Keyport advocate, diagnosed with cancer, fighting for answers on feared cancer cluster
Liguori is working on bringing a mobile cancer screening center to town.
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In Keyport, there are still no official answers on the testing at a landfill believed to be linked to a possible cancer cluster.
One of the community leaders has a new reason to fight.
Keyport resident Sal Liguori thought he had a hernia, but still feared the worst when he asked his doctor.
“I live in Keyport, and there’s this possible cancer cluster going on," Liguori said. "Is there any type of screening I can get done - even if I pay out of my pocket? I don’t care what the fee is.”
Liguori was diagnosed with early-stage chronic lymphocytic leukemia. His doctors say it’s treatable, but incurable.
Liguori lives next to the former Aeromarine headquarters, where an improperly-capped landfill has been leeching into the soil for decades. He invited News 12 in May when he tested the air in his home. He says those results showed benzene - a carcinogen.
“The benzene gas is fact," Liguori said. "It’s linked to leukemia. Most of these cancer cases are leukemia. That’s not a coincidence.”
The state DEP, the borough of Keyport and a prospective buyer of the site all tested groundwater and surface water in June. DEP’s results are expected at the end of July.
“You can get me results in a week, if you really want to do this," claims Liguori. "They don’t want to do this.”
The DEP also installed "no trespassing" signs near the landfill in late June, including one on Liguori's property. He says they should have been there years before, when the leeching was known.
“I see people, I used to see dogs all the time up and down here," Liguori said, while pointing to the beach. "These dogs have died of facial, mouth cancer!”
Liguori is working on bringing a mobile cancer screening center to town.
“Now that I’ve been diagnosed, I am now more motivated than ever to help everybody around me and save someone else’s life - if not many," Liguori said.
DEP has fined the Aeromarine owner $1.2 million over the years - still unpaid with another court date this month.
