New Jersey has expanded environmental testing in two coastal towns after residents reported over 400 cancer cases near a former landfill, though state officials have not confirmed a cancer cluster.
The concerns focus on the inactive Keyport Sanitary Landfill at Aeromarine Industrial Park, where decades of waste disposal left documented contamination. People in Keyport and Union Beach spent months compiling reports of diagnoses—some families with multiple cases—and urged the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to test beyond the landfill’s boundaries.
Residents document cases, demand broader testing
During a July community meeting, residents honored neighbors who had died from cancer and shared a list of more than 400 diagnoses, including various types of the disease. Some streets reported dozens of cases, though the data came from community reports rather than a formal state investigation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines a cancer cluster as an unexpected number of the same or related cancers in a specific group, area, and time. Confirming one requires analyzing cancer types, patient demographics, timing, residential history, and whether a plausible exposure pathway exists. The state agency has not found evidence meeting that standard.
Despite the lack of confirmation, the concentration of reports prompted action. In mid-August, the agency began collecting groundwater and soil-gas samples from 16 locations—13 in Keyport and three in Union Beach—to check for volatile organic compounds. The testing aims to determine whether contamination could enter homes through vapor intrusion, where chemical vapors seep from soil or groundwater into buildings.
Residents have long suspected the landfill as the source. Independent testing near the site found polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, all linked to health risks. Earlier state investigations also detected benzene and PCBs at the property.
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The presence of these chemicals does not prove exposure. For contamination to cause harm, there must be a clear pathway—such as contaminated drinking water or air—linking the source to people. The agency initially found no such pathway, but the new testing may reveal one.
Contamination history raises alarms, but causation remains unclear
The landfill operated for much of the 20th century, accepting industrial and municipal waste. Benzene, a known carcinogen tied to leukemia and other blood cancers, was among the contaminants identified in past investigations. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies benzene and PCBs as carcinogenic, though this reflects potential hazard rather than proof that a specific environmental source caused individual cases.
For families living near the site, the uncertainty is hard to accept. Some have lost multiple relatives to cancer, and the pattern of diagnoses in certain neighborhoods feels too consistent to dismiss. Yet epidemiology relies on evidence, not patterns alone. Without a confirmed exposure pathway or a statistically significant increase in specific cancers, officials cannot declare a cluster or establish causation.
The expanded testing may provide answers. If the agency finds contamination in groundwater or soil gas near homes, it would suggest a possible route for exposure. Even then, proving a direct link to cancer would take years of study, including detailed health data and ongoing environmental monitoring. Residents wait for results, hoping for clarity while fearing the testing may not deliver it.
Lab results from the recent samples remain pending. The agency indicated it might add more testing locations if the data supports it, but no timeline exists for when the public will receive the findings. Until then, the community continues to seek understanding their needs in the face of uncertainty.
