WARREN TOWNSHIP Officials work to fix problems at local landfill

The hydrogen sulfide level detected is considered an unsafe exposure.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LEAVITTSBURG -- After an air sample showed a high level of hydrogen sulfide gas on Lover's Lane in Warren Township, Warren city officials say they are taking steps to correct leachate disposal and landfill operations at the Warren Hills Landfill.
During a press conference Wednesday at the Warren Township Administration building, officials with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry said a June 24 air sampling detected levels of hydrogen sulfide at 95 parts per million.
ATSDR, is a public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and evaluates the human health effects of exposure to hazardous substances.
Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas that smells like rotten eggs. Officials say low level exposure usually produces eye and mucous membrane irritation. High level of exposure, 700 to 800 ppm, could be fatal.
Unsafe exposure
The level found in the township is documented by the National Institutes of Occupational Safety and Health as an unsafe exposure and one where people should evacuate the exposure area immediately, said Michelle Colledge, of ATSDR.
Lynn Wilder of ATSDR, who took the air sample, said that a co-worker who was with her that day became ill.
Warren Hills officials could not be reached to comment.
The landfill is on Martin Luther King Avenue in the city. For the past several years, Warren Township residents have complained about a hydrogen sulfide rotten-egg odor thought to be coming from the company.
Bob Pinti, deputy health commissioner, and Tom Angelo, director of water pollution control, said they are trying to correct the problem and find out what caused the high reading.
"That reading was taken over the top of a manhole in the middle of the street," Angelo said during the press conference. "Readings taken 4 feet above the manhole were lower and also that was a one-time reading." He noted there have been no other readings that high.
"Maximum and average concentrations in the neighborhood surrounding the landfill during an ATSDR study from November 2002 to March 2003 were significantly lower than the most recent readings, but were still above levels of health concern," Colledge said.
Being monitored
Until officials get to the root of the problem, the landfill will pump only leachate while being monitored by the city's wastewater pollution control center, Pinti and Angelo said.
"Local, state and federal health and environmental enforcement agencies are committed to actively investigate the situation and determine a solution that is protective of public health," Colledge said.
Debbie Roth, leader of the citizens group Our Loves Court, formed because of health concerns stemming from the odor, said she doesn't think the city has done enough to address the problem.
"The city has done nothing on this issue and I don't think they are listening to the experts," Roth said after the press conference. "The city should have inspected the leachate pumping system and make sure it was working properly. If the city would have done their job, we wouldn't be having these problems."
sinkovich@vindy.com