Methane monitored at landfill

0

The Wood County Landfill has spent $44,000 this year on additional testing to make sure methane isn’t
developing into a toxic chemical.
After trace amounts of chloroethane, or ethyl chloride, were detected in one of the landfill’s 18
monitoring wells late last year, the Environmental Protection Agency required continued sampling of the
affected area, said Joe Fawcett, landfill director and assistant county administrator.
Though chloroethane was present in small amounts last year, subsequent samples have come back negative
and indicate no health or environmental concerns, Fawcett said.
"The levels are so low it’s in the parts-per-billion range."
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration limits workplace exposure to chloroethane to 1,000
parts-per-million, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
With the chloroethane potentially caused by methane buildup from decomposing material in an area of the
landfill which has been capped, vents were installed to disperse the gas.
"It’s not like it’s getting anywhere. The whole idea is for this to be self-contained and be able to
mitigate it before it could be an issue" and affect groundwater, Fawcett said.
The three-acre area was capped in 1994, the entire landfill consists of about 39 acres.
"We’re going to continue to monitor it and ensure the necessary steps are taken to make sure it
doesn’t become an issue."
Fawcett said cash reserves have been used to pay for the unexpected testing expense.

No posts to display