Chemical Coast
Encyclopedia
The Chemical Coast is the section of Union
Union County, New Jersey
Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 536,499. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Elizabeth. Union County ranks 93rd among the highest-income counties in the United States. It also ranks 74th in...

 and Middlesex
Middlesex County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 750,162 people, 265,815 households, and 190,855 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,422 people per square mile . There were 273,637 housing units at an average density of 884 per square mile...

 counties in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. It is located along the shores of the Arthur Kill
Arthur Kill
The Arthur Kill is a tidal strait separating Staten Island, New York from mainland New Jersey, USA, and a major navigational channel of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Kill is from the Middle Dutch word kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel"...

, a heavily used waterway of the Port of New York and New Jersey
Port of New York and New Jersey
The Port of New York and New Jersey comprises the waterways in the estuary of the New York-Newark metropolitan area with a port district encompassing an approximate area within a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument...

, across from Staten Island, New York.

History

The name was first used by Conrail to designate a freight railway line that served several chemical plants in the area. The rail line was started by the Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad
Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad
The Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad was a railroad operated by the Central Railroad of New Jersey . It was an independent company when it started construction in 1871, but was taken over by the CNJ in 1873. The railroad diverged from the CNJ main line at Elizabethport and ran to South...

 in 1871. However, the company ran out of capital during the panic of 1873
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...

 and was purchased by the Central Railroad of New Jersey
Central Railroad of New Jersey
The Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...

 (CNJ).

The CNJ operated both freight and passenger service along the line into the twentieth century, referring to it as the Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Branch. Passenger trains to Bay Head Junction
Bay Head (NJT station)
Bay Head is a railway station in Bay Head, New Jersey. This station is served by trains on New Jersey Transit's North Jersey Coast Line, and it is the southern terminus for the line. The rail yard contains of wetland inside the loop formed by the tracks used to turn around the trains. The rail...

, Atlantic Highlands, Freehold
Freehold Borough, New Jersey
Freehold is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 12,052. It is the county seat of Monmouth County....

 and Atlantic City (including the Blue Comet
Blue Comet
thumb|right|New Jersey Southern RR and connectionsThe Blue Comet was a named passenger train operated by Central Railroad of New Jersey from 1929 to 1941 between the New York metropolitan area and Atlantic City. Designed by Central Railroad of New Jersey president R.B...

) utilized the line. There were passenger stations at Elizabethport, Carteret
Carteret, New Jersey
Carteret is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 22,844.Carteret was created as the borough of Roosevelt on 11 April 1906, incorporating Woodbridge Township, and was a result of a referendum on 22 May 1906...

, and Sewaren
Sewaren, New Jersey
Sewaren is a census-designated place and unincorporated area within Woodbridge Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 2,780....

. At Elizabethport the CNJ also operated a car repair shop. Passenger service along the line ended in 1967 with the advent of the Aldene Plan when the Bay Head trains (the line's only remaining commuter service) were moved to Newark Penn Station. In 1976 Conrail took over ownership of the line and operation of the substantial freight business the line generated.

The CNJ constructed a two-track bridge over lower Newark Bay
Newark Bay
Newark Bay is a tidal bay at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in northeastern New Jersey. It is home to the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the largest container shipping facility in Port of New York and New Jersey, 3rd largest and one of busiest in the United States...

 in 1864, and upgraded it to a dual pair of four-track lift bridges known collectively as the CRRNJ Newark Bay Bridge in 1926. This bridge offered a route and service through Bayonne
Bayonne, New Jersey
Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is a peninsula that is situated between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east...

 and access to the Communipaw Terminal with ferry service to New York City. After the Conrail takeover the bridge between Bayonne and Elizabethport was demolished in the 1980s, but some of the stone piers were left standing along the shores of Newark Bay.

In 1872 the Singer Manufacturing Company of New York opened a factory in Elizabethport along Trumbull Street next to the intersection of
the CNJ mainline with the Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Branch. In 1873 Singer became a New Jersey corporation. The factory survived a major fire on May 6 and 7, 1890. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 much of the production capacity of the factory was shifted to
war related work, with M1911 pistols being one of several items produced at Elizabethport.
The factory was shut down in the late 1960s.
The brick factory built by Singer served as an industrial park
Industrial park
An industrial park is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development...

 in 2009.

