Chemical Coast
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The Chemical Coast is the section of Union and Middlesex counties in New Jersey that faces Staten Island, New York across the Arthur Kill.
The name was first used by Conrail to designate a freight railway line that served several chemical plants in the area.
Emissions from the area's chemical plants have been blamed for some serious health problems that have been observed among residents of neighborhoods on Staten Island situated directly across the Arthur Kill, specifically an elevated rate of cancer found to exist among long-time denizens of Travis. Strange — though not necessarily unpleasant — odors often waft across the Arthur Kill, and affect air quality not only on Staten Island's West Shore where Travis is located, but parts of the island's South Shore and Mid-Island regions as well.
A freight line connection from New Jersey to the Staten Island Railway, via the Chemical Coast line, has been restored as of late 2006, and is operated by the Morristown and Erie Railway under contract with the State of New Jersey. The railroad bridge over the Arthur Kill waterway has also been restored, and at least one freight train has made the crossing in 2006 from New Jersey to Staten Island. Plans are to reactivate the North Shore of the Staten Island Railway to allow freight shipments to and from the recently revamped Howland Hook Marine Terminal.[1][2]
The current Chemical Coast connection to Staten Island is freight service only, although separate plans are also being studied to reactivate passenger service on the North Shore Branch on Staten Island. Some of these latter proposals would run passenger trains to Cranford Junction, while others call for a western terminus at either the former Arlington or Port Ivory stations on Staten Island.[3]
Ethanol transshipment
In August, 2006 the Linden Terminal intermodal facility started operating on Point Tremley along the Arthur Kill in Linden. The facility transfers ethanol for fuel use between barges, rail cars, trucks, and temporary storage tanks.[4]
Biodiesel Production
In May 2007, The Star-Ledger reported that New Jersey based biodiesel producer Fuel Bio "is trying to plant a green footprint on New Jersey's notorious Chemical Coast." The company is a producer of biofuels located inside of New York Terminals, [5] whose production facility is located in Elizabeth, New Jersey across the Arthur Kill from Staten Island.
Incidents
At 4:55 AM on Friday September 29, 2000 a tank car carrying more than 27,000 US gallons (100,000 L) of butane derailed while switching off to a siding along the Chemical Coast line in Woodbridge, New Jersey. Residents of 163 houses were evacuated while the clean up effort took place. The car was rerailed and put back into service undamaged later that day.[6]
At 10:16 AM on Thursday March 12, 2009 a tank car carrying isopropyl acetate through Carteret developed a leak. Conrail contacted the Carteret Fire Department and the Middlesex County Hazmat Response Team for assistance. The leak was fixed by 12:04 PM after a spill of 100 US gallons (380 L) had already taken place.[7]
See also
References
- ^ "Howland Hook Marine Terminal". Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
- ^ "Port Ivory New Intermodal Container Transfer Facility". AECOM. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
- ^ Maura Yates and Phil Helsel (July 12, 2008). "Reality check for Staten Island's rail plans". Retrieved 2009-02-24.
- ^ "New York Harbor Ethanol Terminal Nears Completion". U.S. Development Group, LLC. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
- ^ Casiano, Jonathan (May 04, 2007). "It's clean, green and from a bean" (PDF). The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Rail Tanker Leaves Tracks In New Jersey". New York Times. September 30, 2000. p. B2. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
- ^ "Conrail Rail Car Leak / Mayor's Staterment - Carteret, NJ - AmericanTowns.com". March 13, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-07.