Fresh Kills Landfill:
New York City’s Wasteland
Stephanie Brown
Fresh Kills Landfill:
New York City’s Wasteland
Race, Poverty and the Environment
Raquel Rivera Pinderhughes
Urban Studies Program
San Francisco State University
Spring 2004
The public has permission to use the material herein, but only if
author, course, university, and professor are credited.
Introduction
This presentation will focus on the environmental, social
and public health impacts of Fresh Kills Landfill.
We will begin with a timeline of American waste disposal leading
up to the introduction of landfills such as Fresh Kills.
We will then examine the statistics of the American waste stream.
We will then cover the location of the Fresh Kills Landfill, Staten
Island, New York.
Next, we will move on to an analysis of the environmental and
public health impacts of the landfill on both Staten Island and its
residents due to chemicals released into the groundwater, soil,
and air.
Finally, we will analyze the social impacts incurred by the
residents of Staten Island as a result of the Fresh Kills Landfill and
the movement that resulted in its closure in 2001.
How We Arrived Where We Are Today:
A Timeline of American Waste Disposal
"We're reminded a hundred
times a day to buy things, but
we're not reminded to take
care of them, repair them,
reuse them, or give them
away." Michael Jacobson,
Center for the Study of
Commercialism
"Neither shortening nor
lengthening product life can be
a general principle. The
strategy, rather, is to fine tune
the durations of things, now
avoiding cheap things that
Image 1. An early advertisement for a garbage “dispos-all”. break too soon and clog our
trash cans, not expensive
objects that last too long and
clog our lives." Kevin Lynch,
Wasting Away
Image 2. New York City Street Sweepers, circa 1898
1650 1750 1800 1850
1710 Colonists in Virginia commonly bury their
trash. Holes are filled with building debris, broken
glass or ceramic objects, oyster shells, and
animal bones 1860s Residents of
Washington, D.C., dump
garbage and slop into alleys
1657 New Amsterdam and streets, pigs roam freely,
(now Manhattan) passes slaughterhouses spew
a law against casting nauseating fumes, and rats and
waste in the streets cockroaches infest most
dwellings including the White
House
(Rotten Truth 1)
19th c. Visitors describe New
York City as a "nasal disaster,
where some streets smell like
bad eggs dissolved in ammonia."
Image 3. Landfilling in New York City, circa 1908
1870 1879 "Thither were brought the dead dogs 1890
and cats, the kitchen garbage and the like,
and duly dumped. This festering, rotten 1880s Many Americans still believe
1872 New York mess was picked over by rag pickers and that diseases such as typhoid fever are
City stops dumping wallowed over by pigs, pigs and humans caused by "miasma" or gases coming
its garbage from a contesting for a living from it, and as the from garbage and sewers. New York
platform built out heaps increased, the odors increased also, City scavengers remove 15,000 horse
over the East River and the mass lay corrupting under a carcasses from the streets
tropical sun, dispersing the pestilential
fumes where the winds carried them." 1889 "Appropriate places for [refuse] are
Minister describing the New Orleans dump becoming scarcer year by year, and the
to the American Public Health Association question as to some other method of
disposal...must soon confront us. Already
the inhabitants in proximity to the public
dumps are beginning to complain." Health
(Rotten Truth 1) Officer's report, Washington, D.C.
1900 Greater acceptance of the germ
theory of disease begins to shift the job
of garbage removal from health
departments to public works
departments. Health officers, it is felt,
should spend their time battling
infectious diseases, not cleaning up
"public nuisances" such as garbage
Image 4. Garbage Dumping, circa 1908
1890 1900
1893 "The means resorted to by a 1898 Colonel George
large number of citizens to get rid Waring, New York's
of their garbage and avoid paying 1896 New York City requires Street Cleaning
for its collection would be very residents to separate Commissioner,
amusing were it not such a household waste -- food organizes the country's
menace to public health. Some
waste in one tin, ash in first rubbish sorting plant
burn it, while others wrap it up in
paper and carry it on their way to another, and dry trash in bag for recycling
work and drop it when or bundle -- and assigns 40
unobserved, or throw it into vacant policemen to enforce the
lots or into the river." Boston new edict
Sanitary Committee
(Rotten Truth 1)
Early 1900s American cities begin to
estimate and record collected wastes.
