Keeping children safe from environmental contamination is the goal of a new law signed by Governor Jon Corzine (D-NJ), which creates tougher regulations for childcare centers in the Garden State.

Though it has never had a problem with environmental contamination or hazardous waste, the Sundance School in North Plainfield is one of the many childcare providers affected by new state regulations. All daycare centers and educational facilities are now required to get paperwork from their boroughs to prove their land is safe. They are also required to conduct testing inside and outside the schools.

The legislation was prompted by the discovery of mercury contamination at a Gloucester County daycare center last year. Officials say government oversight is to blame for allowing that facility to operate on the site of a former thermometer factory.