Green Jersey

Kiddie Kollege owner says he didn’t read report

The owner of the thermometer factory building in Gloucester County that became a daycare center, Kiddie Kollege, testified yesterday in Superior Court.

If we understand the Philadelphia Inquirer story correctly, the building owner, Jim Sullivan Jr., admitted to not reading either page of a two-page “mini report” of the EPA in full.

He read the “conclusion” only, and interpreted it as “saying the building was not a health or environmental hazard.” And besides, his son Jim Sullivan III was responsible for the transaction.

In fact, mercury vapors in the building registered at more than 27 times acceptable limits.

To recap: Man gets a memo on possible contamination in an old industrial building he plans to buy. Man doesn’t read it or do much more research. Man buys the building with family members and leases it to a day-care operator.

Things go (now infamously) wrong. The building is closed on July 28, 2006, after a state environmental inspector takes notice.

According to the Inquirer, the full EPA report identified two areas of the building where mercury vapors were found in excess of standards, and described visible mercury droplets. It also said 500 to 1,000 thermometers and a 55-gallon drum with unknown contents had been left behind.

Sullivan Jr. said that had he “read, or understood,” this, according to the Inquirer, “I absolutely would not have touched the property.”

Jim Sullivan III has said he wrote to the state DEP before buying the building, asking for additional information, because the EPA report (which he read in full) “didn’t seem to be a bad report,” according to the Inquirer. (Its final sentence: “Based on air monitoring, soil sampling and wipe sample analysis and the condition and security of the building and surrounding property, the site does not present an immediate threat to human health or the environment.”) Sullivan’s letter wasn’t answered.

But state officials have said they never got a letter. They also say they offered up more than the report.

Class-action lawsuits have been filed on behalf of the children and day-care staff.  Parents have reported health issues in their children such as seizures, agitation and peeling skin, according to the Inquirer, but it’s not clear whether mercury poisoning is to blame.

The Sullivans have sued the township, Franklin, and the DEP, saying the family was never directly informed of contamination.

Kiddie Kollege came up frequently in the runup to Lisa Jackson’s confirmation as DEP commissioner.

More: Kiddie Kollege cleanup liability at issue in court case (Gloucester County Times)

Owner seeks reversal of foreclosure that bought him contaminated Kiddie Kollege (Gloucester County Times)

Earlier: Deposition of landlord in toxic day care revealed (Philadelphia Inquirer)