According to one estimate, each American
produces annually: 80 - 100 pounds of food
waste; 50 - 100 pounds of rubbish; 300 -
1,200 pounds of wood or coal ash -- up to
1,400 pounds per person. In Manhattan,
Brooklyn, and the Bronx, each citizen
produces annually: 141 pounds of wet
garbage, 1,443 pounds of ash, and 88
pounds of dry rubbish -- a total of 1,672
pounds
Image 5. Garbage Piled High in Times Square,
circa 1918
1900 1904 Postmaster General 1920
Henry Clay Payne authorizes
Early 1900s Small and permit mail. This means that By 1909 102 of 180
medium sized towns build with a single fee, 2,000 or incinerators built since
more pieces of third or fourth 1885 are abandoned or 1916 Major cities
piggeries, where swine are
class mail can be posted dismantled. Many had estimate that of
fed fresh or cooked garbage. the 1,000 to 1,750
without stamps. This opens been inadequately built
One expert estimates that 75 the door for direct mail pounds of waste
pigs can eat one ton of refuse advertising and mass or run. Also, America's generated by
per day solicitations abundant land and each person per
widely spaced year, 80% is coal
1902 A survey of 161 cities population made and wood ash
by the Massachusetts dumping garbage
Institute of Technology finds cheaper and more
that 79% of them provide practical
regular collection of refuse (Rotten Truth 1)
1920s During this decade,
"reclaiming" or filling in
wetlands near cities with
garbage, ash, and dirt,
becomes a popular disposal
method
Image 6. New York City Collection Truck, circa 1928
1920 1930 1940
1933 Communities on the
1926 Clarence Saunders 1930 A new plastic,
New Jersey shore obtain a
opens the first supermarket. polyvinyl chloride, is court order forcing New York
Pre packaged food and self patented by B.F. City to stop dumping garbage
service packaging increase Goodrich. It is used as in the Atlantic Ocean. The
selection for consumers and a replacement for Supreme Court upholds the
lower the cost of food rubber, as protection lower court action, but
applies it only to municipal
against corrosion, and
waste, not commercial or
1928 Cellophane is for adhesives industrial wastes
invented by the DuPont 1930 Another plastic,
Cello Phane Company polystyrene, is put on the 1939 Coal and wood ash
market by the German firm, make up 43% of New
1929 Aluminum foil is I.G. Farben York City's refuse, down
invented (Rotten Truth 1) from 80% in 1916
1946 Fortune magazine
heralds the arrival of the
"dream era...The Great
American Boom is on."
Image 7. Supermarket in Chicago, circa 1940s
1940 1945 1950
1941 America enters World War 1947 "Our willingness to part
II. Rationing of such materials as with something before it is
wood and metal forces an completely worn out is a 1947 Staten Island,
increased reliance on synthetic 1944 The Dow phenomenon noticeable in no NY: Fresh Kills
materials such as plastics. Low Chemical Company other society in history.... It is Landfill is created as
soundly based on our a temporary solution
density polyethylene film,
invents an insulation economy of abundance. It to New York City’s
developed during wartime,
material called must be further nurtured mounting garbage
replaces cellophane as the
favorite food wrap by 1960
Styrofoam even though it runs contrary problem. It becomes
to one of the oldest inbred the exclusive dump
1942 - 45 Methods and materials laws of humanity: the law of for New York City’s
for wartime shipment of food make municipal and other
thrift." J. Gordon Lippincott,
World War II "the great divide" in the waste
industrial designer
packaging and storage industry
(Rotten Truth 1)
1954 "Never underestimate
the buying power of a child
under seven. He has brand
loyalty and the determination
1953 The American economy's to see that his parents
"ultimate purpose is to produce more purchase the products of his
consumer goods." Chairman of choice." Dr. Frances Horwitch
President Eisenhower's Council of
Economic Advisors
1953 "It is our job to make
women unhappy with what they
have." B. Earl Puckett, Allied
Stores Corp. Image 9. Pepsi-Cola Ad, circa 1953
1959 The American Society of Civil
Engineers publishes a standard guide to
sanitary landfilling. To guard against
rodents and odors, it suggests
compacting the refuse and covering it
with a layer of soil each day
Image 8. Woman With Refrigerator, circa 1951
(Rotten Truth 1)
A Product of Our Society:
The American Waste Stream Examined
Image 10. Mounds of garbage attract hundreds of seagulls at Fresh Kills
The Waste Stream Examined
Each year the United States disposes of or destroys
garbage can placed
For every singlemore than 30 million tons of hazardous waste, 250
at the curb, the equivalent of 71
million tons of nonhazardous industrial waste, 136
In a lifetime, the average
waste tons of construction and demolition waste and
garbage cans ofmillion is created in
mining, logging, agriculture, oil and
165 million tons of municipal solid waste.
