"WASHINGTON, DC -- New Jersey already has 144 Superfund sites, more than any other state, but it could have even more according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency documents obtained through a lawsuit by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a national alliance of state and federal agency resource professionals.

Twenty-seven contaminated sites in New Jersey pose risks equal to or greater than sites placed on the Superfund National Priority List and scheduled for cleanup, yet the EPA has not added these uncontrolled sites to the list, PEER has determined.

PEER sued the federal agency in late October under the Freedom of Information Act after the agency failed to turn over the Superfund Hazard Rankings for non-listed sites in New Jersey.

The Hazard Ranking System numerically scores risks to public health and the environment from exposure to contaminated groundwater, surface water, soil and air. "

Environment News Service had the story February 16, 2012. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Pallone Asks EPA To Explain 27 Sites Left Off Superfund List" (Asbury Park Press) [3]