SENECA FALLS, NY — New air test monitors have been installed around the Seneca Meadows landfill, the largest landfill in the state. This comes after many in the community complained of illnesses caused by the landfill’s emissions.

Taylor Musil says these are low-cost devices that measure pollution. It also allows neighbors to monitor air quality and see what they’re being exposed to. They can go to: a website that will open a map showing real-time data. Then type Seneca Falls in the search box, zoom in and there you can see three circles representing the monitors in the community.

“It’s a color system, so it tells us how good the air quality is relative to federal standards based on the color of the monitor on the screen,” Musil said.

Over the next year, the Environmental Health Project will collect information every three months on the pollutants detected by monitors, he said.

“Not just the levels over time, but trends across season or time of day or wind patterns, weather patterns really try to help Seneca Falls residents understand the pollution they may be exposed to and ultimately the health risks and how to protect themselves,” Musil said.

Musil says there is evidence of poor air quality around Seneca Meadows. He says some statistics confirm the concerns of his neighbors, who say they are exposed to diseases, including cancer, from landfill emissions. Environmental Health Project data shows that more than 8 percent of people living within five miles of the landfill have cancer.

“We had people who had brain cancer and died at a younger age than me; We got lung cancer. It’s hard to know where it’s coming from, so we really need data and air monitors to tell us what the pollutants are,” said Barb Reese, a concerned resident.

“It’s really hard to live here and not know if you’re hurting your family,” Reese said.

News10NBC confirms the state Department of Health is investigating the lung cancer rate in the area surrounding the landfill. As for the future of the landfill, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s review of the draft environmental impact statement has been extended until Nov. 12. We will notify you of any public hearings or comment periods.

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