American will throw away 600
gas exploration, and the industrial
times year Americans waste in
Every his or her adult weight or
used to convert raw
processesThe United States produces enough garbage each day to fill
70,000 garbage trucks. Lined up bumper to bumper, over two
materials into finished products and
packaging. cause to be wasted (through
years, they would stretch to the moon.
garbage. This means that each
million
industry)itnearlya1legacy of throw
adult will leave aluminum cans and foil, more
In this decade, is projected that Americans will
away over 1 million tons of
than 11 million tonsofglass bottles per over 4 and a
pounds of materials and jars,person.
About 94 percent of the materials extracted
of trash for his or her
90,000 lbs. office papermanufacturing durabletons of
for use in products
half million tons of and nearly 10 million
the product is
children. become waste.beforepercent of what we
newspaper.
manufactured . . 80
make is thrown away within six months of
production.
(Metro Facts 1)
The Waste Stream Examined:
Garbage By The Numbers
The 2000 EPA Estimates
Municipal solid waste (MSW), also known as garbage,
trash, refuse and rubbish, is simply what is left of the
products that we have used and no longer need.
Whether it is yesterday's newspaper, a banana peel, an
empty beer bottle, or an old computer, our trash is just
the effluence of our affluence.
MSW does not include construction and demolition
debris, hazardous, medical, and radioactive wastes, or
other non-household and non-business refuse;
therefore, the following profile does not include those
items.
(Miller 2) Image 11. Household garbage at a landfill site
2000 EPA Estimates of Municipal Solid
Waste (MSW) Composition
Table 1. MSW by Type Figure 1. MSW Type by
Type Million Tons Percentage Percentage
Other
Containers & 74.7 32.2 Food Waste
Containers
Packaging 1.5% & Packaging
11.2%
32.2%
Nondurable 63.7 27.4 Yard
Goods Trimmings QuickTime™ and a
12% TIFF (LZW) decompressor
Durable Goods 36.3 15.7 are needed to see this picture.
Durable
Goods
Yard 27.7 12.0 15.7% Nondurable
Trimmings Goods 27.4%
Food Waste 25.9 11.2
Other 3.5 1.5
(Miller 3)
MSW Composition
Table 2. MSW Composition by Material
Type Million Tons Percentage
Paper Products 86.7 37.4
Yard Trimmings 27.7 12.0
Food Waste 25.9 11.2
Plastics 24.7 10.7
Metals 18.0 7.8
Rubber, Leather, & 15.8 6.7
Textiles
Glass 12.8 5.5
Wood 12.7 5.5
Other 7.5 3.2
(Miller 4)
2000 EPA Estimates of United States
MSW Generation
• 231.9 million tons.
• 1,646 pounds per person per year.
• 4.51 pounds per person per day.
• By weight, corrugated boxes, yard
trimmings, food waste,newspapers, glass
bottles and furniture are the largest items
of MSW before recycling.
• 55-65 percent of MSW is generated at
home, the remainder at businesses.
(Miller 5)
2000 EPA Estimates of Increase in
MSW Generation
Figure 2. Increase in MSW Generation
231.9
205.2
151.6
121.1
88.1 QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decomp resso r
are neede d to see this picture.
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Year
(Miller 6)
2000 EPA Estimates on Amount of MSW
Incinerated or Landfilled
• 162 million tons or 69.9 percent of discarded
MSW by weight.
• 3.15 pounds per person per day.
• 1,150 pounds per person per year.
• By weight, food waste, yard waste, corrugated
boxes, glass bottles, furniture and wood crates
and pallets are the largest items in the discard
stream.
• 1,967 landfills operated in the United States in
2000.
• 14 years of landfill capacity exists in the United
States.
(Miller 7)
What is a Landfill?
A method for final disposal of solid waste on land. The refuse
is spread and compacted and a cover of soil applied so that
effects on the environment (including public health and safety)
are minimized. Under current regulations landfills are
required to have liners and leachate treatment systems to
prevent contamination of groundwater and surface
waters.
An industrial landfill disposes of non-
hazardous industrial wastes. A municipal
landfill (like Fresh Kills) disposes of domestic
waste including garbage, paper, etc. This
waste may include toxins that are used in
the home, such as insect sprays and
powders, engine oil, paints, solvents, and
(hireskip 1)
weed killers.
How Do Landfills Work?
