Makenzie White: Yukon hazardous waste facility expansion concerning for public health
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In South Huntingdon Township — five miles west of New Stanton and overlooking the community of Yukon — MAX Environmental Technologies Inc. is applying to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the approval of a landfill expansion called Landfill No. 7. The facility accepts a variety of hazardous waste, including wastewater treatment sludges, oil and gas drilling wastes, and hazardous soils. Possible approval of this expansion is highly concerning for several important reasons.
Of major concern is the likelihood of leaks and spills that threaten public health. MAX Environmental has an extensive violation record spanning from the opening of the Yukon facility. To date, regulators have identified more than 300 violations at the Yukon site, including open burning, not controlling dust emissions, hazardous waste leaks and failure to report chemical spills. In some cases, rainwater has run through the landfill and caused toxic substances to leak out into neighbors’ yards and into the community at large. While all reported violations required the facility to adjust processes or pay fines, that has not stopped violations from continuing.
Approving this permit would increase the potential for additional violations, which will directly impact the health of residents in neighboring areas. Individuals living near the facility or downstream of these waterways are at an increased risk for health impacts. The hazardous waste that would be placed in Landfill No. 7 would be untreated and therefore could be extremely toxic to humans and the environment.
Shale gas waste alone — produced by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — has been found to contain radium-226, radium-228 and radon. When ingested or inhaled, these radium particles have been linked to various types of cancers, such as lymphomas, leukemia and bone cancer. Additionally, the EPA considers radon to be a human carcinogen, meaning that the more exposure someone has to radon, the higher the chance they will develop cancer. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, responsible for an estimated 20,000 lung cancer deaths every year.
Also concerning is the proximity of Landfill No. 7 to the area’s wetlands. The current proposal shows the facility being built directly adjacent to, and in some cases surrounding, existing wetlands. While the facility is careful to never fully encroach into the wetlands, the proximity to these environmentally important areas is of great concern.
Wetlands are considered a vital component of a watershed. They improve and protect water quality, provide a habitat for fish and wildlife, offer floodwater storage, and maintain the flow of surface water during dry periods. Specific to human health, wetlands are now understood to store carbon within the plants and soil as opposed to it being released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, which helps to moderate global climate conditions.
Of further concern is the proximity of the proposed facility expansion to nearby Sewickley Creek, a major water source that empties into the Youghiogheny River. The proposed location of the facility overlaps with a historically mapped floodplain. Storing hazardous waste near the floodplain raises serious concerns about water quality and potential impacts to downstream water users. Flooding in or around the landfill could result in an environmental and human health catastrophe. This is a concern not only for the residents of Yukon but for those living downstream from Sewickley Creek or even along the Youghiogheny River.
As if these concerns were not enough, the facility expansion is located over two abandoned mine sites that were mined out by retreat mining, meaning any pillars were removed. Previous inspections found that these mine sites were at a high risk for subsidence, which could alter the hydrology of the floodplains and wetlands around Sewickley Creek and its tributaries, potentially leading to unanticipated flooding near the facility site.
The DEP should seriously consider denying the permit for this expansion. If the DEP does grant the permit, it needs to assure the safety of residents exposed to harmful emissions through both regular operations and accidental spills and leaks. These safety considerations need to be comprehensive, transparent and public. Residents living near the landfill and downstream from it must be able to rely on government agencies to protect their health from imminent harm.
Makenzie White is public health manager for the McMurray-based nonprofit Environmental Health Project, which works to defend public health in the face of oil and gas development.