Concerned citizens say a former dumpsite at Bellows Air Force Station should be completely cleaned up. The Air Force however is recommending the one acre site be left alone.

The landfill, which was used by the military during World War II looks like the perfect place for a beachside picnic, however Bellows beachgoer Suzanne Frazer says it’s what’s underneath that’s of concern

"It's grassed over, it's got trees but…there's about 8,500 tons of debris including chemicals."

Dean Otsuki has been organizing beach cleanups with Frazer nearly every weekend when Bellows Air Force Station is open to the public, including holidays.

"There's metal down there, lead and you know that's a lot of material and it's buried in the sand."

The Air Force began looking into the landfill known as Site LF24 or the Pier Dump in 1998.

A report released in January said that, "Based on the risk assessment result, no chemicals of concern are present at unacceptable levels in soil or groundwater at the site."

Beachgoers like Frazer and Otsuki strongly disagree.

"It's falling apart, it's rusting, you know all that metal is going into the sand,” said Otsuki who is sure contaminants entering the ocean.

In 2003 70 tons of soil visibly stained with petroleum was removed from the site along with 10 tons of heavy metal objects. Two years later the soil was excavated to remove broken glass and debris bigger than a half inch. Otsuki and Frazer say the partial cleanup was not enough.

"That was apparently one percent,” said Frazer, “but a lot of the contaminants are still there.”

The Air Force is recommending no further action be taken but those who love the beach at Bellows say they won't stop until the old landfill is completely clean.

"It absolutely needs to be cleaned up; all of it cleared away because it's sitting right on the beach,” Frazer says.

Otsuki believes even though the Air Force has already made its recommendation, outcry from the community could make it reverse course.

"The community has won in different situations before so I think there's hope in this situation."

The Air Force plans to turn over the landfill site to the Marine Corps which will manage it and maintain compliance with environmental laws.

Air Force Reports on Dumpsite