Undergraduate Research: An Archive - 2021 Program

Christopher Gliwa ’21
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Certificate in Environmental Studies
ENVIRONMENTAL
ENGINEERING
THESIS TITLE
A Retrospective
Analysis of Industrial
Benzene Emissions in
Rutherford, New Jersey
ADVISER
Mark Zondlo, Associate
Professor of Civil and
Environmental
Engineering
In the 1970s, the Borough of Rutherford, New
Jersey, experienced a mysterious cancer cluster
that led local residents to question the role
of local industries in the degradation of their
environment. My thesis was a retrospective
analysis using historical data and a Gaussianplume
model to quantify the emissions of
benzene — a known carcinogen — from a
particular industrial facility located on the
border of East Rutherford and Rutherford.
It also quantifies the cancer risk associated
with benzene inhalation exposure to explore
the Rutherford cancer cluster in the context
of industrial emissions. The results indicated
that the emissions plume from the factory
traveled directly over Rutherford, exposing
potentially dozens of residents to dangerously
high concentrations of benzene. My analysis
also highlighted the importance of approaching
engineering research from a public service and
environmental justice perspective to shed light
on communities disproportionately affected by
negligent industries.
25