US4 min(s) read
Published 10:37 21 Apr 2026 GMT
Residents of a small borough in the US state of New Jersey have been left shocked by the number of cancer cases found in one specific area.
The suburban coastal town of Keyport, NJ, is home to just over 7,180 people.
Many of its residents benefit from its status as a commuter town of New York City in the New York metropolitan area.
But fears have risen in recent weeks, as one mom recalled the moment she realised that there was a pattern in those living on and around First Street in the town.
Speaking to NJ.com, Ginger Morris said that she realised there were several illnesses on First Street in Keyport just a year ago.
The 72-year-old noticed the trend when her husband, Richard, began chemotherapy treatment for prostate cancer.
A call to her son, Rusty, who now lives in Florida, revealed that there were a lot of others who were also battling cancer.
He became concerned himself, pulling up Google Maps with a view of Monmouth Country neighborhood, with red X's being used to mark houses where someone had cancer.
Rusty admitted that his findings kept "freaking snowballing," as he noted cases of residents in the town of people being diagnosed with prostate, brain, lung, stomach, colon, breast, appendix, kidney, and intestinal cancers.
He revealed that the map of his hometown now has 41 X's, with 28 coming from the area of and around First Street.
There is also a cluster of X's which were found around the old Aeromarine site, with tests showing that it has leached toxic waste and unsafe chemicals into the air and water for the past 50 years.
Dr Alexis Mraz of The College of New Jersey's Department of Public Health, said to the Daily Mail: "It looks like you have a crazy high percentage [of cancer patients],
"When you're looking at a map like that. That looks insane.
"The other side of that coin is the reality [that Rusty] probably has not gotten everyone in that neighborhood, so there are likely more cancer cases," as he pointed out that it's "definitely" worth looking into.
The American Cancer Society describes a "cancer cluster" as "patterns of cancer cases in people who live or work in the same area."
However, more information is needed, such as the ages of patients and the timing of their illnesses, to determine how many cancer cases should be expected.
It is also difficult to prove if the cancer cases are linked to pollution from the old dump, as it is known for not being properly sealed off.
The site was home to Aeromarine, which manufactured airplanes for the US Army and Navy in the early 20th century.
It became a landfill in the 1960s and 70s, though the NJ State Department of Environmental Protection closed it, citing "numerous operating/engineering deficiencies and overall exhaustion of capacity."
Teenagers then used the space as a hangout spot.
The land has been owned by New York-based Bay Ridge Realty since the 1990s.
In 2010, a California developer suggested using the land to build a solar panel farm and residential project.
They then hired an environmental consulting firm to study the land, and they found issues in a large section of the landfill, discovering that heavy metals could be harmful, in addition to chemicals and carcinogens which had leaked into the soil and groundwater.
It is believed that these contaminants made their way into a tributary called Chingaora Creek, which surrounds the landfill.
While the site wasn't found to impact local drinking water sources, those who had walked on the grounds near the site, swam, or fished nearby, or breathed in the potentially harmful air, could have come into contact with contaminants.
In a 2021 lawsuit, the town accused Bay Ridge Realty of "inflicting irreparable harm upon the environment, public health, public safety and visitors to the property."
But this case would be dismissed, so it is up to the state's Department of Environmental Protection to clear it up.
They have issued fines to the company over the years, which have reached figures as high as $900,000, as the company failed to address citations.
Bay Ridge Realty is now challenging the fines and are set to go before an administrative law judge in June 2026.
