Dive Brief:
- Roche is departing from its closed Clifton, NJ location to make way for a new private medical school. But local residents are ready to initiate a class-action suit against the pharma giant demanding environmental remediation.
- Residents are concerned that leaks in sewer lines under the campus may have allowed contaminants into the groundwater. They are concerned not only about the effect of the environmental hazard, but also that they will have a difficult time selling their homes.
- A Roche spokesperson has said that Roche provided remediation reports to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which the company says has declared that the site is in compliance with all applicable guidelines.
Dive Insight:
The Clifton, NJ residents' concerns are not unfounded, as cleanup is always an issue when a drugmaker leaves a long-standing facility.
So far, there are roughly 60 property owners involved in the class-action suit. At the same time, Hackensack University Medical Network and Seton Hall University are planning to build a medical school on the 118-acre site—something which will ultimately benefit the local community.