Southampton, NY Residents have more questions than answers regarding Speonk Solvent Plume

June 18, 2008 - Several dogs on Diane Renna’s street, Hickory Bend in Speonk, have died of cancer that attacked their paws and hearts. Meg Wermersbach, who lives a few blocks away, was told by a veterinarian that her dog might have been poisoned when it became sick after playing in a nearby watering hole.

Tom Ackerson, who lives nearby on Leslie Court, said his adult daughter has been in and out of the hospital with severe migraines and other ailments since she moved into his basement apartment two years ago—and doctors have no idea what is wrong with her.

Mr. Ackerson said he smells strange vapors in his basement, and both Ms. Renna and Ms. Wermersbach note that they often smell unusual odors in their neighborhood. They also said that several of their neighbors have died of cancer in recent years.

What they also have in common is that they all live along the edge of documented plume of polluted groundwater—it is contaminated with an assortment of cleaning solvents—the source of which is still unknown and could date back to World War II.

More . . .