In a quiet, diverse neighborhood in the South wedge of Rochester, residents have discovered a nightmare. They live next to a toxic waste site. During more than 10 years of operation as a dry cleaning chemical supply company, Dinaburg Distributing, Inc. spilled dangerous chemicals on the property. Kelly Tyra, homeowner and former resident, noticed health problems before she knew she lived next door to a toxic site. PERC and TCE can impact the nervous system, cause cancer in laboratory animals and damage the liver.
Exposure can also result in respiratory problems and miscarriages.
Dinaburg withdrew from the negotiations, and DEC responded by registering the property as a Class 2 New York State Superfund site, meaning it poses a significant threat to health and the environment. DEC is now using State Superfund money to install piping to extract dangerous fumes, but chemical levels have risen again. Tyra and local residents fear they will be left with poisoned homes and no way out when Superfund goes bankrupt. South Buffalo's Toxic Neighborhood Imagine waking up one day to learn the place you and your children call home is located on top of toxic industrial waste. That s what happened to residents in the Hickory Woods neighborhood in South Buffalo.