Posted on 01/25/2007 7:24:08 PM PST by martin_fierro
N.J. warns: Don't eat squirrel near dump
Thu Jan 25, 5:36 PM ET
TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey has warned squirrel hunters near a toxic waste dump about consuming the critters because they could be contaminated with lead.
It is the first time the state has cautioned Ringwood residents _ many who are members of the Ramapough Mountain Indian tribe who hunt and fish in the area _ about their squirrel intake, said Tom Slater, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Senior Services.
A lead-contaminated squirrel was found in the area two months ago, prompting the agency, along with the state Department of Environmental Protection, to send out letters advising that adults eat squirrel no more than twice a week and even less for children and pregnant women.
Lead, which is harmful in small amounts, can damage the nervous system, red blood cell production and the kidneys.
"We've known for a long time something was wrong here, we just didn't know what it was," resident Myrtle Van Dunk said.
Residents and many environmental activists believe the lead comes from toxic waste, including paint sludge, dumped in the area by the Ford Motor Co. during the 1960s and early 1970s, from its now-closed car manufacturing plant in Mahwah.
Ford is removing thousands of tons of waste from a 500-acre former mining property in the Ringwood area. The site was recently relisted on the federal Superfund list, a ranking of the country's worst environmental dump sites, after multiple cleanups failed to remove all the sludge
Trans fats, lead paint chips, and now this. I am sick and freaking tired of these damn scientologists laying down the law on what I can and can not eat!
Is it okay if I kill a dump squirrel, and then go home and eat it? What about muskrat, mole, and cockroach?
New Jersey is further south than Ireland....
Damn Yankee.
Cork people are Dixies....
Cork people are crazy!
Of course, squirrels, like pigeons, are about as common to roadkill as kudzu on an old Lousiana barn.
Do they still have lead plumbing in D.C.?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.