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Propane and Propane Compounds - 8 Compounds Identified
Health Effects:
Central Nervous System Disorders
Heart Damage
Anemia
Headache
Dizziness
Nausea
Tingling
Numbness
Propane can irritate the nose, burn the skin, and affect the eyes with tearing
Butane and Butane Compounds - 9 Compounds Identified
Health Effects:
Nervous System Effects
Irritation
Oxygen Deficiency
Sensitization of the heart
Irritation of the eyes, skin and lungs
ACE’s investigation into some of the chemical contents of wastes dumped in the Pottstown Landfill, evaluating some conversion chemicals from synergism, along with an investigation of the documented health effects of those chemicals from NIOSH, OSHA, ATSDR, and EPA all confirm Pottstown Landfill gas to be very hazardous to the health of area residents.
For DEP, EPA, or the Pottstown Landfill to claim otherwise is ludicrous, inaccurate, and highly irresponsible. Consider the following:
• Most of those chemicals have never been monitored, reported, or evaluated in a comprehensive health risk analysis.
• Only a fraction of the chemicals have ever been tested for their human toxicity.
• Yet, they escape on a daily basis into our community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• While the fraction of chemicals tested and monitored may not be found at levels of concern to DEP or EPA, we breathe them 24 hours a day in additive and synergistic combinations. Neither EPA nor DEP evaluates additive or synergistic exposure risks and therefore has no right to proclaim no health risk.
• To make that claims, toxicity for the thousands of possible chemicals coming out in the gas and leachate would have to be documented with science.
• ALL chemicals would need to be monitored by continuous perimeter monitoring for at least a year, along with the heavy metals, radiation, and dioxin by-products.
• Synergistic risks and long term additive doses would need to be evaluated.
• Since this is not being done at this time, the Precautionary Principle needs to be used when issuing permits which would allow more waste, make more hazardous gas and leachate, and increase health risks which can’t even be determined.
Sulfur Dioxide
High levels of sulfur dioxide exposures can be life threatening. The sulfur content associated with Pottstown Landfill gas is enormous.
Proof: Occidental Chemical asked DEP for a THREE FOLD INCREASE IN SULFUR EMISSIONS to burn Pottstown Landfill gas in its boilers instead of the natural gas Oxy now uses.
Sulfur dioxide is a colorless gas with a pungent odor. It is formed when Pottstown Landfill gas is burned. In air it can be converted to sulfur trioxide which slowly converts to sulfuric acid and sulfates salts. We are exposed to sulfur dioxide through inhalation and skin contact. It can be absorbed through the nose and lungs and get from there into your bloodstream.
Health Effects of Sulfur Dioxide
• Sulfur dioxide can cause nose and throat burning, breathing difficulties, possible severe airway obstruction, and dyspnea?
• Sulfur dioxide can cause bronchial hyper sensitivity.
• Sulfur dioxide can cause conjunctivitis, superficial corneal burns, eye irritation, and tearing.
• As little as 0.4 to 3.0 ppm of sulfur dioxide showed change in lung function.
• Sulfur dioxide can affect the lungs with respiratory problems, asthma, chronic lung diseases, and even permanent lung damage.
• Inhaling sulfur dioxide can produce coughing, decrease nasal mucus flow, irritate mucous membranes, and affect the trachea.
• Sulfur dioxide exposure can increase heart rate and pulse, aggravate cardiovascular diseases, and cause heart failure.
• Nausea and vomiting have been observed after higher levels of sulfur dioxide exposure.
• Children inhaling sulfur dioxide pollution may develop more breathing problems and more wheezing episodes and respiratory illnesses.
Sulfuric Acid
Sulfuric Acid can be formed from Pottstown Landfill gas when the sulfur dioxide turns to sulfur trioxide, then to sulfuric acid. When sulfuric acid decomposes from water humidity, or heat, it can produce sulfuric acid fumes, sulfur dioxide, oxides of sulfur, carbon dioxide, particulates, and sulfur trioxide. Sulfuric acid mists contain particulates. Toxicity of the mist particulates depends on size, synergistic effects with metals, humidity, and other chemicals. Sulfuric acid affects humans through inhalation and skin and eye contact.