Modern sanitary landfills are carefully
engineered structures designed to isolate
garbage from nearby water, soil, Because garbage is constantly
wildlife, and people. Today’s landfills are stacked upon itself, and then
designed to stay dry inside, except for covered with a layer of soil,
liquids that ooze from garbage and water landfills are nearly airless.
that trickles through. As water trickles
Without the oxygen and water
through a landfill, it dissolves chemicals
and other particles, creating a liquid called needed to break down organic
“leachate”. If a landfill isn’t lined with materials, all garbage decays
clay or plastic and equipped with very slowly in a landfill. This
collection pipes, the leachate can leak means our garbage will be
out and pollute nearby groundwater, around for a very long time.
wetlands, rivers and lakes. It could
even end up in your tap water at home.
(hireskip 1)
What Type of Landfill is Fresh Kills?
Like most landfills constructed in the
1940s, the Fresh Kills Landfill was not
designed with a liner or any other
form of leachate control. Thus, for
many years, untreated leachate from the
landfill flowed directly into local surface
waters and groundwater, allowing
chemicals in the waste to gradually
dissolve into the rainwater and snow
melt that flowed through the garbage
piled within.
Image 12. Landfill leachate colors creekwater
brown
(ATSDR 1)
What Does a Landfill Look Like?
Features of a modern landfill include:
*Clay and plastic liners to protect groundwater
from leachate
*Collection pipes for leachate
*Gravel or sand layer
*Cell
*Bulldozers and compactors
*Soil cover (keeps out pests, reduces odors,
keeps trash from blowing away)
*Clay or plastic cap
*Soil layer
*Landscaping
*Surface drainage system
Image 13. Cross-Section of a Landfill
(ASTC 1)
Questions on Solid Waste,
Answered by the EPA
Why do we need landfills?
Until our society can design and manufacture products that are totally
recyclable or reusable, landfills will be necessary.
What about the air quality around landfills?
Poor landfill operation can cause the creation of nuisance conditions which will
result in poor public relations with neighbors and the nearby community. Odor
problems, air pollution from landfill fires, windblown paper, and noise can all
rise to unacceptable levels if not addressed quickly.
What happens when waste degrades in a landfill?
As waste degrades in a landfill, methane- an odorless explosive gas- is
produced as a product of decomposition. Unless methane is controlled, it can
build up in a landfill and migrate to nearby structures, creating a threat of an
explosion. Methane can also kill vegetation needed to keep the landfill from
having erosion problems. Other toxic gases may also be created during waste
decomposition in a landfill. Increasingly, these toxic gases are the subject of
concern for landfill operators and regulatory authorities.
(EPA 1)
2000 EPA Estimates of Landfill
Volume
• 323,812,000 cubic yards of MSW was landfilled in
1997.
• By volume, corrugated boxes, clothing and foot
wear, yard waste, food waste, wood packaging and
newspapers occupy the most space in landfills.
• Aluminum cans and plastic bottles have the
lowest landfill density (pounds per cubic yard).
• Glass bottles and food waste have the highest
landfill density.
• An "average" pound of trash has a landfill
density of 739 pounds per cubic yard.
(Miller 8)
Fresh Kills:
Outdated, Overflowing,
and Dangerous
The Location
Images 14-17(counter clockwise).
The Staten Island Ferry; A local
Elementary School; Apartment
buildings; The Verrazano-Narrows
Bridge
Staten Island
Fresh Kills Landfill is located on the northwest side of Staten
Island, New York City’s southernmost borough.
Image 18. New York City’s Five Boroughs Image 19. Fresh Kills Landfill Complex
Staten Island… continued
The landfill is located within yards of residential, commercial and
industrial areas of Staten Island.
Image 20. Staten Island zoning districts
Staten Island Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are
443,728 people, 156,341 households,
and 114,128 families residing in the
borough of Staten Island.
The racial makeup is 77.60% White,
9.67% African American, 0.25%
Native American, 5.65% Asian,
0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.14% from
Image 21. Typical Residential Street on Staten Island
other races, and 2.65% from two or
The median income for a household more races. 12.07% of the
is $55,039, and the median income population are Hispanic or Latino of
for a family is $64,333. The per any race.
capita income for the borough is
$23,905. 10.0% of the population and
7.9% of families are below the (Wikipedia 2)
poverty line.
A “Temporary Landfill”
Before Fresh Kills was opened, 13
landfills, in various states, were home to
80% of New York City’s Waste. At this
time waste had to be shipped via train,
truck and barge to landfill sites in
nearby states such as New Jersey and
Pennsylvania.
Opened as a
"temporary landfill" to
house New York City’s
waste in 1947, today
the Fresh Kills Landfill
covers 2200 acres, can
be seen with the naked
eye from space, and at
a height of 225 feet, is
taller than the Statue
of Liberty.