In 1907 John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...

, the founder of the Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...

 company, acquired several hundred acres of the former Morse family estate between Linden
Linden, New Jersey
- Local government :, the Mayor of Linden is . The former longtime Mayor of Linden is 82-year-old John T. Gregorio, who served as mayor of Linden for 30, nonconsecutive years and was repeatedly tagged with scandal during his mayoral career, including one felony conviction, later pardoned, which...

 and Elizabeth
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...

 for what would become the Bayway Refinery
Bayway Refinery
Bayway Refinery is a refining facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey, owned by ConocoPhillips. Located in Linden and Elizabeth, New Jersey, it is the northernmost refinery on the East Coast of the United States. The oil refinery converts crude oil into gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and...

. Construction of the facility took place the following year and the first crude oil stills were fired up on January 2, 1909. The facility underwent
a series of ownership changes and capacity expansions throughout the twentieth century. By 2002 it was owned by ConocoPhilips.

The Shell Oil Company
Shell Oil Company
Shell Oil Company is the United States-based subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, a multinational oil company of Anglo Dutch origins, which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 22,000 Shell employees are based in the U.S. The head office in the U.S. is in Houston, Texas...

 opened a terminal facility on a 145 acres (58.7 ha) former Boynton farm property along Arbor Street in Sewaren in 1928. The terminal was transferred to the Motiva Enterprises
Motiva Enterprises
Motiva Enterprises, LLC, is a 50–50 joint venture between Shell Oil Company and Saudi Refining...

 Shell subsidiary during the twentieth century and expanded to a 4.2 Moilbbl storage capacity with connections to the Colonial pipeline
Colonial Pipeline
Colonial Pipeline, headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, delivers a daily average of of gasoline, home heating oil, aviation fuel and other refined petroleum products to communities and businesses throughout the South and Eastern United States. Colonial consists of more than of pipeline,...

 and barge
Liquid cargo barge
Liquid cargo barges are barges that transport petrochemicals, such as styrene, benzene and methanol; liquid fertilizer, including anhydrous ammonia; refined products, including gasoline, diesel and jet fuel; black oil products, such as asphalt, No...

 docks on the Arthur Kill in addition to the rail connections.
The facility now handles gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...

, diesel fuel, jet fuel
Jet fuel
Jet fuel is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is clear to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial aviation are Jet A and Jet A-1 which are produced to a standardized international specification...

, ethanol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...

, and fuel mixtures.

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
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...

 situated directly across the Arthur Kill, specifically an elevated rate of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 found to exist among long-time denizens of Travis
Travis, Staten Island
Travis is a neighborhood at the west-central shore of Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City. Some local geographers classify Travis as being on the island's West Shore, while others reckon it as a Mid-Island neighborhood.-Name:...

. Strange — though not necessarily unpleasant — odors often waft across the Arthur Kill, and affect air quality not only on Staten Island's West Shore
West Shore, Staten Island
West Shore refers to the section of the New York City borough of Staten Island that borders the Arthur Kill, between the Staten Island Expressway and the Fresh Kills...

 where Travis is located, but parts of the island's South Shore
South Shore, Staten Island
The South Shore is a geographical term applied to the area in the New York City borough of Staten Island, south and east of the island's ridge of hills along the waterfront and adjacent areas from the Narrows to the mouth of the Arthur Kill, although many observers prefer to restrict its scope to...

 and Mid-Island
Mid-Island, Staten Island
Mid-Island is frequently applied to a series of neighborhoods within New York City, USA's borough of Staten Island.Under the definition most commonly adhered to, Mid-Island comprises all of the communities whose ZIP Code is 10314, plus Sunnyside within zip code 10301, along with the western slope...

 regions as well.

A freight line connection from New Jersey to the Staten Island Railway
Staten Island Railway
The Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, publicly known as MTA Staten Island Railway or SIR, is the operator of the lone rapid transit line in the borough of Staten Island, New York City, USA...

