Long Island residents in minority communities sound off on safety of Brookhaven landfill
BROOKHAVEN, N.Y. -- Residents who live near the controversial Brookhaven town landfill are demanding an investigation after they say they've gotten sick by hazardous waste.
They told CBS New York on Monday that Long Island's leading waste incinerator allegedly delivered ash that was not certified safe.
"I'm a former employee here. I'm also a North Bellport resident. I am no longer able to work because of the toxins I was affected by," Dennis Nix said.
Communities of color say they have borne the burden of Long Island's waste for 50 years.
"With a landfill 270 foot tall, we smell it every day. We feel it every day," North Bellport resident Monique Fitzgerald said.
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The massive 50-acre landfill is surrounded by hamlets that are made up of up to 70% minority residents.
"Being a Latina, living in the neighborhood, this affects our health. It affects all of our health," North Patchogue resident Lisa Sevimli said.
Residents claim they have been ignored and misled about the safety of potentially hazardous waste dumped there.
"They thought we would go away and this would be swept under the rug," said Dr. Georgette Grier-Key of NAACP Brookhaven.
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Citizens are demanding an independent investigation of the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the town for allegedly turning a blind eye to a decade of complaints from families, school teachers and students about upticks in cancers and asthma that they claim are linked to airborne "fly ash."
"We told the DEC, we see ash, we smell ash, we taste ash. There are many more lies buried in the landfill," said Adrienne Esposito of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment.
The Covanta plant in Westbury burns Long Island's garbage for energy. It denies any wrongdoing, maintaining that its ash, which is carted to Brookhaven, has never been proven hazardous.
But after a Newsday investigation revealed a whistleblower's contentions that known toxic ash was approved to be trucked to the landfill, potentially polluting the air and water, homeowners are claiming a cover up.
"What's the plan? What's the truth? To close and clean this up," one man said.
"The fight continues. Environmental justice is civil rights," a woman said.
The Brookhaven landfill is expected to close in 2028. Residents say their health is at risk on a daily basis.
The town of Brookhaven said DEC testing at both the Covanta plant and the landfill certified the ash was safe.