(Wikipedia 1) Image 22. Aerial View of Fresh Kills
26,000 Pounds of Waste Per Day
From its location on Staten Island, only a In 2001, each of the 20
short barge ride from New York City, barges arriving at the landfill
Fresh Kills was an extremely convenient daily carried 650 tons of
waste disposal alternative for the city. waste. That amounts to
13,000 tons of waste per
day generated by New York
City alone.
For over 50 years,
massive dumping into tidal
wetlands left over 100
million tons of garbage
rotting in place, generating
harmful leachate into soil
and water and producing
hazardous air
emissions.(Warren, 1)
Image 23. Empty Barges line the shore of the Arthur Kills river, waiting to head back to New York City
Fresh Kills is Located Only Yards from
Residential Neighborhoods
Image 24. World Trade Center debris is stored in view of residential neighborhood
The Reality of Fresh Kills
Viewed as raw data, the numbers we have examined thus
far about waste, though shockingly large, do not fully
explain the reality of landfills.
Those who live in close proximity to a landfill are
constantly aware of its location. Daily reminders can be
anything from noxious odors and “fly-away” pieces of
refuse, to respiratory, skin, internal and other diseases
suffered as a result of toxins released into nearby air,
water, and soil.
The residents of Staten Island lived with the reality of the
Fresh Kills Landfill for over 50 years. What follows is their
story.
Image 25. A tractor dumps garbage at Fresh Kills
A Community Reacts:
To say that the sight and smell of a landfill the scope of
Fresh Kills is offensive is to put things mildly. Every
Neighbors of Fresh Kills
resident of Staten Island is aware of the surface issues of
living so close to the United States’ largest landfill.
Drytryszyn, an environmental
Nick However, the dangerous problems associated with landfill
engineer for the borough of Staten Island,
gas emissions, groundwater and soil leachate, and solid
gestures towards a row of trees. Hanging
fromwaste decomposition are more grave than many know.
the budding limbs are hundreds of
plastic bags. It is not some new
To fully understand the experience of living with a
horticultural invention. The bags were
neighbor like Fresh Kills we
blown into the area from nearby hills of will first hear the concerns
and complaints of as the who of
trash -- some nearly as tall those Statuelive on Staten Island and
Liberty.
then examine the toxic chemicals released there. Finally,
"Clearlythrough an analysis of studies performed at this site and
if you put a smokestack on
similar sites, we it a
top of Fresh Kills and called will explore the connections between
factory, the government would have
these toxins and many diseases reported near Fresh
shut it down years ago," says Craig
Donner,Kills.
a spokesman for Molinari,
Image 26. Garbage at Fresh Kills
Borough President.
(Please click to continue)
(CNN 1)
“You see more garbage in a day than
you would produce in a lifetime.”
From a 1996 news article:
"There is a development (nearby).
Five people had lupus cancer ...
could it be from this? I'm sure," said a
woman in the street.
"I mean, the smell; try smelling one
day of your garbage and then
mixing it with a thousand days,"
another woman said.
Steve Violetta, Operations
Supervisor at Fresh Kills, "It has grown intolerable
explained the day-to-day over the last year or so," Image 27. Sanitation worker dumps garbage into
reality of the Landfill. says Guy Molinari, Staten truck
(Please click to replay) Island Borough President.
"As the height has gone "It has polluted runoffs. It stinks. It's an
up, the odors are stronger. eyesore, and for years politicians and
They carry for miles and others have been trying to shut down this
(CNN 1) desecrate our landfill." said Mark Izeman of the National
neighborhoods." Resources Defense Council.
“They don't see color when looking at
garbage. They just see trash.”
"As a physician on Staten Island, I have
"The garbage going to the Fresh Kills witnessed first-hand the devastating
Landfill affects everyone on Staten Island,
“It may come as
regardless of ethnicity, race or party a surprise and advocates of I am
impact toFresh Kills on residents of all
of
ethnic racial backgrounds.
registration. environmental justice, but thousands of and
I say this as the President of shocked that some activists
the non-partisan Latino Civic Association, otherwise good community groups say
Staten Islanders
which speaks for nearly 40,000 Latino-of all races and ethnicities close
that racism is behind our effort to
and as a
Americans on Staten Island,one mile of Fresh Kills. Muchunderstanding
live within Fresh Kills. Have they no like
resident who lives less than one mile from of how Fresh Kills has harmed so many
me, a white just as
the dump. The garbage smells Republican, they don't see ailments,
families here? Respiratory
badly to me as it does to my neighbors. cancer and They just
color when looking at garbage.other diseases strike all races
This is an issue that concerns the health and ethnicities. They are equal
of all trash.” Staten Island Congressman Vito to their
and welfare see Staten Islanders.” opportunity offenders, color blind
Carmen Serrano Siconolfi, President,
Latino Civic Fossella, 1998.
victims. An black man with cancer and a
Association, 1998. white man with cancer are, at least in my
eyes, men with cancer.” Dr. Chitoor
Govindaraj, Pulmonologist, 1998
(Fossella 1)
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry Report
Does the Fresh Kills Landfill release toxic chemicals to
the air?
