NEWSCHANNEL 5 Investigation: Children of the Dump

Families scavenge dump site

MATAMOROS - Years of improper disposal techniques across the border have created a health hazard for residents on both sides of the border.

NEWSCHANNEL 5 began asking questions about the problems. We found out solid waste had been inadequately disposed of for nearly twenty years, and the garbage fires are creating airborne toxins.

Among things being burned, highly toxic medical and municipal waste, metals, plastics, and perishables. That's according to a report obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.

The burning plastics contain chlorine and create dioxins. Dioxins are the foundation for Agent Orange, a herbicide and defoliant used during the Vietnam War. They've also been linked to cancer and birth defects.

Some of the people most effected by the poisons are families that scavenge the dump site for goods to sell, eat, or use in their everyday lives. But it also impacts folks in the Valley, in towns like Brownsville, Rancho Viejo, Olmito, and Los Fresnos. It Impacts an estimated 250,000 people.

The City of Matamoros plans to shut the dump down and has even constructed a new landfill that operates under new regulations.

The new landfill covers more than 100 acres and receives some 600 tons of trash everyday.