Studer Community Institute

Health Department finds landfill gas a health risk – sort of

March 4, 2015
/ William Rabb
/ community-dashboard

One day after a judge ruled that a state agency can revoke the permit for Rolling Hills landfill and recycling center in northwest Pensacola, the Florida Health Department has found that noxious gas seeping from the facility last year constituted a public health hazard. But the preliminary report, released Tuesday, also concluded that the hydrogen sulfide gas, a byproduct of decaying gypsum drywall, likely did not cause heart problems, kidney disease or cancer, as some neighbors have contended. Residents in the Wedgewood community just east of the landfill have long complained about a variety of health issues, along with odors, truck traffic and other problems from the landfill. Some Wedgewood residents said the report is confusing and less than conclusive. Others discounted any notion that neighbors' health problems are not related to the landfill. “I don't know how they got that about not causing disease. So many people around here have health issues,” said Essie Powell, whose property adjoins the landfill boundary. She has lived there since the 1970s and said her husband fought lung cancer, and lost his eyesight and his voice in his later years. “The doctors said they never did know what caused him to lose his voice or his eyesight.” Scott Miller, managing partner of Rolling Hills, said the data may be based on false assumptions, and that the highest levels of hydrogen sulfide noted by the state were only occasional spikes, and were not sustained for long periods of time. "If hydrogen sulfide were really the problem they say it is, then the county landfill and a lot of other places would have a lot worse problems than you have here," he said Wednesday. The state Health Department reached its conclusions after reviewing six months of data collected by Escambia County air monitors near the facility, from July to December last year. Among the findings: — Hydrogen sulfide levels in the air near the landfill were a public health hazard during that period. The highest level detected in the Wedgewood neighborhood was 590 parts per billion, a level that is “too close to levels known to cause headaches and nose/throat irritation,” the report said. But that level was still less than a third of the known irritation threshold, and well below levels that cause damage. The report also did not say what other health hazards may have resulted from the exposure. — The report could not determine if airborne dust near the landfill could harm people's health. Not enough dust-monitoring data was available. — It is uncertain if the gas caused eye or respiratory irritation. “Levels of hydrogen sulfide cause eye irritation and respiratory problems in the field studies differ significantly from levels reported to cause these effects in controlled laboratory studies.” — The highest levels of the gas measured in Wedgewood “did not likely cause heart problems, kidney problems or cancer.” Lab studies have not found those problems to be associated with hydrogen sulfide. “The kidneys are not a major target organ for hydrogen sulfide toxicity.” The gas “has not been shown to cause cancer in humans.” — The report recommended that operators of the landfill, which is now the only approved construction and demolition landfill operating in Escambia County, do a better job of covering decaying drywall, and that Escambia County continue round-the-clock air monitoring around the site. — The county should also begin testing for dust in the air, the Health Department recommended. — The rotten-egg-like gas is worse when residents are home, the report found. The Florida Department of Health “concludes that the hydrogen sulfide levels in the Wedgewood community air are generally highest during the evening, night time, and early morning hours when the wind is still,” the report said. [sidebar] HAVE YOUR SAY The full preliminary report is available on the Health Department website, EscambiaHealth.com and on Escambia County’s website, MyEscambia.com. The department said it will issue a final report after review public comments on the preliminary conclusions. The public can make comments until April 30 by calling (877) 798-2772, by e-mailing: [email protected], or by writing to: Public Health Toxicology Florida Department of Health 4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin A-12 Tallahassee, FL 32399-1720 — The Health Department will also host a public meeting Friday, March 27, at 3 p.m. at the Marie Young-Wedgewood Community Center at 6405 Wagner Road. [/sidebar] If residents still believe strongly that their health issues are a result of the landfill, the public comment period and the meeting are the best place to express those, said Dr. John Lanza, director of the Escambia County Health Department. If enough concerns are raised, he said, the department may elect to conduct epidemiological studies, which could include data from residents' hospital and doctor visits. The preliminary report was prepared by toxicologists from the state Health Department in Tallahassee, but Lanza would not clarify its findings or take issue with it. "I work for the Florida Department of Health," he said. "We're all part of the same thing." It's unclear at this point if the landfill owners will be able to improve their operations and better manage the release of gases and dust. Some Wedgewood residents worried that if the landfill is ordered to shut down, the debris could be left uncovered for weeks, exacerbating the problem. “If they walk away, who's going to clean it up?” Powell asked. An administrative law judge on Monday ruled in favor of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which had revoked the landfill's permit last summer after repeated odor, pile-height, pollution and other violations. The landfill owners, South Palafox Properties, have two weeks to object to the ruling, and DEP is expected to issue a formal revocation by late spring. Miller agreed with Powell's concerns, and said that if Rolling Hills is forced to close, the operation likely would be unable to afford to seal up decaying debris piles or fight fires that may erupt, as sometimes occurs in landfills. "We'd just have to walk away and say, 'Here are the keys.'"

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Health Department finds landfill gas a health risk – sort of

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