CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – An ex-employee of a Clay County plant that was shuttered in the 1990s for illegally burning hazardous materials hopes to help prevent the sale of the former Superfund site.
Previously, developers had announced plans to build a subdivision there despite health concerns that have been brought forth by community members.
Former employees tell News4JAX that barrels filled with toxic chemicals were buried in the dirt all around the 800-acre property. And they’re working with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to ensure the piece of land isn’t developed.
RELATED: Talks of selling former Superfund site in Clay County sparks concern among homeowners
Michael Zelinka worked at the former Solite plant. He says everything from jet fuel to hospital biohazards were either burned, dumped or put in barrels and hidden on the property.
“I was just doing what the boss man told me what to do. Dump the dirt, everything’s good, everything’s clean,” Zelinka said.
Tests found toxic chemicals, including arsenic, lead and cyanide in the soil.
We asked what motivated him to speak out.
“It’s these people in the area are coming up with all kinds of health issues,” Zelinka said. “My mother, when they lived at Russell Church… a mile away from the plant- she wound up having breast cancer.”
Zelinka said he had a heart attack in his 20s, around the time he worked at the plant, and that doctors found high levels of arsenic in his blood.
He and other employees are working with the FDEP to try and stop the upcoming sale of the property, identifying spots where toxic waste was dumped.
Clay County Commissioner Kristen Burke lives nearby.
“I see the little kids out in the neighborhood and it just scares me to death to think that they’re not going to be protected, that they could have diseases,” Burke said.
Burke says she is still waiting for a response from the state. She says currently, only the FDEP has the power to stop the sale.
“My job as a commissioner is to protect and to think about the safety of our citizens,” she said. “And now just to think we can’t do anything to protect itbecause the people above us are not listening.”
Repeated attempts for comment via phone and email from FDEP had not been returned by publication of this article.