spokesperson said that once the report is finished, the department would release it to the public and publish it on the department’s Web site.

But like the advocates, residents want the report unveiled despite the public ridicule that could spring from it.

“They’re dragging their feet across the board,” said resident Roger DeGroat, a CAG member.