[greenyes] INFORMATION REQUEST - STATE POSITIONS ON LANDFILL SAFETY

["Reindl, John" <Reindl@no.address>]

Wisconsin has a workgroup to development standards for the move to the next
generation of landfills, looking to manage the degradable organics within a
"Reasonable timeframe"  (30 to 40 years) so that "maintenance and active
management are no longer needed to protect human health and the
environment." I am a member of that workgroup, as is a representative of
GRRN, and we had our first meeting of the 2nd phase of that group in late
June.

John Reindl, Recycling Manager
Dane County, WI 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Peter Anderson [mailto:anderson@no.address]
> Sent: Sunday, July 11, 2004 6:21 PM
> To: GreenYes
> Subject: [greenyes] INFORMATION REQUEST - STATE POSITIONS ON LANDFILL
> SAFETY
> 
> 
>     For a comprehensive report on financial assurance at MSW 
> landfills, I am
> looking for statements made in any contexts by state regulators that
> recognize the fatal flaws in our current "dry tomb" design 
> standards due to
> the fact that the liners will eventually fail, thereby only 
> postponing,
> rather than preventing, pollution.
> 
>     As an example, Washington state said in its Beyond Waste 
> background
> documents:
>   The extent to which today's landfills adequately protect 
> human health and
> the environment is a subject of debate, however. Requirements 
> that govern
> siting, operation, closure, and post-closure are stringent 
> and extensive.
> While the newest landfills are state-of-the-art facilities, 
> they are far
> from benign in their impacts. Landfills may still affect the 
> air, land, and
> water but to a significantly lesser degree than before 
> today's standards
> went into effect. As waste decomposes in landfills, methane and other
> hazardous gases are generated. Methane is a greenhouse gas 
> concern because
> its impact is twenty-three times that of carbon dioxide 
> (EIA). Leachate from
> decomposing matter in landfills can contain hazardous constituents. If
> landfill liners and/or leachate collections systems fail, 
> then groundwater
> and surface-water pollution can occur. No liners are 
> engineered to be 100
> percent impenetrable or to last forever without some sort of 
> failure. In
> fact, US EPA officials have stated that problems can occur 
> more than thirty
> years after closure of a landfill, pointing out that "even 
> the best liner
> and leachate collection system will ultimately fail due to natural
> deterioration" (EPA, p. 32).
> 
> _________________________
> Peter Anderson, President
> RECYCLEWORLDS CONSULTING
> 4513 Vernon Blvd. Suite 15
> Madison, WI 53705-4964
> Ph: (608) 231-1100
> Fax: (608) 233-0011
> Cell: (608) 698-1314
> eMail: anderson@no.address
> web: www.recycleworlds.net
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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