We live in the age of environmental awareness. With the prices of oil and natural gas sky-rocketing in the commodities market, it is no wonder that we are striving, more than ever, to be greener in our search for alternative, eco-friendly and efficient ways to generate energy. Recycling and making an effort to eat organic foods are also part of this environmental movement. These actions have been shown to increase our quality of life as well as make us healthier people.
However, don’t be confused. Not everything that is good for the environment is necessarily good for human beings. Here is a recent case illustrating this point: a young man died, tragically, because no one thought to study the implications of placing a compost facility close to where humans live and work.
From 1989-1992, the Town of Islip operated a compost facility known as “Resource Recovery.” As you may know, compost – or mulch – is commonly made with manure, minerals, seaweed and other end products of the environment. Compost is added to soil to provide optimal growth for planting. While helpful for farmers and gardeners, and sometimes thought to be good for the environment, compost can be highly toxic and dangerous for people.
At the time of its operation, the plant was the largest compost facility in the country, churning out 100,000 tons of waste each year. The Town placed the facility only 915 feet upwind of residential areas and conducted no study at all about health risks to the community!
The compost heap emitted mold spores through the air, which caused a wide range of symptoms and complaints in the community. One of the types of mold commonly found at composting stations is known as Aspergillus. Residents living near Resource Recovery began to complain about many things, including the smell of the operation, to the spread of debris, to sudden skin and respiratory illnesses and allergies.
For “Harry” the effects were much worse. Harry worked for 6 years as a coffee vendor at the Ronkonkoma train station, directly across the street from the compost station. After several months of experiencing a variety of symptoms such as difficulty breathing, as well as skin and eye irritations, Harry began getting severe leg pains. Doctors thought Harry had developed blood clots in his legs, not an uncommon occurrence and a reasonable explanation for his pain.
To the astonishment of his surgeons, during an operation they found a foot and a half long vegetative growth in Harry’s leg! This “growth” was actually a mass of Aspergillus originating from Aspergillus mold spores emitted by the compost facility.
Harry had inhaled the spores at work, and the mold had “colonized” his body, literally taking it over and destroying healthy tissue. An infection with Aspergillus is known as Aspergillosis. Aspergillosis spreads extremely rapidly. Very shortly after his leg surgery, the growth from the spores reached his heart and lungs. Harry, 25-years-old, died a very painful and prolonged death. The Town of Islip denied any causation between the operation of the compost heap and Harry’s death.
Harry’s widow sued. After a long investigation by her attorneys, and an appeal by the Town to a higher court to dismiss the case, the case was set for trial. At the start of the trial, the case was settled. The widow was compensated for the tragic, and preventable loss of her young husband.