By Associated Press
Evergreen AL – Forty-four physicians in three counties joined forces in recent weeks to oppose a 5,100-acre landfill proposed for a rural area near Repton, saying it could pose a hazard to residents.
But developers countered by accusing the doctors of spreading false information and using scare tactics.
Several of the doctors, who represent most of the physicians practicing in Conecuh, Monroe and Escambia counties, presented a petition to Conecuh County commissioners at a recent meeting, the Press-Register reported Tuesday.
"I am concerned for patients that live in the area," said Dr. Sage Smith, a Monroeville physician who sees several patients from the Repton area. "I'm concerned about effects on them in the short term, the next 10 years, and long term, 20 years from now."
Conecuh Woods spokesmen said developers will open an office in Evergreen soon.
"Once again the opposition is making outrageous claims for which they have no data to back up," Conecuh Woods spokesman Phillip Kinney said.
Kinney said developers have met with the community to provide factual information about the project, but several doctors said they were unimpressed with the information on the safety of modern landfills.
"Inevitably, they leak, and heavy metals and dangerous compounds like mercury and arsenic eventually hit the groundwater," Smith said. "These substances cause diseases, documented by science, like heart failure, liver and kidney failure and cancer."
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Information from: Press-Register, http://www.al.com/mobileregister