Demand Investigation of Cancer Clusters and Toxic Waste Sites in Solvay, Geddes & Lakeland
The Issue
Our Soil. Our Air. Our Water. Our Right to Know.
We, the residents, families, and allies of Solvay, Geddes, and Lakeland, New York, call on local, state, and federal agencies to investigate the legacy of industrial waste in our neighborhoods and determine whether residents face ongoing exposure.
For generations, community members have raised concerns about buried waste, industrial fill, chemical odors, contaminated water, and serious illnesses. Residents deserve a coordinated investigation, accessible findings, and action wherever hazards are identified.
What We Are Demanding
A comprehensive environmental investigation. Identify and investigate suspected industrial waste disposal areas, including sites absent from existing hazardous-site inventories. Examine historical records, disposal practices, and potential exposure through soil, outdoor and indoor air, and groundwater.
An independent investigation of cancer patterns. Evaluate cancer incidence in Solvay, Geddes, and Lakeland using appropriate neighborhood boundaries and time periods—not ZIP codes alone—with independent expert oversight and public reporting of methods, findings, and limitations.
Public access to meaningful health data. Release available cancer incidence data, historical health investigations, and agency correspondence at the smallest geographic scale consistent with patient privacy. Review relevant medical records through authorized, confidential research procedures.
Targeted environmental testing. Test suspected disposal areas and affected residential properties based on site history and community reports. Include soil, groundwater, soil gas, and indoor and outdoor air where potential exposure pathways warrant investigation.
Public hearings and ongoing community participation. Give residents a formal role in identifying locations of concern, shaping investigation priorities, and reviewing results. Establish clear deadlines and regular public updates.
Hazardous-site evaluation and enforceable cleanup. Assess qualifying locations for New York State Class 2 hazardous waste site designation and federal Superfund listing. Require responsible parties to investigate and address contamination where applicable.
Why an Investigation Is Needed
Historical disposal and industrial fill
Residents have raised concerns about the reported 1943 waste-dike failure and flooding, as well as the possible reuse of industrial waste as fill beneath yards, roads, and buildings.
Agencies must establish what material was moved, where it went, what it contained, and whether it presents a hazard today. Contaminants documented at one industrial site should not automatically be assumed present in every location containing fill; each area requires evidence and testing.
Suspected undocumented waste areas
Community accounts describe chemical dumping, discarded laboratory glassware, and underground smoldering fires near Hazard Street, in an area known as “The Bowl,” near a former school field. These reports warrant records research, site assessment, and appropriate sampling.
Historical cancer concerns
Residents cite a reported 1982 concern involving 17 cancer cases within a two-block area around Wycliffe Road and Scarborough Drive. We request the original records, any agency assessment, and documentation of subsequent follow-up.
Community experiences
Current and former residents describe cancer, infertility, respiratory disease, and premature deaths, alongside memories of soot, chemical plumes, odors, and questionable fill.
These accounts do not, by themselves, establish that industrial exposure caused an illness. They deserve to be documented and evaluated through a rigorous investigation.
Why This Matters Today
Where contaminated material remains, potential exposure may occur through soil and dust, groundwater, or vapors entering buildings. Whether these pathways exist—and whether exposures pose a health risk—must be determined through testing.
Residents should not have to guess what is beneath their homes or what they are breathing.
Join the Movement
Sign this petition to demand environmental justice, public transparency, and accountability for Solvay, Geddes, and Lakeland.
Share it with neighbors, family, local media, environmental organizations, and elected officials.
Our backyards and our homes deserve answers. Our community deserves action.
258
The Issue
Our Soil. Our Air. Our Water. Our Right to Know.
We, the residents, families, and allies of Solvay, Geddes, and Lakeland, New York, call on local, state, and federal agencies to investigate the legacy of industrial waste in our neighborhoods and determine whether residents face ongoing exposure.
For generations, community members have raised concerns about buried waste, industrial fill, chemical odors, contaminated water, and serious illnesses. Residents deserve a coordinated investigation, accessible findings, and action wherever hazards are identified.
What We Are Demanding
A comprehensive environmental investigation. Identify and investigate suspected industrial waste disposal areas, including sites absent from existing hazardous-site inventories. Examine historical records, disposal practices, and potential exposure through soil, outdoor and indoor air, and groundwater.
An independent investigation of cancer patterns. Evaluate cancer incidence in Solvay, Geddes, and Lakeland using appropriate neighborhood boundaries and time periods—not ZIP codes alone—with independent expert oversight and public reporting of methods, findings, and limitations.
Public access to meaningful health data. Release available cancer incidence data, historical health investigations, and agency correspondence at the smallest geographic scale consistent with patient privacy. Review relevant medical records through authorized, confidential research procedures.
Targeted environmental testing. Test suspected disposal areas and affected residential properties based on site history and community reports. Include soil, groundwater, soil gas, and indoor and outdoor air where potential exposure pathways warrant investigation.
Public hearings and ongoing community participation. Give residents a formal role in identifying locations of concern, shaping investigation priorities, and reviewing results. Establish clear deadlines and regular public updates.
Hazardous-site evaluation and enforceable cleanup. Assess qualifying locations for New York State Class 2 hazardous waste site designation and federal Superfund listing. Require responsible parties to investigate and address contamination where applicable.
Why an Investigation Is Needed
Historical disposal and industrial fill
Residents have raised concerns about the reported 1943 waste-dike failure and flooding, as well as the possible reuse of industrial waste as fill beneath yards, roads, and buildings.
Agencies must establish what material was moved, where it went, what it contained, and whether it presents a hazard today. Contaminants documented at one industrial site should not automatically be assumed present in every location containing fill; each area requires evidence and testing.
Suspected undocumented waste areas
Community accounts describe chemical dumping, discarded laboratory glassware, and underground smoldering fires near Hazard Street, in an area known as “The Bowl,” near a former school field. These reports warrant records research, site assessment, and appropriate sampling.
Historical cancer concerns
Residents cite a reported 1982 concern involving 17 cancer cases within a two-block area around Wycliffe Road and Scarborough Drive. We request the original records, any agency assessment, and documentation of subsequent follow-up.
Community experiences
Current and former residents describe cancer, infertility, respiratory disease, and premature deaths, alongside memories of soot, chemical plumes, odors, and questionable fill.
These accounts do not, by themselves, establish that industrial exposure caused an illness. They deserve to be documented and evaluated through a rigorous investigation.
Why This Matters Today
Where contaminated material remains, potential exposure may occur through soil and dust, groundwater, or vapors entering buildings. Whether these pathways exist—and whether exposures pose a health risk—must be determined through testing.
Residents should not have to guess what is beneath their homes or what they are breathing.
Join the Movement
Sign this petition to demand environmental justice, public transparency, and accountability for Solvay, Geddes, and Lakeland.
Share it with neighbors, family, local media, environmental organizations, and elected officials.
Our backyards and our homes deserve answers. Our community deserves action.
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Petition created on June 14, 2025