The Deluxe Cleaners site is just one of the two environmentally hazardous sites undergoing cleanup that borough officials pledge to complete in the new year.

The borough took control of Deluxe Cleaners in 1998, which included two buildings – the cleaners and an adjoining house. All that remains is the abandoned house masked by brushwood.

The two-acre Tect-Danzig site, 254 Livingston St., was a chemical company that went bankrupt in 1968.

Since cleanup first began in 1998, a total of 750 drums in various conditions have been excavated, according to Larry Hajna, of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Hajna said that the underground storage tanks buried in the 1980s contained polychlorinated biphenyl, an organic compound manufactured as a cooling and insulating agent. PCB production was banned in the 1970s, due to its high toxicity and potential as a carcinogen.

Soil sampling from Tect-Danzig later revealed traces of solvents trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene, added Hajna.

TCE is a colorless liquid that is commonly found as vapor, although it may stick onto ground particles. Effects include dizziness, headaches and an impaired immune system.

Perc is another solvent commonly used in manufacturing chemicals and in the dry-cleaning business.

Listing perc as a top New Jersey air toxin, the state proposed last month to phase out its use by 2021. Whether inhaled or consumed from contaminated groundwater, studies show perc affects the central nervous system, kidney and liver.

TCE and perc similarly surfaced at the Deluxe Cleaners site, where environmental experts removed oil and solvent tanks from the property. According to engineering firm Remington and Vernick, seven monitoring wells installed at the site have provided limited information regarding groundwater contamination and additional wells are needed.

Residents addressed their concerns during a 2007 special meeting focusing on an environmental investigation of St. Anthony’s school in Northvale. Residents asked whether the two contaminated sites had any effect on the school.

Paul Kenny of Remington said at the meeting that any contamination had been concentrated at the two sites. He also noted that these types of contamination are common.

"All reports from the environmental engineers have indicated that there are no hazards to neighboring residents or employees of businesses," said Democratic Council member Pat Marana.

Marana admitted that it is upsetting to live next door to a cleanup site. "I’m sure that the residents who live near the sites will be happy when the situation is resolved," he said.

Residents on Winthrop and Livingston streets agreed that the ramshackle house at the Deluxe Cleaners site spoils the middle-class vista of their well-maintained homes and landscaped yards.

Then again, the town faces the unwanted burden of monitoring the cleanup.

The Borough of Northvale accepted a $306,528 grant in October for continued site remediation at Deluxe Cleaners from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. For continued cleanup at the Tect-Danzig site, however, the Borough expended $10,000 of its 2007 budget.

Moreover, both sites have been off the tax rolls for over 10 years, said Mayor John Hogan.

"Besides that," said Marana, "a disproportionate amount of the borough’s resources are spent dealing with all things that have to do with the sites."

Northvale is not the only town with hazardous waste sites. Nearly every Northern Valley town has a list of environmentally hazardous sites with ongoing cleanup.

In Cresskill, Mayor Benedict Romeo said that the former Joe Direse & Sons property at 18 Piermont Road had an oil spill from underground storage tanks. Hajna reported that all the tanks were removed and contaminated soils were excavated. The solid waste contractor site is still under review by the NJDEP.

Closter Council member John Kashwick said that underground gas tanks at the Super Value site at 121 Schraalenburgh Road corroded and the plume is leaking contaminants into the groundwater and nearby reservoir. Hajna confirmed that delineation at the gas station is still incomplete.

Northvale officials estimate that despite the muddled politics concerning Tect-Danzig, the Deluxe Cleaners site may be ready "to do something with it" at the end of 2008.

"I will be prodding the council and environmental engineer so these properties can once again generate tax money," promised Hogan at the Jan. 5 reorganization meeting.

Council member Roy Sokoloski said that the two properties are "valuable pieces of real estate.

"It would be nice if Deluxe could become a memorial park," suggested Sokoloski.