I just did some light reading about the fact that NO has built up a lot of its areas on top of former dumps.

Toxic dumps....

SNIP
"In 1994, Blanco's home, 66 others, and 221 townhouses were officially declared a superfund site. Since that time, the Environmental Protection Agency has been battling with homeowners over how to handle the problem. Then this spring, the EPA launched its $20 million cleanup plan, a plan that residents reject as unsafe. When initial tests were conducted, the primary toxin found was lead, but 149 other pollutants were also identified. Carl Edlund, EPA chief of the Superfund branch now cleaning up the neighborhood, says testing showed 17 feet of toxins that became more toxic the deeper they dug."

Read More: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/jan-june99/epa_6.21.html

This gets uglier and uglier...not just from the human cost, but the impact on the land itself (which of course impacts humans).

Don't know what else to say about this...
/Oy. Vey. Oy. Vey.