A number of documents were filed yesterday in the lawsuit against the city by family members of 9/11 victims who want the city to search the debris on Staten Island for human remains. Among the affadavits filed was one by Erick Beck, a recycling supervisor, who stated that some of the finely sifted debris taken by the Department of Sanitation was used to "pave roads and fill in potholes, dips and ruts." Beck, whose company was finding up to 2000 bones per day, also stated that his company was pressured to sift the debris quickly, which led to overlooking human remains.
Theodore Feaser, who supervised the recovery effort for the Department of Sanitation said in an affidavit that "hundreds of human body parts and human remains" would be found if the city "unearthed, resifted and washed the debris at Fresh Kills. In addition, in a letter written in 2003 by city medical examiner Charles S. Hirsch, Hirsch stated that he believed that it was "virtually certain" that human remains are mixed with the soil at the landfill.
Normal Siegel, one of the attorneys for World Trade Center Families for a Proper Burial filed the papers yesterday in response to the city's motion to dismiss the lawsuit. The lawsuit seeks to have at least 223,000 tons of debris searched for human remains. The city refused to comment citing the pending legal action.
Photo of Fresh Kills by kerfuffle and zeitgeist on Flickr.
