Residents of Georgetown, Ohio met last week to discuss plans for a proposed extension of the Brown County Landfill, located just south of the town. The expansion to the landfill may allow the site to begin accepting asbestos waste.

The meeting was held by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to give locals a chance to hear presentations from local agencies, and to allow residents to give some feedback on the proposal. Also in attendance were representatives from the Division of Solid and Infectious Waste Management and the Local Air Agency.

Currently, the Brown County Landfill is allowed to take in 2,500 tons of waste per day, and is allowed to build up to a height of 1,068 feet above sea level. However, according to Corporate Communication Coordinator Molly Yeager, if the landfill does not expand, it will be completely full within a year.

There are no plans for the county to build a new landfill in the area, and local agencies have decided that expanding the Brown County Landfill is the best option to take care of the area’s waste.

The Brown County Landfill is now applying for two permits to promote the expansion. One permit will allow it to expand in size, and another will increase its allowable emissions limit. If both permits are approved, the landfill will increase in size to more than 280 acres, and will be allowed to accept 3,000 tons of waste per day. In addition, the annual limits on allowable air emissions will be increased.

Nearby residents are concerned that the permit the landfill is applying for will allow it to accept regulated asbestos waste. Asbestos is a type of material that can easily release toxic asbestos fibers into the air and has the potential to cause serious diseases, such as mesothelioma cancer.

The prevailing winds that blow through the landfill typically blow over the large buffer zone. Because of this, parents and local authorities are concerned about the possible effects of regulated asbestos waste might have on the surrounding area.

Local parents say the landfill should not be allowed to accept regulated asbestos waste because there is a school located half a mile away. Landfill officials say, however, that if the landfill does begin accepting asbestos waste, it would be wetted and sealed immediately, and there would be no possibility of dust being released.

Persons of any age can develop malignant mesothelioma, but most newly diagnosed mesothelioma patients are typically older than 40. A person with a developing case of mesothelioma can live for decades without experiencing any symptoms or other signs of serious illness. By the time a person with mesothelioma begins to show symptoms of the disease, the cancer is usually in its latest stages of development, which makes mesothelioma treatment quite difficult. In most cases, treatment for the disease is more palliative than curative.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 28th, 2008 at 12:06 pm and is filed under Asbestos Exposure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.