"Powell Road Landfill site occupies about 7 acres along Powell Road, near Dayton, Ohio, in northern Montgomery County. The Great Miami River flows along the southern boundary of the site. ... Municipal, commercial, industrial and residential properties are scattered within a one-mile radius of the site.
"The site is located in a former sand and gravel pit and has been elevated approximately 40 feet above the surrounding terrain. Surface water runoff drains south toward the nearby Miami river. The proximity of the river to the site provides a pathway for its potential contamination. The soil which underlies the site is very permeable, providing easy passage for contaminants to travel downward from the site into the aquifer present beneath the site. Public water supply well fields that tap into the aquifer are located south and east of the site." EPA Fact Sheet - PRL Site, February 1988)
In February 1992 the Remedial Investigation Feasibility Study (conducted by SCA (WMI)!), found volatile liquids and gases including 21 VOCs (volatile organic chemicals) including 2-Butanone, acetone, 4-methyl 2-pentanone, zylences, and toluene. The report recommended a number of cleanup remedial actions.
"Powell Road Landfill is a public health hazard because of possible past exposures and the potential for human exposure to site-related chemicals. There are chemicals present in groundwater that are considered to be carcinogens, while other chemicals may adversely affect the liver and kidneys. ... PRL poses a public health hazard because of the potential for exposure to VOCs in drinking water supplies." PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, April 22., 1993.
On September 30, 1993 the Ohio EPA determined a remedial action estimated to cost $20.51 million, "The selected remedial action includes the following components: institutional controls; improved landfill cap with liner; excavation of contaminated soils; consolidation of excavated soils under landfill cap; ground water monitoring; flood protection; storm water controls; active landfill gas collection with flare; leachate extraction; on-site leachate treatment; extraction of ground water from the shallow aquifer adjacent to the landfill; on-site ground water treatment; and discharge of treated ground water and leachate to the river." (Letter from Dir of OEPA to Regional Administrator US EPA, September 30, 1993)
Since then, WMI has done more testing and claims that the dangers of the landfill no longer exist. They are recommending that there be no major cleanup. The "official" Miami Valley Landfill Coalition, Citizens for Responsible Cleanup of the PRL, protest vigorously that the tests were not made to the bottom of the landfill where the dangerous liquid and volatile chemicals lie. MVLC may be contacted at 212 Center College St., Yellow Springs, OH 45387-1527 (937-767-2854). Letters are encouraged to be sent to EPA Region V, 77 West Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL 60604-3590.