July 18, 2008

Hopewell residents meet to discuss Superfund site progress

Hundreds of residents packed a meeting Thursday night in which the EPA discussed the ongoing plans for the Hopewell Precision Superfund site.

Debra Hall is a resident and active proponent of installing a system to bring water from the Little Switzerland area to the homes in the affected area, rather than make those residents rely on contaminated well water.

Affected areas are near Ryan Drive, Creamery Road, Clove Branch Road and Old Farm Road.

She said she’s satisfied with the way the EPA has been handling the situation.

“The EPA’s been very good,” she said Friday morning. “I even got up and said that at the meeting.”

Hopewell Junction residents have been plagued by trichloroethylene, or TCE, a chemical the Hopewell Precision plant dumped into the ground during the 1970s.

Some people who were exposed to TCE have been diagnosed with cancer, kidney and liver damage and other illnesses.