Hundreds of Norwood Residents Vent Cancer Fears Over Nearby Landfill to EPA Official

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An overflow crowd gathered around a map showing the two sites. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency held a public meeting Nov. 21, in Norwood, Image via Charles Fox, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

An abandoned Norwood landfill does not appear to threaten human health, according to the EPA’s assessment manager, but assessments are continuing, writes Frank Kummer for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Joe Vitello was responding to about 250 Norwood residents who packed an EPA informational meeting Thursday night.

“I can assure you EPA has heard your concerns, and we’ve taken the right steps as to whether there’s an environmental component to your health concerns,” Vitello said.

Landfill and nearby residential soil was sampled. Results did not raise immediate health concerns, he said.

Residents have been worried about a number of cancer and autoimmune cases in the borough and their proximity to a defunct landfill.

Many people said they had cancer, or had relatives with it or who had died of it. One woman said there had been six multiple sclerosis cases on a single street.

The volume of complaints brought federal officials to the area beginning in 2016 to examine the landfill and the surrounding area.

The site has two old dumps used from 1950 to 1961 before modern regulations and record keeping.

The EPA does not know what was dumped there.

Read more about cancer fears in the Norwood community here.

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