9-11 Victims Taken To The Dump. Where's President Compassion?

[Harlan James]

The Telegraph - 10/10/04

The remains of hundreds of victims of the September 11 attacks are to be permanently buried in the world's largest rubbish dump, to the consternation of their grieving relatives.

In the aftermath of 9/11, more than half a million tons of dust and ashes from the Twin Towers were taken to the sprawling Fresh Kills landfill site on Staten Island.

More than 100 years' worth of refuse from New York City had accumulated at the dump before it was finally closed just six months before the attacks.

The rubble from the World Trade Center ended up covering some 48 acres.

Relatives were assured that ashes would be returned after they were sorted, but city authorities have balked at the estimated $450 million cost of transferring them again.

Instead they have promised to lay a 2,200-acre park on top of the dump, whose rotting contents smell strongly of methane, and Twp erect a memorial to the victims.

Relatives of 1,169 of the 3,000 who died have yet to receive any remains, and many are outraged at the authorities' decision.

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