Keyport may start to get answers about multiple cancer cases

☑️There are more than 40 cancer cases near a contaminated Keyport landfill

☑️State officials say testing at the former Aeromarine site could begin within weeks

☑️A public town hall at Keyport High School is scheduled for Sunday

KEYPORT — More than 40 cancer cases linked to one neighborhood near a toxic Monmouth County landfill are now fueling fears across New Jersey about what could be lurking beneath longtime industrial sites in their own backyards.

State officials say testing could begin within weeks at the former Aeromarine landfill in Keyport, where residents have spent years demanding answers about contamination that has sat unresolved along Raritan Bay for more than a decade.

The growing concern is no longer just about one street or one town. It’s about whether aging polluted sites around New Jersey are putting families at risk while cleanup efforts drag on for years.

The controversy exploded after a report identified over 40 cancer cases near the site, including 28 on a single block of First Street. Now, frustrated residents want to know whether toxins from the uncapped landfill may have played a role, and why the site was allowed to remain in limbo for so long.

Republican lawmakers from Monmouth County said the state Department of Environmental Protection gave them a preview of their preliminary findings about the former Aeromarine site in Keyport.

ALSO READ: Red Bank Regional student killed by NJ Transit train

Town hall planned as residents demand answers

The DEP discovered the testing wells on site are in better condition than anticipated, which will allow sampling on the site to begin “within the next few weeks” and be completed in two months. Acting DEP Commissioner Ed Potosnak has also visited the site, according to the legislators.

On Sunday, the DEP will host a town hall meeting at 4:30 p.m. at Keyport High School. A presentation about their investigation will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

ALSO READ: 'Gas station heroin' thief being sought in Ocean County

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom