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Sweeney, Madden And Moriarty Applaud Completion Of ‘Kiddie Kollege’ Clean-Up

TRENTON – Senate President Steve Sweeney, Senator Fred H. Madden and Assemblyman Paul Moriarty today voiced their approval of the completion of the site remediation of an area of land in Franklinville, which once housed the Kiddie Kollege Daycare Center.

Kiddie College was shut down in July of 2006, after the state Department of Environmental Protection’s discovery of mercury in the soil. The site had once housed the Accutherm mercury thermometer factory.

“The completion of this site remediation marks the end of a years-long process, which revolutionized the way contaminated sites in New Jersey are made safe for future use,” said Senator Sweeney, D-Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem. “What happened at this Franklinville site should never have happened, and with the law in place, we are working hard to ensure that it will never happen again.”

“As a parent and a grandparent, I can understand how devastating the discovery was to the parents of the children who attended Kiddie Kollege,” said Senator Madden, D-Camden and Gloucester. “The 2007 law and the completion of the clean-up project are the result of much hard work at the State level to prevent future incidents.”

“The full remediation of the Accutherm/Kiddie Kollege site will hopefully bring the 60-plus affected families and staff members that much closer to closure,” said Moriarty, D-Gloucester. “At the same time, the site must serve as a reminder of the lessons learned, so that we never again allow a school or dwelling to be built on toxic land.”

Senators Sweeney and Madden, and Assemblyman Moriarty were the prime sponsors of the 2007 law which requires the state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to adopt procedures for the evaluation and assessment of the interior of buildings that are to be used as daycare centers or for educational purposes, as well as standards that establish the maximum contaminant levels allowed for the buildings. Construction officials are prohibited from issuing construction permits for any sites that do not meet the proposed DHSS standards.

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