South Patrick Shores: Cancer Cases and the Forgotten Military Landfill

Fight For Zero
Mar 24, 2022
5 min read

Updated: 3 hours ago

Toxic Legacy: Cancer Clusters and Military Waste in South Patrick Shores

SOUTH PATRICK SHORES, FL – The quiet coastal neighborhood of South Patrick Shores has long masked a troubling secret. Since 1967, when 24-year-old Larry Crockett was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, a pattern of rare cancers has haunted this once-idyllic community. By 1982, five of Larry’s neighbors, including three friends from Satellite High School, were also diagnosed with the same illness—none with a family history of the disease.

This growing list of cancer diagnoses raised a red flag that couldn’t be ignored.

A History Buried in Plain Sight

Bordering South Patrick Shores is Patrick Space Force Base, a facility with 21 active environmental cleanup sites. Residents and records suggest that military dumping occurred on what would become residential land long before homes were built. Archival newspaper reports indicate that landfills dating back to the 1940s leaked contaminants into the surrounding area.

By the 1950s, workers reported finding vehicular batteries and barrels buried in the area. In the 1990s, Patrick Air Force Base acknowledged 30 toxic waste dumps, and cleanup efforts began near the Banana River. Hazardous chemicals—from paint thinners and solvents to explosives and PFAS foam—were dumped from World War II through the early 1980s with little environmental oversight.

According to congressional records, landfills were simply covered with soil, leaving contaminants to leach into the groundwater, potentially migrating into drinking water or releasing toxic gases into nearby homes.

Photography Documentation by Stel Bailey | www.stelbailey.com | South Patrick Shores, Florida 2018

History of Military Dumping

Congress in 1980 recognized the dangers of burying hazardous waste, and federal officials identified 54 toxic dump sites in Florida. When these dangerous materials leech into the groundwater, they can cause environmental damage and can contaminate drinking water. They can also kill vegetation, cause erosion on the property, groundwater can be poisoned, and gasses can seep into homes. In the early 1970s, the U.S. Air Force closed landfills by covering waste with a soil layer ranging from 1 to 12 feet deep. No other control measures (e.g., liners or impermeable caps) were installed when the landfills were closed, leaving the hazardous materials in the landfills available to migrate from the site. Open dumpsites with no liners are considered a challenging issue in groundwater protection. After WWII, the use of toxic chemicals is suspected of contaminating water on bases and nearby communities with chemicals ranging from cleaning solvents, explosives, and firefighting foam. Some of the health issues vary from cancers, asthma, colon and digestive disorders, stillbirths, miscarriages, headaches, and nose bleeds.

Clips are taken from historical archived newspapers | Research done by Fight For Zero

An Escalating Environmental Crisis

In 1991, the EPA conducted soil and groundwater sampling in South Patrick Shores. While officials claimed no toxins were found under homes, one well sample revealed dangerously elevated levels of PCBs, pesticides, heavy metals, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Aluminum levels were recorded 2,000 to 3,000 times higher than in surrounding wells.

These findings echoed a broader trend: by the 1990s, this small neighborhood had 11 documented cases of Hodgkin’s lymphoma—statistically, only two would be expected. Including 16 cases on base, the total reached 27 cancer cases in an area with just 3,000 residents.

In July 2014, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) cited Patrick AFB for multiple hazardous waste violations:

Improper labeling and storage
Exceeding storage limits
Failing to identify hazardous waste
Illegally disposing of toxic warfarin in a public landfill

When inspectors returned in 2015, they were denied access to the base—and the matter was closed without enforcement.

The military is one of the country's largest polluters.

Clips are taken from historical archived newspapers | Research done by Fight For Zero

The Rise of PFAS and the Fight for Accountability

Public awareness surged again in 2018, when the Pentagon publicly listed Patrick AFB among the sites contaminated by PFAS, a class of “forever chemicals” used in firefighting foam. These chemicals are now linked to cancer, immune system suppression, infertility, and thyroid disease.

That same year, a grassroots effort led by Fight for Zero began mapping illness clusters through door-to-door outreach. The data revealed an alarming pattern of rare cancers, autoimmune disorders, thyroid problems, ALS, and miscarriages. Nearby cities like Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach began reporting similar issues.

To date, 54 graduates of Satellite High School have been diagnosed with rare cancers in just the last decade.

“What began as a pattern of Hodgkin’s disease in the '60s has become a multigenerational health crisis,” said Stel Bailey, Executive Director of Fight for Zero. “The longer we delay action, the more families suffer.”

Military Landfill Investigations: Landfills

Government records show that landfills on Patrick Space Force Base contain a cocktail of toxic substances:

Landfill #1 showed risk to human health and the environment after sampling between 1986 and 1988.
Landfill #2 revealed buried drums containing hazardous waste; 108 drums were removed during a 1989 cleanup.
Landfill #3 contained arsenic, lead, mercury, chromium, pesticides, and Aroclor-1254, some of which were found in fish tissue samples.
Plate Shop High potential for contamination in groundwater and soil to affect human health and the environment. The RCRA Facility Investigation confirmed a source of groundwater contamination, and also discovered another, upgradient area of VOC-contaminated groundwater around Facility 533.

Each site was closed with waste still buried on-site, and surface water and biota contamination remain a concern.

A Long-Awaited Federal Recognition

In April 2020, after years of advocacy and evidence gathering, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved South Patrick Shores as a Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS). The designation opens the door to a potential federal environmental cleanup, pending Congressional funding.

Under this status, the Corps is now assessing buried waste south of Patrick Space Force Base and may begin a full remedial investigation. Naval Air Station Banana River Off-Base Disposal Area: Formerly Used Defense Site Banana River April 2020 Update: Preliminary Assessment