Safety tests in store for landfill fire

The state hasn’t ruled on whether to renew the landfill’s permit.

By D.A. WILKINSON

VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU

LISBON — Tests are being done on the A&L Salvage Inc. landfill to determine if an underground fire is a health problem.

Mike Settles, an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency spokesperson, said Thursday that it would be a serious problem if the fire broke through the ground.

The landfill is allowed to accept demolition debris including asbestos in secure areas, but state inspectors have found that bags of asbestos had broken open.

“We wouldn’t want to see asbestos going into the air because of a fire,” Settles said.

There is also a possibility that carbon monoxide and other chemicals could get into the atmosphere. Carbon monoxide from fire is not naturally found at a landfill, according to Settles.

The company called the state on the evening of June 14. Workers at the site notified the state after they saw small puffs of smoke coming from the surface on the southern slope of the landfill, at 11255 state Route 45 in Center Township.

Fire still burning

Puffs of smoke have continued to come from the surface.

Water was put on the landfill, which appeared to resolve the problem, but puffs of smoke have still come from the ground.

The state has asked the company to take temperatures beneath the surface to determine if there is a fire. The company is also to monitor air emissions.

OEPA Director Chris Korleski has conveyed his concerns about the fire to the operators.

Korleski earlier this year asked the Ohio attorney general’s office to seek “financial sanctions” against the landfill based on operational concerns. The issue is pending.

The director has not made a decision on whether to renew the landfill’s permit.

OEPA inspectors have been at the site many times since the fire was detected, Settles added.

wilkinson@vindy.com