Landfill smell could be sheet rock
NORWICH – Sheet rock collected at the Pharsalia landfill could be causing the foul odor about which several Preston and Pharsalia area residents have complained over the last two years.
A consulting engineer hired by Chenango County to map out specs for upcoming work at the landfill said wet sheet rock gives off hydrogen sulfide, which has a powerful rotten egg smell. “There’s not a dump that I work for that doesn’t smell of it,” said Paul R. Czerwinski, an engineer for Syracuse-based Barton Loguidice.
Fortunately, the excess methane burned off by flares installed at three gas vents in early 2006 should burn hydrogen sulfide, too. The sulfide will not burn by itself, Loguidice told members of the county’s Public Works Committee recently. Acting on a request for additional flares, landfill operators will be burying five more over the next month or two.
While not acknowledging that the reported foul smell is actually coming from the landfill, Gibbon said the additional flares are being installed “to show people we are trying to address the problem.”
The only volume of sheet rock at the Pharsalia landfill is contained within a special material used to cover layers of debris. “We don’t get major shipments of it from local contractors or anybody else,” the landfill director said, adding that he doesn’t think the bad odor is hydrogen sulfide. “People say it burns their eyes and prevents them from going outside. I don’t know what that is,” he said.
Committee member Homer Smith, D-McDonough, asked Czerwinski if the gases could be collected and used for any other purpose.
“We’re not there yet, in terms of technology, for the small amount of garbage at your landfill,” he said. Some municipalities are using gases for specific purposes. Methane generated at a landfill in Auburn currently powers an adjacent water treatment plant, he said.
Town of Smyrna James B. Bays confirmed with Czerwinski that the gases are lighter than air, but through inversion, could stay low to the ground along creek beds and valleys, for example. Town of Preston Supervisor Peter C. Flanagan has received numerous reports from constituents of a foul smell within the Fly Meadow Creek valley. Some complaints have come from as far away as county Rt. 4 in Preston.
An investigation in 2004 involving health and environmental conservation officials found no possible link to the nearby landfill, however, and suggested swamp gas or fumes from outdoor fireplaces.
Excavation work in preparation for closing cell one is behind schedule due to flood damage repairs last year. Engineering work will begin regardless, with documents for review next month and work approvals hoped for in March. A double composite layer of impervious material will cap the cell followed by a 5 foot thick venting layer. The project is estimated to cost $1.8 million, not including side slope work.
Per state environmental regulations, none of the garbage buried in the landfill will be ever be exposed to air or water. A brief review of landfilling practices both here and nationwide caused at least one supervisor to lament the build up of garbage.
“People will still be dealing with where to put our garbage 100 years from now,” Bays said. “That’s disconcerting.”
City of Norwich Supervisor James J. McNeil said more people should be encouraged to recycle. “This stuff is not going away. It’s just being covered for the time being,” he said.
Gibbon asked the committee to help promote Household Hazardous Waste Day planned for Sept. 15 at the Highway Department on Rexford Street in Norwich. Computer and television monitors will also be taken in at that time, all free of charge. The DPW has set aside $5,500 over a five-year period to participate in the state-authorized venture. New York will pitch in 50 percent of the cost.
“New York doesn’t have electronic waste disposal regulations yet,” Gibbon reminded the committee. “We can take these heavy metals and make sure they are disposed of properly, but not in our landfill,” he said.
Landfill operations contributed $2 million to the county’s coffers in 2006 by taking in between 75 and 90 tons of refuse per day. Gibbon said the amount increased by 20 tons per day in January.
A consulting engineer hired by Chenango County to map out specs for upcoming work at the landfill said wet sheet rock gives off hydrogen sulfide, which has a powerful rotten egg smell. “There’s not a dump that I work for that doesn’t smell of it,” said Paul R. Czerwinski, an engineer for Syracuse-based Barton Loguidice.
Fortunately, the excess methane burned off by flares installed at three gas vents in early 2006 should burn hydrogen sulfide, too. The sulfide will not burn by itself, Loguidice told members of the county’s Public Works Committee recently. Acting on a request for additional flares, landfill operators will be burying five more over the next month or two.
While not acknowledging that the reported foul smell is actually coming from the landfill, Gibbon said the additional flares are being installed “to show people we are trying to address the problem.”
The only volume of sheet rock at the Pharsalia landfill is contained within a special material used to cover layers of debris. “We don’t get major shipments of it from local contractors or anybody else,” the landfill director said, adding that he doesn’t think the bad odor is hydrogen sulfide. “People say it burns their eyes and prevents them from going outside. I don’t know what that is,” he said.
Committee member Homer Smith, D-McDonough, asked Czerwinski if the gases could be collected and used for any other purpose.
“We’re not there yet, in terms of technology, for the small amount of garbage at your landfill,” he said. Some municipalities are using gases for specific purposes. Methane generated at a landfill in Auburn currently powers an adjacent water treatment plant, he said.
Town of Smyrna James B. Bays confirmed with Czerwinski that the gases are lighter than air, but through inversion, could stay low to the ground along creek beds and valleys, for example. Town of Preston Supervisor Peter C. Flanagan has received numerous reports from constituents of a foul smell within the Fly Meadow Creek valley. Some complaints have come from as far away as county Rt. 4 in Preston.
An investigation in 2004 involving health and environmental conservation officials found no possible link to the nearby landfill, however, and suggested swamp gas or fumes from outdoor fireplaces.
Excavation work in preparation for closing cell one is behind schedule due to flood damage repairs last year. Engineering work will begin regardless, with documents for review next month and work approvals hoped for in March. A double composite layer of impervious material will cap the cell followed by a 5 foot thick venting layer. The project is estimated to cost $1.8 million, not including side slope work.
Per state environmental regulations, none of the garbage buried in the landfill will be ever be exposed to air or water. A brief review of landfilling practices both here and nationwide caused at least one supervisor to lament the build up of garbage.
“People will still be dealing with where to put our garbage 100 years from now,” Bays said. “That’s disconcerting.”
City of Norwich Supervisor James J. McNeil said more people should be encouraged to recycle. “This stuff is not going away. It’s just being covered for the time being,” he said.
Gibbon asked the committee to help promote Household Hazardous Waste Day planned for Sept. 15 at the Highway Department on Rexford Street in Norwich. Computer and television monitors will also be taken in at that time, all free of charge. The DPW has set aside $5,500 over a five-year period to participate in the state-authorized venture. New York will pitch in 50 percent of the cost.
“New York doesn’t have electronic waste disposal regulations yet,” Gibbon reminded the committee. “We can take these heavy metals and make sure they are disposed of properly, but not in our landfill,” he said.
Landfill operations contributed $2 million to the county’s coffers in 2006 by taking in between 75 and 90 tons of refuse per day. Gibbon said the amount increased by 20 tons per day in January.
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