Environmental Action and the Challenges of Radioactive Waste Disposal in New Jersey

• In Event: Environmentalism Without Justice: Popular Discontent with State Environmental Regulation in Argentina and the US

Abstract

This presentation examines a community’s resistance and the political battles regarding the state of New Jersey’s attempted radon waste disposal in Colliers Mills Wildlife Area (a natural wildlife preserve) in 1987. Radon-contaminated drums were slated to be moved from historically-polluted North Jersey to a federally protected natural wildlife management area in Ocean County. As a result, the communities of both Plumsted and Jackson Townships mobilized, conducting 24-hour site watches of the reserve, in addition to petitioning local, state, and federal elected officials to prevent the waste disposal. While residents of the affected townships protested in their own communities, the relocation of the radon drums was further complicated by legislators faced with the challenges of implementing environmental policy, a growing new reality of governance after the passage of sweeping federal environmental regulation and legislation in the 1970s. This talk argues that the efforts of grassroots activists in mobilizing citizens, in tandem with judicial and legislative battles, is evident of the broader, complex nature of twentieth century environmentalism. The issues surrounding radon disposal in the Colliers Mills wildlife reserve bring into question the responsibility of government and its environmental policymaking, the effectiveness of grassroots activism, and the extent to which “NIMBY”-ism informs one’s environmentalism.

Author

• Ellie Witham, Northeastern University