A new project at a defunct landfill in Rockland is resurfacing some old concerns among neighbors.
The Hillburn landfill on Sixth Street had been unused for years until recently, when neighbors started seeing trucks hauling out dirt and debris.
Rockland County representatives say materials being removed are left over from a sewer expansion project nearly 10 years ago. Neighbors say their concerns about the site date back further than that, when they allege corporations in the 1960s and 1970s used the grounds to dump toxic waste.
Authorities with the county and state Department of Environmental Conservation say they have no record of the site being contaminated. They also say materials being removed now are not toxic and strictly from above ground.
Neighbors, including one who didn't want to be identified, say a number of people living on the block have died prematurely.
"I found about 13 people that lived along Sixth Street here that died from leukemia,” said the neighbor. "They all died of leukemia in their 40s."
News 12 has not been able to confirm how many people died prematurely along the block, It also reached out to the Village of Hillburn for comment on the alleged contamination but calls were not returned.