ENS 301.02
Exploring the Effects of Neighborhood Proximity to Landfills on Health in Kent County
Exploring the Effects of Neighborhood Proximity to Landfills on Health in Kent County
Literature Review:
Perchloroethylene (PCE), which are forever chemicals that do not leave the environment, have been found to come from landfills as a form of point-source pollution. The EPA defines point source pollution as “Point source pollution refers to the pollution that comes from a specific, identifiable source, such as a pipe or channel” (EPA, 2024). PCE is not alone, however, as it has been found along with other harmful substances such as benzene, n-butane, hexane, and more (Scheff, Casten, Ruesch, & Friedl, 2001). Many of these chemicals are considered potentially hazardous elements (PHEs), and known carcinogens (Heidarinejad Z., Pasalari H., Eshrati B., & Farzadkia M., 2024).
Along with harmful substances from man-made materials, heightened levels of bacteria and microbes in the air near landfills in Ghana reached levels above what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers unsafe (Odonkor & Mahami, 2020). These microbes and bacteria include a number of pathogens (Odonkor & Mahami, 2020), which are known to cause harmful and deadly diseases, showing that this should be a major concern. Although Ghana has vastly different infrastructure in comparison to the United States, the same base principles still apply.
Leachate is the result of water initially contained into the waste, irrigation, infiltrating the soil, and rain precipitation through percolation (Paladino, O., & Massabo, M., 2017). What makes leachate dangerous is that it contains chemicals from all of the waste that is located within the landfill, meaning that different landfills and even different portions of the same landfill can contain different forms of leachate (Paladino, O., & Massabo, M., 2017). These chemicals then become present in crops, fish, groundwater, and rainwater (Paladino, O., & Massabo, M., 2017).
Some landfills choose to incinerate their waste, but the incineration of household wastes can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM), metals, acid gases, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) (Scheff, Casten, Ruesch, & Friedl, 2001) (Juhasz, J., Brezocki, V. M., Filip, G. M., & Munteanu, C. J., 2024). In the study done by Juhasz, J., and others in Romania, they found that the amount of PM and NOx in the air exceeded European Directive air quality standards (Juhasz, J., Brezocki, V. M., Filip, G. M., & Munteanu, C. J., 2024).
With regards to unwanted fires, the wide range of items that wind up in landfills makes it possible to have flammable and combustible materials. Materials like batteries, rubber, and others present serious risks if a fire were to occur, and examples of this happening do exist. In Iowa in 2012, a fire broke out at a landfill that burned over one million tires and lasted eighteen days (Singh, et al., 2015). This produced massive air quality concerns for the surrounding area, as Acrolein, particulate matter, and formaldehyde were being burned and spread to nearby cities (Singh, et al., 2015).
Landfills in the United States are disproportionately located near poorer communities and minority communities (Bullard, R. D., 1993). In the South Coast air basin of Los Angeles, "71 % of African Americans and 50% of Latinos reside in the areas with the most polluted air, while only 34% of ... whites do” (Bullard, R. D., 1993, pp.322). Also at this time, three of the five largest commercial hazardous waste landfills were located in African American or Latino communities (Bullard, R.D., 1993). The communities in which these landfills are being put are often poorer than average, with average property values in communities where incinerators are proposed being 35 % lower than the national average (Bullard, R.D., 1993).
Theoretical Framework: I chose the "Environmental Justice Framework" as the basis for this research, originally from Robert D. Bullard's "Environmental Justice In The 21st Century". The framework intends to address issues of environmental injustice before they occur through preventative measures when possible. The framework also aims to shift the "burden of proof" away from communities affected by environmental injustices, towards the corporations, municipalities, or individuals who commit the injustices. Often communities affected by environmental injustices are at a political and economic disadvantage, making it difficult for them to hold perpetrators accountable. The "intent" of the perpetrators are also not taken into account as heavily in this framework, and instead wether their actions disproportionately affected disadvantaged communities. Communities in need of the most help, i.e. worst health effects, are tended to first under this framework.
Research Question/Objectives: Using these previously published studies and theoretical framework as a foundation, this new study will aim to answer the question of how landfills impact air quality and groundwater quality in Kent County. Kent County has one active landfill and three closed landfills. While three of the four landfills are inactive, that waste is still present and may pose risks to the surrounding residents. Assessing the risks posed to these residents both through the ground where the water they drink goes through in order to reach their home, as well as the risks posed by the air that they breathe is an important step forward in creating a safe environment.
References:
Bullard, R. D., 1993. Race and Environmental Justice in the United States. Yale Journal of International Law, Vol.18, pp.319-336
Environmental Protection Agency, 2024. Terminology Services. United States Environmental Protection Agency. https://sor.epa.gov/sor_internet/registry/termreg/searchandretrieve/termsandacronyms/search.do?search=&term=point%20source%20pollution&matchCriteria=Contains&checkedAcronym=true&checkedTerm=true&hasDefinitions=false
Heidarinejad Z., Pasalari H., Eshrati B., & Farzadkia M., 2024. A comprehensive perspective on potentially hazardous elements (PHEs) bound with particulate matters in ambient air of landfill sites: a systematic review and probabilistic risk assessment. Environ Geochem Health Vol.46-324.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-024-02098-w
Juhasz, J., Brezocki, V. M., Filip, G. M., & Munteanu, C. J., 2024. Consideration Regarding Gaseous Emissions Incineration Of Households Waste From Maramures County, Romania. Environmental Engineering and Management Journal, Vol. 23, #6, pp. 1315-1324. http://doi.org/10.30638/eemj.2024.106
Odonkor, S. T. , and Mahami, T., Jan. 2020. Microbial Air Quality in Neighborhoods near Landfill Sites: Implications for Public Health. Journal of Environmental and Public Health, Volume 2020, Issue 1.
https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/4609164
Paladino, O., & Massabo, M., 2017. Health risk assessment as an approach to manage an old landfill and to propose integrated solid waste treatment: A case study in Italy. Waste Management, Vol.68, pp.344-354.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2017.07.021
Scheff, P., Casten, C., Ruesch, P., & Freidl, M., 2001. Evaluation of toxic air pollutants in an urban neighborhood adjacent to a municipal waste landfill. WIT Press, Transactions on Biomedicine and Health, Vol. 5.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2495/ehr010011
Singh, A., Spak, S. N., Stone, E. A., Downard, J., Bullard, R. L., Pooley, M., Kostle, P. A., Mainprize, M. W., Wichman, M. D., Peters, T. M., Beardsley, D., & Stanier, C. O., 2015. Uncontrolled combustion of shredded tires in a landfill - Part 2: Population exposure, public health response, and an air quality index for urban fires. Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 104, pp. 273-283.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.01.002