Health Effects of Sulfuric Acid:
• IARC and EPA say that inorganic acid mists, like sulfuric acid, can cause lung and laryngeal cancer. Since it is likely that sulfuric, hydrochloric, and nitric acids are all being emitted from the Pottstown Landfill, there is the potential for inorganic mists to be formed.
• Sulfuric Acid may cause coughing, choking, wheezing.
• Sulfuric Acid may irritate the respiratory tract causing shortness of breath with chest tightness and pain.
• Sulfuric Acid can cause pneumonia, bronchitis, and pulmonary edema.
• Sulfuric Acid can irritate the nose and throat, cause ulceration of the mucous membranes, and throat cancer.
• Sulfuric Acid may burn the mouth, pit and discolor the teeth, burn and sting the skin, cause dermatitis or cause a permanent rash.
• Sulfuric acid may burn and sting the eyes, cause corrosion, conjunctivitis, or even blindness.
Hydrogen Sulfide
In the landfill, hydrogen sulfide gas is formed from the result of bacterial breakdown of organic matter. In the air, hydrogen sulfide is released as a gas. It may form sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid in the atmosphere. People around the landfill could be exposed to significant amounts of hydrogen sulfide gas. EPA has established hydrogen sulfide as a regulated toxic substance. It is a hazardous substance under the federal Water Pollution Control Act.
Hydrogen sulfide enters the human body through inhalation, skin absorption, or through the gastrointestinal tract. In our body, it may react with proteins or may leave unchanged.
Because hydrogen sulfide is heavier than air, and because children are shorter than adults, children may have larger exposures to this chemical. In a report by Martila, et al., in 1994, the impact of long term exposure of malodorous exposures on children in communities, showed nasal symptoms and coughing.
Health Effects of Hydrogen Sulfide:
One brief high level exposure can cause many of the following symptoms:
• Inhalation of high levels may be fatal with a few breaths.
• Significant increases in incidences of nervous system and sense organ diseases were also found.
• Inhalation on a long term basis may result in fatigue, insomnia, headache, dizziness, nausea, unusual sweating, vomiting, loss of appetite, olfactory paralysis, nasal and pharyngeal irritation (1995 Martilla, et al.), eye irritation including tearing, keratoconjunctivitis, and photophobia.
• Hydrogen sulfide exposure may cause neurobehavioral changes, irritability, poor memory, migraine headache, delirium, and disturbed equilibrium.
• Hydrogen sulfide may result in tremors, convulsions, dyspnea, severe vertigo, and coma.
• Hydrogen sulfide may cause respiratory insufficiency, coughing , breathlessness or wheezing, pulmonary edema and syanosis.
• Hydrogen sulfide has not been classified for its ability to cause cancer.
• There is some evidence that some exposure may lead to an increase of spontaneous abortions in humans.
• In a 1991 study by Tvedt, 6 men lost consciousness after acute hydrogen sulfide exposure; One man with probable exposure from 8 to 16 ppm had peeling facial skin.
Radiation in Pottstown Landfill Gas
Low-levels of radiation are emitted into our air with Pottstown Landfill gas 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Low-level radiation has been linked with leukemia. We have double leukemia compared to the rest of the state of PA.
• There is no safe level of radiation exposure.
• Combined with all other toxic substances in Pottstown Landfill gas, the cancer causing effects of radiation exposures are intensified.
• For example - It has been reported to Congress that Ozone (formed at the landfill) intensifies the cancer causing effects of radiation.
• Our air is in the top 10% of the nation for ozone levels – We are classified a SEVERE NON-ATTAINMENT ZONE, according to national health standards under the Clean Air Act. This makes any level of radiation from Pottstown Landfill a far greater cancer risk.
• Radiation can not be removed or filtered out from landfill gas.
• Waste Management has applied for a permit which will open the floodgates for more radioactive wastes to be legally dumped in the Pottstown Landfill.
• As more radioactive wastes are permitted, the gas will become even more radioactive.
Heavy Metals
Massive amounts of heavy metals, such as mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium, and chromium have all been dumped in the Pottstown Landfill from industrial sewage sludge, incinerator ash, construction debris, etc. Since most people are aware of the health risks associated with heavy metals, we have not listed them here. 80,000 to 90,000 gallons of Pottstown Landfill leachate are sent EVERY DAY to be treated at the Pottstown Sewage Treatment Plant, where the heavy metals are removed. The heavy metals become more concentrated in the sludge, which is sent back to the landfill. The landfill becomes continuously more concentrated with heavy metals. They escape into our air with the gas.
