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(NewsNation) — Just a few months ago, a Keyport, New Jersey, resident started plotting known cancer cases in the town on a map.
It started with just 41 cases, but now residents say the cases are approaching 400 because of a toxic landfill nearby. They said it’s been sitting there for decades.
The residents are pointing the finger at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and they have been sounding the alarm for nearly 40 years.
One of the residents impacted by the cancer cluster is Sal Liguori. Just four years ago, he lost his son to bone cancer at 35 years old. And just two weeks ago, he was diagnosed with leukemia.
“These are professionals telling us that toxic landfill up there is contained, but it’s not capped properly,” Liguori said. “It’s not capped properly, but it’s contained up there where it’s not coming down to the public. How does that make sense?”
Keyport, New Jersey, recorded high levels of harmful elements
In 2010, testing done by NJDEP found benzene, arsenic, lead, vinyl chloride, and PCBs. But the agency says despite the toxins, they never found a clear pathway exposing residents. In June, independent testing expert Scott Smith went to Keyport to test.
Smith tested for PCBs and dioxins, which are some of the most carcinogenic compounds on the planet. He shared his results exclusively with NewsNation. He tested soil from two spots: near the landfill itself and a homeowner’s property in town.
“So the EPA trigger threshold for human health exposure and follow-up testing is 4.8 parts per trillion TEQ for soil,” Smith told NewsNation. “My test came back from the lab; it was 31.”
Smith added it was on the level with the toxic mess in East Palestine, Ohio.
“To put things into perspective, when the dioxin TEQ was above 20, toxicologists get concerned in East Palestine,” he said, adding that his results suggest he needs to do more testing.
New Jersey ‘cancer cluster’ town isn’t ‘unsolvable,’ says resident
While the initial results of the tests aren’t good, residents like Alex Craft say they are a good start at getting closer to a solution to the problem.
“This isn’t unsolvable. It’s just that nobody wants to spend the money to solve it,” Craft said. “What’s your job? What’s the job of the Department of Environmental Protection, if not to address concerns exactly like this?”
Liguori said he believes NJDEP will continue to brush the issue under the rug.
“That’s what they do,” he said. “Because they know, as well as other people, that they dropped the ball on this. And nobody wants to take responsibility. And it’s not fair. It’s not fair.”
When asked if they tested the soil for dioxins, the NJDEP did not answer the question, and instead said they would not comment on outside testing and results.
In a separate statement to NewsNation, NJDEP said: “DEP’s review of existing and new data does not indicate a pathway for human exposure to contamination.”
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