To get the attention of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Alachua County Commission has taken up letter-writing.
The commission sent a letter to the agency last week, urging it to test houses near the Cabot-Koppers Superfund site for dioxins, which are cancer-causing chemical compounds. The site is located on the corner of Main Street and Northwest 23rd Avenue.
Mark Sexton, county communications coordinator, said the commission feels strongly about testing, especially in residents' homes, because of health concerns.
The EPA has declared the former charcoal production and wood-processing plant a Superfund site, which is a designation for a hazardous waste site.
The commission sent two letters about the site to President Barack Obama in the past year.
County commissioners have addressed the issue at meetings for the past year, calling it an injustice to citizens.
"I think we owe it to the citizens of this county to at least further investigate," Commissioner Rodney Long said in April.
