County landfill earns uncommon nuisance tag from EPA
By Jeff Martin
The Morning Journal
LISBON - The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has declared a local landfill a public nuisance.
A&L Salvage, the state Route 45 landfill operation that has created a firestorm of complaints over its numerous violations during the past two years, has been cited again, this time for violations regarding hydrogen sulfide emissions and asbestos handling.
In two violation notices issued by the Northeast District Office, dated March 2, the 42-acre landfill was cited for violating strict hydrogen sulfide emission standards. An environmental specialist, inspecting the site on Jan. 3 and Feb. 18, reported a significantly strong “rotten egg” smell related to sulfide emissions, which reportedly has been the cause of headaches and nausea among several neighbors near the landfill.
“We don’t declare landfills public nuisances very often,” said Mike Settles, spokesman for the EPA. “That’s pretty significant.”
The emission violation stated that during the two routine inspections in early January and mid-February, an inspector detected sulfide readings as high as 55 parts per billion (ppb), and one-hour average readings as high as 35 ppb.
According to figures compiled by the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a reading of 55 ppb may not pose any significant health risks, but chronic exposure to such levels can reduce motor speed, impair memory and balance, and create abnormal moods. Short-term exposure to 2,000 ppb can constrict airways for asthmatics, decrease lung functions, irritate eyes and cause dizziness and headaches.
“(The EPA) isn’t saying these violations pose a significant danger to a person’s health, but they are affecting the general welfare of the people living near it,” said Settles.
The second violation concerns the handling of asbestos, a scenario that first came to light at the landfill in 2004 when inspectors observed on four occasions bags containing asbestos that had broken up before being buried, allowing the asbestos to become airborne while being handled.
In September 2006, the landfill was fined $13,000 for the 2004 asbestos violations and improper handling of waste. At that time, Robert Morehead, county health commissioner, voiced his disappointment over the violation, saying it was the EPA’s fault because they had been the one who permitted the landfill to dispose of asbestos in the first place.
Recently, inspectors on Feb. 16, 2007, took several digital photographs “which appear to show numerous asbestos waste disposal bags that were dispersed outside of a designated cell area. Many bags were broken and torn open,” the report stated, “and some looked to have come from an adjacent cell that was already covered with non-asbestos material.”
On Feb. 18, additional photographs were taken, this time showing sealed asbestos waste disposal bags on the snow-covered ground outside a ... cell area.” In addition, the inspector discovered a sealed asbestos waste disposal bag that “appeared to have been dragged by a treaded vehicle.”
The EPA returned on Feb. 22, and inspectors found asbestos waste bags in the proper dumping area, but “some bags” were broken open.
“I also observed a number of crushed, ripped and broken open asbestos disposal bags along the north and south side of the road,” the inspector reported.
These new violations may adversely affect the renewal of A&L Salvage’s 2007 operating license, which is still in review by the EPA.
“There’s still no word on that,” said Settles.
Only two other landfills in northeast Ohio have been declared public nuisances, said Settles. One private operation — Warren Recycling — was cited for public nuisance violations regarding sulfide emissions. The company later was denied an operating license and subsequently closed.
Another private company — Countywide Landfill in Stark County — has been cited recently for violations regarding emissions and subterranean fires. As a result, the Ohio EPA’s new director, Chris Korleski, had made a recommendation to the Stark County Health Department that it deny the landfill’s annual operating license for 2007.
The Morning Journal
LISBON - The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has declared a local landfill a public nuisance.
A&L Salvage, the state Route 45 landfill operation that has created a firestorm of complaints over its numerous violations during the past two years, has been cited again, this time for violations regarding hydrogen sulfide emissions and asbestos handling.
In two violation notices issued by the Northeast District Office, dated March 2, the 42-acre landfill was cited for violating strict hydrogen sulfide emission standards. An environmental specialist, inspecting the site on Jan. 3 and Feb. 18, reported a significantly strong “rotten egg” smell related to sulfide emissions, which reportedly has been the cause of headaches and nausea among several neighbors near the landfill.
“We don’t declare landfills public nuisances very often,” said Mike Settles, spokesman for the EPA. “That’s pretty significant.”
The emission violation stated that during the two routine inspections in early January and mid-February, an inspector detected sulfide readings as high as 55 parts per billion (ppb), and one-hour average readings as high as 35 ppb.
According to figures compiled by the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a reading of 55 ppb may not pose any significant health risks, but chronic exposure to such levels can reduce motor speed, impair memory and balance, and create abnormal moods. Short-term exposure to 2,000 ppb can constrict airways for asthmatics, decrease lung functions, irritate eyes and cause dizziness and headaches.
“(The EPA) isn’t saying these violations pose a significant danger to a person’s health, but they are affecting the general welfare of the people living near it,” said Settles.
The second violation concerns the handling of asbestos, a scenario that first came to light at the landfill in 2004 when inspectors observed on four occasions bags containing asbestos that had broken up before being buried, allowing the asbestos to become airborne while being handled.
In September 2006, the landfill was fined $13,000 for the 2004 asbestos violations and improper handling of waste. At that time, Robert Morehead, county health commissioner, voiced his disappointment over the violation, saying it was the EPA’s fault because they had been the one who permitted the landfill to dispose of asbestos in the first place.
Recently, inspectors on Feb. 16, 2007, took several digital photographs “which appear to show numerous asbestos waste disposal bags that were dispersed outside of a designated cell area. Many bags were broken and torn open,” the report stated, “and some looked to have come from an adjacent cell that was already covered with non-asbestos material.”
On Feb. 18, additional photographs were taken, this time showing sealed asbestos waste disposal bags on the snow-covered ground outside a ... cell area.” In addition, the inspector discovered a sealed asbestos waste disposal bag that “appeared to have been dragged by a treaded vehicle.”
The EPA returned on Feb. 22, and inspectors found asbestos waste bags in the proper dumping area, but “some bags” were broken open.
“I also observed a number of crushed, ripped and broken open asbestos disposal bags along the north and south side of the road,” the inspector reported.
These new violations may adversely affect the renewal of A&L Salvage’s 2007 operating license, which is still in review by the EPA.
“There’s still no word on that,” said Settles.
Only two other landfills in northeast Ohio have been declared public nuisances, said Settles. One private operation — Warren Recycling — was cited for public nuisance violations regarding sulfide emissions. The company later was denied an operating license and subsequently closed.
Another private company — Countywide Landfill in Stark County — has been cited recently for violations regarding emissions and subterranean fires. As a result, the Ohio EPA’s new director, Chris Korleski, had made a recommendation to the Stark County Health Department that it deny the landfill’s annual operating license for 2007.