Learning Disabilities
Developmental processes are extremely vulnerable to environmental insult, according to the reports “In Harm’s Way – Toxic Threats to Child Development,” by Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility and “Polluting Our Future: Chemical Emissions in the U.S. that Affect Child Development and Learning” by Physicians for Social Responsibility. (202) 898-0150
e-mail: psrnatl@psr.org website: www.psr.org
ACE had growing concerns about anecdotal reports of record numbers of increasing neurological problems, ADD, ADHD, autism, etc. among children living around the Pottstown Landfill and attending vast numbers of schools within 3 miles of the landfill. Concerns were based on a six year investigation of what went into the Pottstown Landfill and what children would logically be exposed to from Pottstown Landfill gas.
Neurological exposure risks from Pottstown Landfill gas could be vast from emissions such as mercury, lead, vinyl chloride and other chemicals listed earlier, especially dioxins. There are four combustion sources burning massive chlorine compounds 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
ACE asked a group of Penn State Graduate Students to compare statistics here with the least polluted areas of the state. The students were unable to get specific data by township, but they reported county statistics.
Sources: Montgomery County Intermediate Unit (IU 23) compared to (IU 17)
Statewide Statistics: PA Department of Health
Census figures: 1990 to 2000
► Montgomery County learning disability rates have risen three fold in comparison to the population from 1990 to 2000.
► 1990 to 2000 Montgomery County’s learning disabilities rates increased by 94%, more than twice the state average.
► During that same time the state learning disabilities rate increased by 46.6%, and the least polluted comparison area increased by a similar amount of 40.2%.
► Montgomery County ADD/ADHD rates increased by 32.7 % (1990 to 2000)
► Montgomery County Autism increased by 310% (1990 to 2000)
There is new understanding about the effects of environmental chemicals on learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD, autism, and related neuro developmental diseases on children.
Pottstown Landfill continuously emits the very kinds of neurotoxins that are toxic to the developing brain such as metals like lead, mercury, cadmium, and manganese as well as chemicals like organophosphates, dioxins, vinyl chloride, and PCB’s. They bioaccumulate and are directly toxic to cells and neurotransmitters. ACE would like to note that the Pottstown Landfill is at the far western end of Montgomery County, and that the county is in the general wind direction of Pottstown Landfill gas.
Since 1982, EPA knew that most hazardous wastes in the U.S. are disposed in landfills. These HAZARDOUS WASTES eventually ESCAPE from the LANDFILLS in the landfill gas and leachate.
This may occur in several years or for decades after the hazardous wastes are placed in the landfill. According to the EPA Administrator in the Federal Registry, "even with the application of best available land disposal technology it will occur eventually".
Landfill Gas
• Research around other landfills, Pottstown Landfill gas testing, and Occidental’s permit requesting a 310% increase in hazardous air emissions to burn Pottstown Landfill gas, all provide evidence that the landfill gas is hazardous to human health.
Landfill Leachate
• According to the former chief of hazardous waste assessment and technology of EPA, lining a landfill with “state of the art liners” does not stop seepage. It will only slow down the rate of seepage. EPA tested 50 landfills (including so called "state-of-the-art" landfills) and found that all landfills eventually leak.
Why don’t liners work? Studies show:
• Settling causes cracks just as it does in your home. Several inches of displacement and the leachate leaks right through the cracks.
• Very nasty chemicals go into all landfills which eat and dissolve liners. They can eat the glue which may bind separate sections of liners. These chemicals also dissolve clay.
• Even gophers, moles, and other animals go through liners.
"State-of-the Art" liners actually work against the public’s best interest.
• Liners are a great advantage to polluters and politicians who may be gone before the inevitable catastrophe hits.
• Since the catastrophe is inevitable, the best thing for the host community of a landfill is for it to happen soon because when the people who put the waste there are known, you can sue them. If the politicians who let the catastrophe happen are there, you can vote them out of office.
• A "secure" landfill only delays the inevitable catastrophe and liability, which can allow the polluter whose activities caused the damage to get off the hook.
Who pays for the enormous clean-up, health, and sometimes relocation costs? In many cases it is the public in one way or the other, rather than the polluter.
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ACE
P.O. Box 3063
Stowe, PA 19464
ace@acereport.org
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