Yes. In 1995, an extensive emissions study confirmed that
From 1995-1999 The Agency for Toxic
the Fresh Kills Landfill releases more than 100 organic
Substances and Disease Registry
chemicals to the air. Some operations at the landfill also
release dusts that contain metals and other toxic chemicals.
performed a “Petitioned Public Health
The Fresh Kills Landfill will release organic chemicals,
Assessment” for the Fresh Kills landfill to
metals, and other pollutants to the air for years to come, but
the amounts released are expected to decrease as dumping
examine toxins released into the air, soil
ceases and emission controls continue to be installed at the
site.
and water in the surrounding area. The
Chemicals in waste received by the Fresh Kills Landfill
enter the air by the findings of
following is an excerpt of various processes. For example, volatile
the assessment. regardless of whether air from municipal solidon
chemicals evaporate into the
waste, the waste is in barges,
trucks, or buried in the landfill. Furthermore, metals can
enter the air with dusts or particulate matter, which are
released as trucks drive on the landfill surface and as
(ASTDR 1) winds blow over it. These emission sources, except for
releases from barges, are found at virtually every
municipal solid waste landfill in the United States.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry Report
Table 3. Estimated Air Emission Rates for Selected
Chemicals at the Fresh Kills Landfill
C hemical Estimated Emission Rate
gm/second tons/year
C arbon Dioxide 39,600 1,370,00
Methane 21,800 756,000
Ethane 1.81 62.8
Isopentane 1.5 52
n-Decane and p-Dichlorobenzene 1.44 50
Isobutane 1.05 36.4
Limonene 0.882 30.6
Toluene 0.802 27.8
Acetone 0.71 24.6
n-Propylbenzene 0.68 23.6
m,p-Xylene 0.621 21.5
Ethylbenzene 0.594 20.6
Propane 0.585 20.3
1,2,3 - Trimethylbenzene 0.579 20.1
n-Butane 0.554 19.2
1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene and t-Butylbenzene 0.496 17.2
n-Nonane 0.481 16.7
Hydrogen Sulfide 0.453 15.7
Methlene choloride 0.3 10.4
a-Pinene and Benaldehyde 0.295 10.2
Emissions data are reported for the 20 chemicals (or pairs of chemicals) with the highest emission
rates. Chemicals reported as pairs could not be distinguished by the sampling and analytical methods
used in the 1995 emissions study. (ASTDR 1)
Should These Chemicals
Cause Concern?
The ATSDR has identified the following contaminants of concern (COC)
for the Fresh Kills Landfill site:
1,1,2-Trichloroethane Carbon Nickel
1,2-Dichloroethane tetrachloride Particulate matter
Acetaldehyde Chloroform (PM2.5, PM10, TSP)
Acrolein Chromium Propionaldehyde
Arsenic Formaldehyde Sulfates
Benzene Hexanal Tetrachloroethylene
Berylliumn- Hydrogen sulfide m-Tolualdehyde
Butyraldehyde Methacrolein Trichloroethylene
Cadmium Methylene chloride Vinyl chloride
Please click on a chemical name for more information
(Note: You will be directed to an internet site).
Most of the contaminants of concern listed above were selected
because at least one ambient air concentration exceeded the
(ATSDR 3) most conservative health-based comparison value.
These Chemicals Should Cause Concern
Acetone: p-Dichlorobenzene:
49,200 pounds released per year at 100,000 pounds released per year at
Fresh Kills Fresh Kills
Hydrogen Sulfide:
Exposure to acetone results mostly from Repeated exposure to p-dichlorobenzene
31,400 pounds
breathing air, drinking water, or coming may induce anorexia, weight loss, and
released per year
in contact with products or soil that liver and kidney damage. Four cases of
at Fresh Kills
contain acetone. Exposure to moderate- blood dyscrasias, including leukemia,
to-high amounts of acetone can irritate Just a few breaths have been attributed to exposure, either
your eyes and respiratory system, and of air containing alone or with other substances. A single
make you dizzy. Very high exposure may high levels of case of allergic purpura thought to have
cause you to lose consciousness. hydrogen sulfide been caused by exposure has been
gas can cause reported.
