ASBURY PARK PRESS :: MONMOUTH EDITION

APP.COM $1.50

THURSDAY 09.22.16

Long Branch
police officer
knocked out
in assault
$20,000 reward offered
for information in attack

CHROMIUM-6

Deadly chemical compound

found prevalent in New Jersey

KATIE PARK @KATHSPARK

water can cause cancers, liver

damage and reproductive
and developmental problems

ARE TOXINS IN
YOUR WATER?
RUSS ZIMMER @RUSSZIMMER

The tap water for nearly 200 million Americans, including most of the Jersey Shore, contains a toxin that can cause cancer even from relatively little
exposure, according to a new report.
Chromium-6 is a nasty chemical compound that can cause cancers, liver
damage and reproductive and developmental problems. It got the Hollywood
treatment in the 2000 movie Erin Brockovich, which started Julia Roberts
as the eponymous public health crusader.
But while chromium-6 frequently was found in New Jersey drinking water,
the levels never approached existing standards although the Environmental Working Group, the author of the report released Tuesday, argues that the
safe drinking water standard for chromium-6 is too high.
The group, an environmental health research and advocacy organization,
determined that 12,000 Americans across the nation are at risk of cancer from
chromium-6 ingestion. The authors used Californias health goal as a benchmark, which would put no more than one-in-a-million at a risk of cancer over a
70-year lifetime.
Lawmakers are seeking answers. State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, D-Union,
asked a state water quality board Wednesday to set stringent levels for hexavalent chromium while Sen. Kevin OToole, R-Wayne, has called for a legislaSee WATER, Page 2A

The threat from chromium-6 is well below

established health standards in New Jersey.
Be sure to visit us online at APP.com to see how your
utility service scored in its samples.

LONG BRANCH - Police raised a reward to $20,000

to search for the person, or people, who assaulted Police
Officer Michael Monahan a little before 2 a.m. on Tuesday.
Monahan, a 12-year law enforcement veteran, was
on duty and patrolling the area of Westwood and Bath
avenues when he reported seeing several people holding flashlights near an abandoned building, said Kelly
Hughes, administrative assistant at the Long Branch
Police Department.
The people fled as the officer exited his car, Hughes
said.
Monahan chased them and caught one, until he was
struck on the back of the head and knocked unconscious, Hughes said.
Other officers were unable to reach Monahan by radio, and they found him lying facedown by his flashSee OFFICER, Page 6A

TERROR SEASIDE PARK & NYC BOMBINGS

200M

Nearly 200 million Americans

across all 50 states are exposed to unsafe levels of
chromium-6 or hexavalent
chromium, a heavy metal
known to cause cancer in
animals and humans, according to a new report released
Tuesday by the nonprofit
research and advocacy organization Environmental
Working Group.
COURTESY OF FBI

12,000

The report estimates that the

chemical will cause more
than 12,000 excess cases of
cancer by the end of the
century, beyond the number
of cases that would be expected if the contaminant
were uniformly found at
normal drinking levels.

ROBERT COHN/ASBURY PARK DESIGN STUDIO ILLUSTRATION

Ugly side of politics emerges at trial

PAUL BERGER AND DUSTIN RACIOPPI

A security camera caught these two men walking away from

West 27th Street in Manhattan on Saturday night.

Have you seen

these men? FBI
eyes witnesses
FBI appealed for the publics help in locating two unidentified men who removed an explosive device from a piece of
luggage planted near where a separate bomb detonated
Saturday in New York. 3B

Edison woman has been awarded full custody of child she

had with bomb suspect, but judge denies emergency request
to change childs name, according to court records. 10A

@PDBERGER AND @DRACIOPPI

JASON TOWLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Gov. Chris Christie departs the Fort Lee municipal building

on Jan. 9, 2014, after the bridge scandal became public.

Lies. Fear. Intimidation.

The second day of testimony in the conspiracy
trial of two former allies of Gov. Chris Christie exposed the ugly side of politics in the region when subordinates try to please or placate the governors
of New York and New Jersey.
Two former allies of Christie, Bill Baroni and
Bridget Anne Kelly, are on trial accused of closing access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in Fort
Lee, in September 2013, to punish the towns mayor
for not endorsing Christies re-election that year.
Jurors heard how the resulting traffic jams were
See TRIAL, Page 2A

What could Gov. Chris Christies school funding formula mean for your taxes or your
kids schools? Find out at our Schools Summit on Saturday. More, 3A

Charlotte remains shaken

by police-involved shooting
that left black man dead. 1B

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VOLUME 137
NUMBER 228
SINCE 1879

With bomb-making recipes a mouse-click away on the Internet, experts said devices are easier to make than ever before and will likely remain an ongoing threat. 10A