A dump in the City of East Cleveland is sore to the eyes and now, the morale, of people living there.
Many had hoped a recent EPA order would have helped get the mess cleaned up by now.
Sharon Blakeney lives along Noble Road and sees the nearly 2 million yards of waste and construction debris every day from her windows.
She says she also suffers from lung problems.
“Breathing in the toxic things that’s coming in from back there, it’s just terrible,” she said. “It hasn’t helped me, that’s for sure.”
Owned by a company called Arco Recycling, it was supposed to be a source of economic development for the City of East Cleveland when the land was sold just a few years ago.
Instead, scientists say it became a source of pollution.
“I found a combination of toxic gas and toxic particles both on the outside and on the inside of the properties,” Jim Riffle of Auburn Environmental said.
Last month the EPA declared the land an “unpermitted landfill” and ordered Arco to clean up within two weeks.
The company appealed the request, describing it as “unreasonable” and “unlawful,” while questioning the EPA’s authority to shut down a so-called recycling site.
On Friday there was no movement, either in or out of there.
A pre-hearing has been scheduled for March 1st in Columbus with Ohio’s Environmental Review Appeals Commission to hear Arco’s case against the EPA.