Marching on City Hall, a group suing the City of Miami says a new study highlights urgent health and cleanup concerns for residents near the Old Smokey facility.
Dioxins, arsenic, barium, lead and other cancer-causing substances remain buried in soils up to a mile away from a long-shuttered trash incinerator in the West Grove, according to an attorney representing more than 900 current and former residents who claim they suffered from years of exposure to the toxins.
The findings, announced during a rally and news conference on Wednesday outside City Hall, show that little has changed since testing was done more than a decade ago by Miami-Dade County officials, who oversee environmental contamination and cleanup countywide.
Toxic soil levels in West Grove were first discovered in 2013 after routine testing at the former incinerator, which is now a City of Miami Fire Department training facility just south of Grand Avenue near Armbrister Park. The city-owned facility closed in 1970 after 50 years in operation.
Claiming the incinerator – nicknamed Old Smokey for the clouds of ash that for decades billowed from its chimney – sickened generations of nearby residents, a group filed suit against the City of Miami in 2017. The recent testing was paid for by the law firm handling that case.
“I cannot believe that I am here, seven years later, still asking for the same thing we did when we filed the lawsuit: for the city to just clean up their mess and take some accountability,” the group’s attorney, Jason Clark, told the crowd of about 20 people. “The Old Smokey incinerator has cast a shadow on this community for far too long.”
According to Clark, 80 percent of the 36 sites that were tested – all on private property — returned dioxin readings above the county’s target cleanup recommendations.
Dioxins are a class of chemical compounds that have been linked to a variety of health risks including cancer, reproductive and developmental issues, and immune system damage. Arsenic, barium, lead and other chemical elements also have been shown to adversely affect human health.
The lawsuit claims that city officials failed to warn residents about the dangers of airborne ash within the predominately Black community. The plaintiffs are asking the city to provide financial compensation for health impacts, fund a medical monitoring program, and remediate the remaining contamination in affected areas.
Over the years the City of Miami has pushed back on a number of legal and procedural issues – none of which held up in court – and the case is now inching forward. Both sides, Clark says, are arguing over what evidence will be allowed at trial.
In June the court will decide if the case qualifies for class action status, allowing hundreds if not thousands of additional plaintiffs to join the lawsuit.
Officials from the City Attorney’s Office did not respond to a request for comment from the Spotlight but a city spokesperson issued this statement:
“The City has been aware of the allegations raised in this lawsuit since its filing almost a decade ago. To date, this case remains in its infancy. Yesterday the Court issued a deadline for the plaintiffs to come forward with their proof. The City looks forward to reviewing the alleged evidence in support of their allegations.”
But patience is wearing thin for Cathy Coney, who grew up not far from Old Smokey and remembers the ash floating down like tiny snowflakes throughout her neighborhood.
For years, she says, she and her family have suffered from the cumulative effects of living within a cloud of toxic incinerator ash. Her father and a brother passed away from an asthma-related condition, which she blames on Old Smokey.
“Why is the city ignoring this?” she asked, before marching with the group to the doors of City Hall. “The city needs to be accountable.”
The story likely has broader and deeper implications. As a student at G.W. Carver Middle School in the mid 90’s, we spent most of our physical education classes at Armbrister Park. Now as an adult, I’m unable to have children, doctors cannot explain the premature depletion, doctor mentioned possible exposure to toxins, is this 100% related, we will never know. My guess is there are likely additional impacts.