Neighbors worry about lasting health concerns as the Moody landfill fire continues

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - The Moody landfill fire has been burning for almost two months now.

Neighbors in nearby areas are still noticing harsh smells in the air and that’s causing one mother to wonder about the long-term effects.

Jennifer Moore’s family lives about 15 minutes from the Moody landfill fire, but she said they can still smell the harsh burning smell, especially when it rains. But, it wasn’t until she cleaned her son’s breathing filter that she realized just how much he was inhaling.

Her son, 12-year-old Colton Moore, has an at-home ventilator for health reasons when he sleeps and it uses a filter.

Moore said after about six days, there’s maybe some dust on the filter, but not much. She says the filter is now dark and almost completely covered in black. Moore believes it’s from the landfill fumes and worries about the long-term health concerns for her family.

“This is filling our lungs with toxins and poisons and it’s awful,” Moore said. “Something needs to be done, because I can just see in 15 years the infomercial that comes on and tells you ‘if you were affected by the Moody fires’ and all of that, because it’s bad.”

The landfill is only supposed to accept natural debris, like branches and fallen trees, so no one can say for certain what’s burning underground right now.

The St. Clair County Commission is still working to hire a company to help extinguish it.

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