Ohio EPA Fines LafargeHolcim's Lordstown Landfill $25,000 for Leaking Toxic Gases
Hydrogen Sulfide odor can be detected as low as 8 parts per billion. Chronic exposure can lead to a wide variety of health problems. Children and people with asthma and heart conditions are particularly vulnerable
Located only 30 minutes from the East Palestine Disaster, Neighbors of Lafarge’s Dump in Lordstown, Ohio Get the Worst of Both Worlds.
CLEVELAND, OHIO, USA, February 27, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Since 2004, LafargeHolcim has operated a construction and demolition (C&D) waste dump in Lordstown, Ohio. The waste arrives primarily by rail from distant transfer stations located in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. What is in the waste is unknown as LafargeHolcim does not place an inspector at any of the East Coast loading stations. More than 100,000 railcars of suspicious waste have been unloaded in Lordstown since Lafarge opened the dump - that is over 1,000 miles of railcars of trash from bumper to bumper.The waste has caused various serious problems from the instant the landfill was fully operational. Lafarge had excavated the area 50 feet too deep and cut through two groundwater tables. The gushing groundwater mixes with the waste and causes a witch’s brew of lethal gases. Odors and noxious gases foul the neighborhoods around the landfill and, subsequently, many hundreds of community complaints have poured in through the years.
The neighbors complained continuously of health problems, while an Ohio EPA inspector was hospitalized after breathing fumes at the landfill. Even Lafarge's own on-site manager became sick from toxic hydrogen sulfide gas. Hydrogen sulfide gas, also called sewer gas, smells like rotten eggs, attacks the nervous system, can cause paralysis, death and cancer.
In 2016, the Ohio EPA studied the landfill conditions and in November issued 90 Findings of Fact and 31 Orders. The Agency also fined Lafarge $270,000 and ordered the company to control the gases. The Ohio EPA also established a limit of 20 parts per billion (ppb) of hydrogen sulfide gas at the landfill limits.
The Ohio EPA was forced to issue yet another consent order in October 2019 that contained 64 Findings of Fact and 9 orders. Lafarge was mandated to perform a thorough toxic gas study. A third-party consultant performed a detailed evaluation over six months and discovered that at least 10 poisonous gases were leaking from the 100-acre dump.
While the Ohio EPA limit for hydrogen sulfide was established at 20 ppb, the field testing found an astounding 49 million ppb of the paralyzing gas. Other poisonous gases such as carbonyl sulfide, carbon disulfide and mercaptans were also discovered in high concentrations. Unfortunately, these other poisonous gases cannot be detected by ordinary field instruments and are left un-monitored.
The readings on an Ohio EPA toxic gas meter located at a nearby residence registered over 1,000 violations of the 20 parts per billion limit.
Just several months ago, the Ohio EPA issued Director’s Orders for a third time which contain 78 Findings of Fact, 21 orders and a $25,000 fine.
Elijah Zander
Citizens Against Lordstown Landfill
email us here
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