Kenmore residents worry lake toxins are tied to construction site
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KENMORE, Wash. -- A group of Kenmore residents believe people are being poisoned in Lake Washington, and they're placing some of the blame on 520 Bridge construction.
Resident Elizabeth Mooney leads a vocal environmental group and is worried about what's happening in the water around Kenmore.
"I'm afraid to go in that water right now," she said.
Much of Mooney's fear comes from her knowledge of the city's history as a dump site. More than 50 years ago, crews tore down houses to build Interstate 5, and they dumped all that debris near Kenmore's shoreline.
Today, that site is covered with layers of dirt. Larry Altose with the Department of Ecology said the landfill was closed, covered and tested.
Nobody can legally dig into the former landfill, but they can build on top of it. The area is now a construction site where crews are building huge anchors and the deck for the new 520 bridge.
They're barging out the finished pieces, but the barges travel by a marina where scientist recently discovered toxins. The toxins didn't register at a level high enough to require a state clean-up, but nobody is quite sure where they came from.
"(We) don't know," Altose said. "All we know is that there were elevated levels of dioxin found at this marina."
Mooney believes the toxins could cause cancer, and she thinks they came from the old landfill that's now being used as a construction site.
"That could be what is leaching out as each barge comes in and out," she said.
On Wednesday, state and city officials told concerned residents they will perform more studies on the area. In the meantime, the bridge construction will continue.
Officials from the Department of Ecology say the toxins are only dangerous if ingested or, potentially, with prolonged contact.
Resident Elizabeth Mooney leads a vocal environmental group and is worried about what's happening in the water around Kenmore.
"I'm afraid to go in that water right now," she said.
Much of Mooney's fear comes from her knowledge of the city's history as a dump site. More than 50 years ago, crews tore down houses to build Interstate 5, and they dumped all that debris near Kenmore's shoreline.
Today, that site is covered with layers of dirt. Larry Altose with the Department of Ecology said the landfill was closed, covered and tested.
Nobody can legally dig into the former landfill, but they can build on top of it. The area is now a construction site where crews are building huge anchors and the deck for the new 520 bridge.
They're barging out the finished pieces, but the barges travel by a marina where scientist recently discovered toxins. The toxins didn't register at a level high enough to require a state clean-up, but nobody is quite sure where they came from.
"(We) don't know," Altose said. "All we know is that there were elevated levels of dioxin found at this marina."
Mooney believes the toxins could cause cancer, and she thinks they came from the old landfill that's now being used as a construction site.
"That could be what is leaching out as each barge comes in and out," she said.
On Wednesday, state and city officials told concerned residents they will perform more studies on the area. In the meantime, the bridge construction will continue.
Officials from the Department of Ecology say the toxins are only dangerous if ingested or, potentially, with prolonged contact.
Mooney is a nut job, she's been complaining about anything in that area for a long time. I love how all these tree huggers instantly jump to the conclusion that whatever anything is will cause cancer.
 @CWU07 It is a shame KOMO decided to give Mooney voice. She is a certified wacko.
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How much tax money has been spent trying to answer this one individuals imagined horrors? Kenmore needs to show some leadership and tell people like this to just shut up and go away. In these economic times, wasting money repeating study after study to satisfy someone who will never believe the results is crazy.
i'm sure its just a big coincidence, yeah, thats the ticket.