, via the Chemical Coast line, has been restored as of late 2006, and is operated by the Morristown and Erie Railway
Morristown and Erie Railway
The Morristown and Erie Railway is a freight short line railroad based in Morristown, New Jersey. It operates freight rail service five days a week in Morris County, New Jersey and surrounding areas...

 under contract with the State of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. The railroad bridge over the Arthur Kill
Arthur Kill
The Arthur Kill is a tidal strait separating Staten Island, New York from mainland New Jersey, USA, and a major navigational channel of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Kill is from the Middle Dutch word kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel"...

 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
Howland Hook Marine Terminal
The Howland Hook Marine Terminal is a container port facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey located in northwestern Staten Island in New York City...

.

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
Cranford, New Jersey
Cranford is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 22,625.Cranford was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 14, 1871, from portions of the Townships of Clark, Linden,...

, while others call for a western terminus at either the former Arlington
Arlington (Staten Island Railway station)
Arlington was a station on the abandoned North Shore Branch of the Staten Island Railway, in Staten Island, New York. It had one island platform and two tracks. It was closed on March 31, 1953. For a few years before its closure, it was the western terminus of the North Shore Line; before then,...

 or Port Ivory
Port Ivory, Staten Island
Port Ivory is a coastal area situated in the northwestern corner of Staten Island, New York City, New York, United States. It is located on Newark Bay near the entrances the Kill van Kull to the west and Arthur Kill to the east....

 stations on Staten Island.

Ethanol transshipment

In August, 2006 the Linden Terminal intermodal
Intermodal freight transport
Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation , without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and...

 facility started operating on Point Tremley along the Arthur Kill
Arthur Kill
The Arthur Kill is a tidal strait separating Staten Island, New York from mainland New Jersey, USA, and a major navigational channel of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Kill is from the Middle Dutch word kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel"...

 in Linden
Linden, New Jersey
- Local government :, the Mayor of Linden is . The former longtime Mayor of Linden is 82-year-old John T. Gregorio, who served as mayor of Linden for 30, nonconsecutive years and was repeatedly tagged with scandal during his mayoral career, including one felony conviction, later pardoned, which...

. The facility transfers ethanol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...

 for fuel use between barges, rail cars, trucks, and temporary storage tanks.

Biodiesel Production

In May 2007, The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...

reported that New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 based biodiesel
Biodiesel
Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....

 producer Fuel Bio
Fuel Bio
Fuel Bio Holdings, LLC, is an American commercial producer of Biodiesel. Using proprietary technology and chemistry to produce ASTM D6751 product from multiple virgin feed stock sources, Fuel Bio's production plant is recognized as the largest of its kind in the northeast United States...

 "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, whose production facility is located in Elizabeth
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...

, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 across the Arthur Kill from Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...

.

Incidents

At 4:55 AM on Friday September 29, 2000 a tank car
Tank car
A tank car is a type of railroad rolling stock designed to transport liquid and gaseous commodities.-Timeline:...

 carrying more than 27000 gallons (102,206.1 l) of butane
Butane
Butane is a gas with the formula C4H10 that is an alkane with four carbon atoms. The term may refer to any of two structural isomers, or to a mixture of them: in the IUPAC nomenclature, however, butane refers only to the unbranched n-butane isomer; the other one being called "methylpropane" or...

 derailed
Derailment
A derailment is an accident on a railway or tramway in which a rail vehicle, or part or all of a train, leaves the tracks on which it is travelling, with consequent damage and in many cases injury and/or death....

 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.

An accidental gas explosion killed three workers and injured a fourth at the Acetylene Service Company plant in Perth Amboy
Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The City of Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 50,814. Perth Amboy is known as the "City by the Bay", referring to Raritan Bay.-Name:The Lenape...

 on January 25, 2005.

At 10:16 AM on Thursday March 12, 2009 a tank car carrying isopropyl acetate
Isopropyl acetate
Isopropyl acetate is an ester, an organic compound which is the product of condensation of acetic acid and isopropanol. It is a clear, colorless liquid with a characteristic fruity odor....

 through Carteret
Carteret, New Jersey
Carteret is a borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 22,844.Carteret was created as the borough of Roosevelt on 11 April 1906, incorporating Woodbridge Township, and was a result of a referendum on 22 May 1906...

 developed a leak. Conrail contacted the Carteret Fire Department and the Middlesex County Hazmat
Dangerous goods
Dangerous goods are solids, liquids, or gases that can harm people, other living organisms, property, or the environment. They are often subject to chemical regulations. "HazMat teams" are personnel specially trained to handle dangerous goods...

