I was particularly interested in this at the time because I was finishing up my degree in chemistry and had just started a job at a hazardous waste treatment storage disposal facility. The fact that there was a Superfund site right in our midst created quite a stir in my community. Nothing instills more fear in a community than the word “hazardous” and the fact that the hazardous material had been illegally dumped and the site abandoned by the owners only contributed to resident’s anxiety over just how harmful this site was. As result, when the EPA announced that the site was not hazardous enough to warrant the complete removal of all hazardous material from the site, people could not help but suspect that local politics and back door dealings were behind the decision. The fact that one of the polluters also happened to be one of the largest employers in the area only added to the sentiment that big company interests mattered more than the public’s health and well being.
The Red Penn Landfill covers 150 acres in the southeast corner of Oldham County. At the time, this was a rural, remotely populated area of the county. From 1954 to 1986, 85 acres of the property were used for waste disposal. Per lease agreements with original property owners and a license issued in 1968 by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, only sanitary waste was to be disposed of at the site. However, in 1982, it was brought to the attention of the Kentucky Department of Waste Management (KDWM) that several thousand drums containing paint waste, enamel wastes, drawing solutions and varnish had been brought to and dumped at the site between 1967 and 1974.
(http://www.kwalliance.org/Portals/3/pdf/floydsfork/ROD%20Red%20Penn%20Landfill.pdf)
Close up satellite photo of Red Penn Landfill. Courtesy Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
In 1986, KDWM was informed by one of the owners of the landfill that suspected hazardous waste was found at the site. KDWM launched an investigation into the site and as a result of its findings, the owners of the landfill agreed to clean up the most obvious areas of contamination on the property. Sixty six chemicals were found at the site with eight chemicals identified as contaminants of potential concern. Those chemicals were cadmium, chromium, lead, cyanide, benzene, Lindane, bis-2-ethylhexly phthalate, and carbon disulfide.
Additional testing by KDWM showed that further action on the part of the owners was necessary but the owners refused to undertake any further action and in December of 1986, the landfill was abandoned. In 1989, Red Penn Landfill was placed on the EPA’s National Priorities List (NPL) due to the contaminants involved and the proximity of the site to local surface and groundwater sources—namely Floyds Fork Creek and the Laurel Aquifer.
Waste Management and Ford Motor Company were identified as Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs). A Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) of the site was conducted by the EPA and in 1993, the EPA concluded that the risk to the community from the hazards at the site—the site had a Hazard Index 0.98 and a total cancer risk of 1.3 E-5--did not warrant a cleanup of the site under Superfund. The EPA recommended that KDWM work with the PRPs to properly close the landfill and a plan was put in place to cap the landfill.
Ford Motor Company's Kentucky Truck Plant (photo downloaded from company website: http://www.dipity.com/lascasas/The_History_of_Ford_in_Louisville)
However, as LeGrega points out in chapter fourteen of Hazardous Waste Management, “it is very difficult to explain these risks to the affected public……in part from the highly technical nature of the risk assessment process.” Therefore, it was not surprising that residents were unhappy with the decision to leave the hazardous material in place and simply cap the landfill. After all, those drums weren’t supposed to be there in the first place. The drums were illegally dumped there and should be removed by those responsible. Contaminants had not only shown up in the leachate ponds on the site, but in nearby creeks—including the fish in those creeks, in nearby springs, and the soil on the site. Many felt that if the landfill had been in a more high profile area—instead of a remote area next to the women’s prison, it would have warranted a more thorough cleanup. However, the decision to simply cap the landfill and monitor the area held and in September of 2001 the Red Penn Landfill was deleted from the NPL.
The perception of risk, when it is personal, can even skew the view of someone with a technical, environmental background who has a firm grasp of risk assessment. Case in point is my sister, who has a degree in environmental health and safety. As can be seen by the Google satellite image, the area around the landfill has been developed considerably.
Expanded view of area. Photo courtesy of Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
My sister had considered buying a house on Riverbirch Dr which is north of the closed landfill. The fact that Floyd’s Fork creek ran right behind the property was an added bonus. She thought it would be a great place to play and fish in the summer with her little girl! My sister ended up buying a house in a different part of the county for reasons that had nothing to do with the landfill. In fact, my sister did not even know the landfill was there until I told her! After I told my sister about the landfill her perception of the area changed dramatically. Of course, now she wonders what unknown hazards may be in the area where she lives now!
Information for this post was obtained from the following:
http://cfpub.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0404239
http://www.kwalliance.org/Portals/3/pdf/floydsfork/ROD%20Red%20Penn%20Landfill.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/nar1112.htm
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