EPA conducts free testing near Meeker Avenue Plume Superfund site

Leal Goodman, director of environmental programs of the advocacy group North Brooklyn Neighbors, is urging everyone to take advantage of it.

Melissa Rose Cooper

Oct 31, 2024, 10:58 PM

Updated 8 days ago

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working to keep people in northern Brooklyn safe after confirming the area around the Meeker Avenue Plume Superfund Site is contaminated.
The agency is now offering free indoor testing in buildings and homes nearby as the winter season approaches.
Leal Goodman, director of environmental programs of the advocacy group North Brooklyn Neighbors, is urging everyone to take advantage of it.
“If you don't get tested during the season, you will likely have to wait until December 2025 to be tested,” says Goodman. “And that's a long time to be potentially exposed in your own home or in a business.”
Residents say it's disturbing to know potentially dangerous toxins exist so close to home but they're happy something is finally being done about it.
“You see a lot of houses are going up,” says Jordan Quellman, of Greenpoint. “I just hope who's ever in charge of those things are doing their due diligence to make sure they're habitable and we're all safe.”
A spokesperson for the EPA says the agency has already conducted testing in several residential and mix-use buildings near the site and it’s committed to conducting a thorough investigation.