Tolulene: death. Lower,
longer-term Xylene:
56,600 pounds released per year at
exposure can
Fresh Kills 43,000 pounds released per year at
cause eye
Toluene is a central nervous system irritation, Fresh Kills
depressant and an irritant of the eyes, headache, and Chronic exposure to xylene may cause
mucous membranes, and skin in fatigue central nervous system depression,
humans. In contact with the eyes, anemia, mucosal hemorrhage, bone
toluene causes reversible corneal injury; marrow hyperplasia, liver enlargement,
prolonged skin contact causes defatting liver necrosis, and nephrosis.
and dermatitis.
(ASTDR 2, OSHA 1)
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry Report… continued
Are people potentially exposed to the site-related air
contaminants?
Yes. The prevailing winds at Staten Island blow some
emissions from the Fresh Kills Landfill into nearby
neighborhoods. Ambient air monitoring studies in these
residential neighborhoods have detected chemicals identified
in previous landfill emissions tests.
Once released to the air, chemicals from the Fresh Kills
Landfill mix with other air pollutants and gradually
disperse. The emissions from the landfill, at one
time or another, have blown to all of the nearby
neighborhoods. Though wind directions vary from one
day to the next, the most common wind directions
observed near the Fresh Kills Landfill are from the
southwest, from the west, from the northwest, and from
the north.
(ASTDR 1)
Chemicals Reach Neighbors of Fresh Kills
This windrose depicts prevailing wind
directions at the Fresh Kills landfill site.
When compared to a map of the landfill
location it is apparent that the bulk of wind
in this area moves northwest, in the
direction of New Jersey. Winds of up to
20mph carry odors and toxins in all
directions, which is dangerous
considering the distance between the
landfill and many residential and
commercial neighborhoods is far less than
one mile.
Image 28. Windrose of prevailing wind directions, ASTDR 1994 Image 29. Map of Fresh Kills
Landfills Are Dangerous
Landfill gas consists of naturally-occurring
methane and carbon dioxide, which form inside The New York state health
the landfill as the waste decomposes. As the department tested for VOCs
gases form, pressure builds up inside a landfill, escaping from 25 landfills and
forcing the gases to move. Some of the gases reported finding dry cleaning
escape through the surrounding soil or simply fluid (tetrachloroethylene, or
move upward into the atmosphere, where they PERC), trichloroethylene
drift away. (TCE), toluene, 1,1,1-
Typically, landfill gases that escape from a landfill trichloroethane, benzene,
will carry along toxic chemicals such as paint vinyl chloride, xylene,
thinner, solvents, pesticides and other hazardous ethylbenzene, methylene
volatile organic compounds (VOCs), many of them chloride, 1,2- dichloroethene,
chlorinated. and chloroform in the
escaping gases.
(Rachel’s 1)
Landfills Are Dangerous
In 1997, Fresh
A study by the New York State Department of Health Kills spewed
reports that women living near solid waste landfills where
gas is escaping have a four-fold increased chance of
2,650 tons of
bladder cancer and leukemia. The new study examined methane gas
the occurrence of seven kinds of cancer among men and daily – 5.7%
women living near 38 landfills where naturally-occurring
landfill gas is thought to be escaping into the surrounding
of all U.S.
air. Of the 14 kinds of cancer studied (7 each in men and methane
women), 10 (or 71%) were found to be elevated but only emissions;
two (bladder and leukemia in women) achieved statistical
significance at the 5% level.
1.8 percent of
the world's
total methane
(Rachel’s 1) production.
Landfills ARE Dangerous
The most commonly reported
effect of living near a landfill is A 1990 study of 590 hazardous waste sites in
low birth weight and small size New York state found a 12% increase in birth
among children. The first careful defects in families living within a mile of a site.
study of this subject took place A 1997 study of women living within a quarter-
at Love Canal near Niagara Falls, mile of a Superfund site showed a two-to four-
New York. In a blinded study fold increased chance of having a baby with a
published in 1989, researchers neural tube defect, or a heart defect. A
found that children who had lived preliminary report in 1997 found a statistically
at least 75% of their lives near significant 33% increased chance of a birth
Love Canal --the notorious toxic defect occurring in babies born to families
chemical dump --had living within 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) of any of
significantly shorter stature than 21 landfills in 10 European countries.
children who lived farther away
from the dump site. These results
held up even after controlling for
birth weight, socio-economic
status, and parental height.
