Some NJ Residents Concerned About Safety After Railroad Ties Discarded Along Tracks
GLEN ROCK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Piles of old NJ TRANSIT railroad ties that have been left along the tracks in Glen Rock have some local residents concerned about possible health risks.
The ties have been sitting for more than a month along the Rock Road tracks, WCBS 880's Kelly Waldron reported.
Some NJ Residents Concerned About Safety After Railroad Ties Discarded Along Tracks
Local resident Bob Crowland said the chemically treated wood is highly flammable.
"My concern is not what they're using; it's how long it's been stacked up there, and especially in the hot weather like this," Crowland said. "It becomes a tinder box."
Laura said she hasn't thought much about it.
"They're the same railroad ties that are going to be used on the railroad, and I have never had concerns about that," she said.
Delores Neeuriter told CBS2's Hazel Sanchez that the ties are right across from her apartment at Glen Courts and have made her and her neighbors nervous.
"There is a possibility that it could cause cancer, and being a survivor I really think that should be removed as soon as possible, and hopefully it will be," she said.
Another resident admits the mounds of ties are an eyesore, but other than that, she accepts that there's work to be done.
"People have to be flexible, and if they're doing a project, they have to go somewhere," the woman said.
NJ TRANSIT said the piles should be gone by the end of the week.
Hundreds of the ties have been sitting near the train station for more than a month, as crews replace them for part of the annual track maintenance program.
The ties, much like wooden utility poles, are treated with the chemical creosote to prevent them from rotting.
"They put them there and they created a hazard, and I know that if I or my neighbor had a hazard in his yard he'd be fined and told to get rid of it. Well, I don't know why we can't make them compel New Jersey Transit to fix the problem they created," Robert Burselm said.
NJ Transit told CBS2 that the rail ties are not a hazard, and the materials meet EPA and DEP standards.
With residents, including immobile seniors, concerned about potential risks NJ transit has planned to move the ties this week.
"It should be gone by now. It's been there a long time," Al Duthie said.
