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Urban Pollution, Water Contamination, and Environmental Health in New Jersey
Summary
This review pulls together existing research on New Jersey's environmental problems—finding microplastics in the state's drinking water sources, "forever chemicals" (PFAS) contaminating water supplies, and polluted air that hits low-income and minority neighborhoods hardest. The takeaway: these aren't separate issues but overlapping hazards that build up in our bodies and environment over time, and they call for real regulatory fixes rather than partial solutions like "biodegradable" plastics, which the paper finds don't actually solve the pollution problem.
This research publication assesses the intersecting environmental and public health challenges facing New Jersey by closely analyzing plastic pollution, microplastic contamination in water systems, urban air quality, PFAS exposure, electronic waste disposal, and the emerging role of artificial intelligence in renewable energy optimization. As one of the most densely populated and industrialized states in the United States, New Jersey serves as an instructive case study for examining how industrial activity, consumer waste, and inadequate regulatory infrastructure collectively generate measurable harm to both ecosystems and human health. Drawing on state-level environmental monitoring data, peer-reviewed literature, and federal biomonitoring findings, the paper evaluates the limitations of biodegradable plastics as a policy solution, documents the presence of microplastics in major New Jersey watersheds, and examines the disproportionate respiratory burden borne by low-income and minority communities. The paper further assesses PFAS contamination pathways, the global inequities embedded in electronic waste streams, and AI-driven strategies for improving the efficiency of renewable energy systems. The paper argues that environmental pollution in New Jersey represents a convergent scientific, public health, and equity challenge that demands coordinated policy reform, infrastructure investment, and evidence-based intervention.