(Rachel’s 1)
Fresh Kills Pollutes Water
Local Watersheds/Bodies of water: Groundwater:
According to scorecard.com, 91% of waterways A leachate treatment plant at the
(with 8% not reporting) show Impaired Biological Fresh Kills Landfill currently treats
Community. Natural, undisturbed aquatic most of the leachate generated on
ecosystems provide habitat for a broad variety of site and is capable of treating more
biota, exhibiting taxonomic richness and complex than 1,000,000 gallons of leachate a
trophic structure. Such robust aquatic day. Before this treatment plant
communities can be impaired when a water operated, a study estimated that at
resources is adversely affected by human least 85% of the leachate generated
activities. in the landfill eventually discharged
Surface Water and Sediment: into local surface waters and less
than 15% of the leachate leaked into
Many contaminants have been found in Arthur deeper groundwater layers.
Kill, Fresh Kills, and parts of Main Creek and
Richmond Creek. Contaminants have also been
found in these water ways’ sediments. Given
that Staten Island residents have minimal
exposure to surface waters and sediments near
Fresh Kills, the levels of contamination pose no (scorecard 2)
threat
Fresh Kills Pollutes Water
Table 3. Water Impairments for Richmond
Where the national average for water
with threatened or impaired uses is County, NY
50%, Richmond County, where Fresh
Kills is located, ranks high in Beneficial Use Percent of All
comparison with watershed and Most Frequently Impairments
bodies of water pollution rates in the
100th percentile of the entire nation. Impaired
Aquatic Life Support
RICHMOND County contains a
79%
portion of 1 watersheds: Primary Contact
Sandy Hook-Staten Island Recreation (Swimming) 8%
Fish Consumption
Percentage of Surface Waters with
Reported Problems (state + EPA
6%
Shellfish Consumption
data): 85%
Number of Waterbodies with
5%
Reported Problems (as reported Aesthetics/Scenic
by the state): 62 3%
Secondary Contact
(scorecard 2) Recreation (Boating) 2%
Fresh Kills Closes… and Reopens
After over 50 years of living with The fight to close Fresh Kills
Fresh Kills only yards away from had been going for over 25
some residents, under local pressure, years by the time the landfill
and with support of the US ceased to operate.
Environmental Protection Agency, the
"Fresh Kills cannot reopen, end of
landfill site was slated to close on story. It's out of the question. This
March 22, 2001. It did close as mountain of trash is not only an
planned, and Staten Island residents environmental nightmare, but a
witnessed the final 13,000 ton public safety hazard to the 40,000
people who live nearby. If we put
delivery of garbage. our heads together, we can find an
However, After the World Trade environmentally friendly way to get
Center collapse, the landfill was rid of all New York's trash and not
just revert back to the way things
temporarily reopened to receive and were. There was a reason Fresh
process most of the debris from the Kills was closed, and we can't
destruction. forget about that at the first sign of
trouble.” New York Senator,
(Schumer 1) Charles E. Schumer, 2002
Fresh Kills Was Closed Permanently
in 2003
Since Fresh Kills was
closed, NYC trash has
been shipped to
landfills in other states. Starting in 2003, the site was to
be transformed into reclaimed
wetlands, recreational facilities
and landscaped public
parkland, the largest expansion
of the New York City parks
since the development of the
Bronx chain of parks in the
1890s.
Image 30. Composite image of projected use for Fresh
Kills site
A New Life For Fresh Kills
New York’s New Parkland at Fresh
Kills will be one of the most
ambitious public works projects in
the world, combining state of the art
ecological restoration techniques with
extraordinary settings for recreation,
public art, and facilities for many sports
and programs that are unusual in the
city. At 2,200 acres, the site is 2.5
times the size of Central Park. It has
the potential to become an international
model of creative reuse that will
transform how we experience vast, Image 31. Composite of projected activities at Fresh Kills
reclaimed urban landscapes. NEW ACTIVITIES Fresh Kills Parkland will be a world-
class park with an incredible variety of public spaces and
facilities for social and physical activity, for learning and play.
The site is large enough to support many sports and
programs that are unusual in the city:
sports fields* boating* cycling, hiking* nature trails,
education* community events * mountain biking* extreme
(Lifescape 1) sports* public art
In Conclusion
Although Fresh Kills is now closed The New York Department of
permanently, and the new identity Health, The Agency for Toxic
that New York City has created for Substances and Disease
the landfill is positive from an Registry, and The
Urban Planning and Policy Environmental Protection
perspective as well as a Public Agency are all involved in
Health standpoint, the ongoing studies at the Fresh
environmental, social and health Kills site. Future information
effects of over 50 years of about the landfill’s affect on
dumping will continue for years to Staten Island will be valuable
come. to residents, as well as those
concerned with the dangers
connected to landfill use.