 Response Team for assistance. The leak was fixed by 12:04 PM after a spill of 100 gallons (378.5 l) had already taken place.

See also

  • Bayway Refinery
    Bayway Refinery
    Bayway Refinery is a refining facility in the Port of New York and New Jersey, owned by ConocoPhillips. Located in Linden and Elizabeth, New Jersey, it is the northernmost refinery on the East Coast of the United States. The oil refinery converts crude oil into gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and...

  • Central Railroad of New Jersey
    Central Railroad of New Jersey
    The Central Railroad of New Jersey , commonly known as the Jersey Central Lines or CNJ, was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s, lasting until 1976 when it was absorbed into Conrail with the other bankrupt railroads of the Northeastern United States...

     (1839–1976)
  • Conrail Shared Assets Operations
    Conrail Shared Assets Operations
    Conrail Shared Assets Operations is an American railroad company. It operates three networks—the North Jersey, South Jersey/Philadelphia, and Detroit Shared Assets Areas, where it serves as a local carrier and switching company for CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway...

  • Easton and Amboy Railroad
    Easton and Amboy Railroad
    Easton and Amboy Railroad was a railroad built across central New Jersey by the Lehigh Valley Railroad in the 1870s. The line was built to connect the Lehigh Valley Railroad coal hauling operations in Pennsylvania to consumer markets in New York City....

  • Gateway Region
    Gateway Region
    The Gateway Region is located in the northeastern part of State of New Jersey in the United States of America. The area encompasses Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Union and Middlesex counties...

  • Newark and New York Railroad
    Newark and New York Railroad
    The Newark and New York Railroad was a passenger rail line that ran between Downtown Newark and the Communipaw Terminal at the mouth of the North River in Jersey City, bridging the Hackensack River and Passaic River just north of their mouths at the Newark Bay in northeastern New...

  • Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad
    Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad
    The Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad was a railroad operated by the Central Railroad of New Jersey . It was an independent company when it started construction in 1871, but was taken over by the CNJ in 1873. The railroad diverged from the CNJ main line at Elizabethport and ran to South...

     (1869–1873)
  • Perth Amboy and Woodbridge Railroad
    Perth Amboy and Woodbridge Railroad
    The Perth Amboy and Wooodbridge Railroad was a railroad operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The main line began along the Pennsy main at Rahway, New Jersey. The line was only 6 miles long and was electrified in the year 1935. The line ended at the now closed Essay Tower in South Amboy, New...

  • Port Reading Railroad
    Port Reading Railroad
    The Port Reading Railroad was a railroad chartered in 1890 and opened in 1892 by the Reading Railroad.-Origins:The Port Reading Railroad started at a junction in Bound Brook, New Jersey with the Lehigh Valley Railroad and Central Railroad of New Jersey and headed eastward across northern Middlesex...

  • Port Reading Refinery
    Port Reading Refinery
    Port Reading Refinery, also known as Hess Refinery, is an oil refinery located in Perth Amboy and Woodbridge, New Jersey. It is owned by the Hess Corporation, refiners of Hess brand gasoline. The refinery itself has outlets that connect with Arthur Kill, enabling oil barges to make passage into the...

  • Raritan Bayshore
    Raritan Bayshore
    The Raritan Bayshore region of New Jersey is the area around Raritan Bay from The Amboys to Sandy Hook, mostly in Monmouth County, including the towns from Keyport, New Jersey, "Pearl of the Bayshore", to Highlands, New Jersey. At Keansburg is a traditional amusement park while at Sandy Hook are...

  • T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant explosion
    T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant explosion
    The T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant explosion, sometimes called the Morgan Depot Explosion, occurred at 7:30 p.m. on October 4, 1918 at an ammunition plant operated by the T.A. Gillespie Company and located in the Morgan area of Sayreville in Middlesex County, New Jersey...

    was in South Amboy, a nearby community
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