Fight For Zero
- Mar 24, 2022
- 7 min read

South Patrick Shores Cancer Cluster & Military Dump Investigation

Updated: Jun 11

The pattern of Hodgkin's disease first emerged in 1967, when 24-year old Larry Crockett found out he had cancer.

By 1982, five of Larry's neighbors were diagnosed with the same cancer. Three of the victims were friends from Satellite High School and diagnosed in 1979, 1980, and 1982. Two women also died of the disease in 1967 and 1970. None of the victims had a family history of Hodgkin's disease.

Evidence of Military Debris in South Patrick Shore

Patrick Air Force Base borders the South Patrick Shores neighborhood and has 21 active sites where military cleanup actions are still ongoing. It's no surprise that the military produces dangerous waste, whether its ammunition components, unexploded ordinance or paints, and thinners. The first reports of debris in South Patrick Shores were by workers in the 1950s who discovered vehicular batteries and barrels. Residents throughout the years believe that past dumping operations were carried out before homes were built. There are archived newspapers indicating that landfills date back to the 1940s and leaked contaminants. In 1992 Patrick AFB set to clean up the toxic dump near the Banana River. There were 30 toxic waste dumps at Patrick Air Force Base and nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with contaminated soil and groundwater. Hazardous chemicals were tossed into landfills from World War II through the early 1980s.

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

Hazardous Waste Violations

The military is one of the country's largest polluters. Patrick Air Force Base has been inspected many times, dating back to 1986 by the FDEP. On July 15 and 16, 2014 the facility was out of compliance with violations including failure to properly identify hazardous wastes, exceeding the limit of stored hazardous waste, failure to properly label containers, improper storage of hazardous waste that exceeded toxicity limits for cadmium, management of hazardous waste without a permit and disposal of toxic warfarin trash to a local landfill. When FDEP inspectors went to the facility to conduct an inspection on July 22, 2015, the Base would not allow the inspectors to access the grounds. This matter was closed without formal enforcement, according to the notes in the following inspection in September. [2]

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

An Issue of Multiple Contamination

In 1980, the Department of Defense acknowledged its pollution issues at many bases in the United States. However, Florida's Department of Environmental Protection was finding more severe problems like carcinogenic pesticide leaching in the local waters. Patrick's toxic dumps have been under scrutiny ever since the abnormal rate of Hodgkins Disease first made headlines in the '90s. In November of 1991, the EPA conducted soil and groundwater sampling in South Patrick Shores and detected elevated levels of lead and aluminum. The aluminum levels in one well were 2000-3000 times greater than levels detected in all other wells. There was one sample from a well in 1991 that exceeded health criteria. It showed PCBs, metals, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds. State and federal experts told papers that the South Patrick Shores neighborhood was built over an old military dump, but tests showed no toxins present in the soil or water under homes.

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

Prevent Future Environmental Tragedy

In the '90s the community of about 3,000 residents had a total of 11 cases of Hodgkin's Lymphoma and an additional 16 cases on the base, totaling 27 cases of cancer. Statistically, two cases of Hodgkin's disease could have been expected in the area. Two decades later and the neighborhood is still facing a mysteriously high incident of illness. Public awareness resurfaced in 2018 after a March report by the Pentagon publicly-listed Patrick AFB as one of the bases that tested positive for perfluorinated compounds, also known as PFOA and PFOS. A grassroots door-to-door crowdsourcing effort started through Fight For Zero. It began to reveal a series of difficult illnesses - ALS, asthma in children, thyroid, miscarriages, and an abundance of cancer cases in the area. As similar incidences became more prevalent in neighboring cities such as Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, this anomaly seems to have spread. So far, 54 graduates from Satellite High School in the last decade are documented to be diagnosed with rare cancers. Generations continue to feel the effects of the mystery that started as Hodgkin's Disease in South Patrick Shores. Worried about human health and environmental tragedy, residents and activists continue to push for answers and health-protective state and federal legislation. In November 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency vowed to reassess South Patrick Shores, but decades of delay in addressing these issues leaves communities feeling frustrated. The problem is complexity, accountability, and those reluctant to tackle this sensitive problem. The question remains if the local population faces health risks or if history is continually repeating itself with a pure coincidence of unburied debris and illnesses.

1. Children playing in PFAS foam in Cape Canaveral | 2. Fight For Zero cancer map using crowdsourced data done by DP GeoTech | 3. Erin Brockovich community meeting in 2018 with young cancer survivors

Patrick Space Force Base History

Landfill #1 - Soil, groundwater, surface water, sediment, and biota were investigated in multiple phases beginning in 1984. After the initial phase of records review and site reconnaissance, groundwater, surface water, and sediment samples were collected between 1986 and 1988. The analytical results indicated the presence of constituents that could pose a risk to human health and the environment. Landfill #2 - Identified potential threats to human health from groundwater and surface water contaminants, but no unacceptable ecological risks. An Interim Measure (IM) was conducted in 1989 to determine the extent of buried drums identified during an electromagnetic survey. The drums were found to be buried in a 100 ft by 100 ft area. A total of 108 drums were removed and disposed of, along with associated contaminated soil, as part of the IM. In 1997, a Feasibility Study was performed in order to select the appropriate remedy for the site (OBG, 1997). Landfill #3 - Soil, groundwater, surface water, sediment, and biota were investigated in multiple phases beginning in 1984. After the initial phase of records review and site reconnaissance, groundwater, surface water and sediment samples were collected between 1986 and 1988. The analytical results indicated the presence of constituents that could pose a risk to human health and the environment. In order to assess the nature and extent of contamination at the site and the potential risks to human health and the environment, a Remedial Investigation (RI) was recommended. Identified arsenic, chromium, lead, thallium, vanadium, pesticides, and phenol as groundwater COCs. Beryllium, lead, mercury, and bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (BEHP) were identified as surface water COCs. Mercury, pesticides, Aroclor-1254, and BEHP were identified as fish tissue COCs. The SB did not identify any COCs for soil; however, buried waste remains on site. Plate Shop - Between 1995 and 1997 the risk assessment identified a 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.