Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 17, 1991 TAG: 9104170585
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-5 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: COVINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Speaking to the Alleghany County Board of Supervisors, the state officials assured county leaders Monday that the landfill poses no health hazard at this point.
Residents were not reassured by the state's pronouncements.
"There is more stuff in there than what you think," said Agnes Vint, who lives near the landfill near Selma. Residents charge that medical wastes have been dumped in the landfill.
The residents want more testing of water from the area. Test wells within a quarter-mile of the site showed no contamination, state officials said.
Harry Gregori, director of planning and policy for the state Department of Waste Management, told the supervisors the landfill does not pose any health hazard. State officials said the landfill continues to contaminate the nearby Jackson River, but the contamination did not pose any threat.
Should that change, Gregori said the state would swiftly deal with the matter.
The site also produces methane gas from the decomposing material in the landfill. State experts said the gas posed no danger and none had been detected off the site.
The state has spent about $300,000 to stabilize the dump, setting up a drainage system and a gas-venting system.
Experts estimate that to properly close the dump would require about $5 million for a clay cap over the area and a pumping and treatment system to handle runoff.
Gregori said the state will continue trying to get money from Kim-Stan to clean up the site. Because the company is in bankruptcy, Gregori said it was unclear as to whether the state will be able to get any money through the bankruptcy court.
"You're not talking about an inexpensive solution," he said.
by CNB