Agriculture Street Landfill

The Agriculture Street Landfill was a dump in New Orleans, Louisiana. The area was later developed for residential use, with unfortunate environmental consequences. It became a Superfund cleanup site.

History

A city dump

This area in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans was swampy low ground when it began to be used as a dump in 1909. The landfill became one of the area's main dumps for both residential and industrial waste. It often caught fire, with flames and smoke visible for a good distance away, and got the local nickname "Dante's Inferno". The dump was first closed in 1952, but continued as a sanitary landfill site to the end of the decade. It reopened in the aftermath of Hurricane Betsy, and much debris from that storm was deposited on site. It was officially reclosed in 1966, although reports indicate that dumping continued for another year. The landfill site was then covered with ash from city incinerators and compacted by bulldozers.

Redevelopment

Starting in 1976, the old dump site was covered with sand and soil then redeveloped as a residential neighborhood, with housing, Moton Elementary School, and small businesses built and occupied over the site. Three residential developments - Press Park, LGordon Plaza, and Liberty Terrace - were built over the old landfill area.

Problems

Complaints of health problems by area residents first prompted Environmental Protection Agency investigations in 1986. The area was initially judged not worthy of federal remedy. However residents continued finding old trash just below the surface when trying to plant gardens or erect fences, and anecdotal evidence of health problems including abnormally high rates of cancer became common. People in the area petitioned for retesting in 1993, and the site was placed on the National Priorities List as a cleanup site the following year. Investigations showed that the actual amount of soil placed over the landfill before redevelopment was much thinner than had been claimed.

Remedial work

EPA supervised cleanup included closing Morton Elementary, and on residential land removing two feet of soil, putting down a plastic barrier, then topping it with two feet of new clean soil. In April 2001 it was announced to be 99% complete. Many area homeowners and residents have petitioned for being moved elsewhere, with the backing of Congressman Bill Jefferson, but they have not succeeded in getting funds provided.

After Hurricane Katrina

Flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina disrupted this area ("see:" Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans), with storm surge funneled by the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal flooding into this neighborhood in 2005. There are concerns that the flooding has released additional toxins in the area. "Press Park", a 56 townhouse housing complex in the area, has been found contaminated with benzopyrene at levels some 50 times EPA health screening level, and remains fenced off a year after Katrina. [http://www.nola.com/newslogs/topnews/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_topnews/archives/2006_08_19.html]

External links

* [http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/PHA/agriculturestreet/asl_toc.html Agriculture Street Landfill on The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) site]
* [http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/Jones/agstreet.htm Agriculture Street Landfill on UMich.edu]