Feb. 20, 2026 Editor, The News-Gazette: Yeah! Buena Vista is thinking about starting to upgrade the city’s wastewater treatment plant. BV may also want to take a look at what to do with several other industrial sites from the various businesses that have come and gone.
Just to name a few - there are two “Archived Superfund” sites: Reeves Brothers and Rae Wire, plus Bontex, Mundet-Hermetite Inc., Advanced Drainage Systems, Mohawk, old BV landfill, Fitzgerald Lumber, Ready Mix Concrete, a brickyard, tannery, and tent companies – all used chemicals “known” to cause cancer. Additionally, the Maury River is considered “impaired” by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) because the fish are also contaminated with cancer causing chemicals.
Why be concerned about cancer- causing chemicals? The most recent data from the National Cancer Institute for our area shows that the U.S. had a cancer rate for “all cancers/all ages” of 444 cancers per 100,000 people ... Staunton has 488 cancers per 100,000 people, Waynesboro has 504 cancers per 100,000 people, Buena Vista has 526 cancers per 100,000 people, Lexington has 536 cancers per 100,000 people, and Covington has 550 cancers per 100,000 people.
Why do “we” have more cancers in our cities than the rest of the U.S.? Chemical pollution or simply too many chemicals being dumped via permission by DEQ. The World Health Organization states that only 5% to 10% of the cancers are caused by genetic conditions. That means the remaining cancers are caused by environmental exposure and lifestyle choices. The “good news” is that when chemicals are banned/ removed from the environment, there is a reversal of the damage done.
Perhaps, it’s time for us to speak up and tell our elected officials to stop making us sick with chemical pollution … it’s time do something other than watch our friends and loved ones get sick. JOE DiNARDO Vesuvius Toxicologist since 1976
