Residents: Smell From Dump Dangerous, They Want Action

On Wednesday night the Imperial Landfill Citizens Committee met to discuss the odor coming from the Findlay Township landfill.

The controversy over the smell from the landfill has been going on for months.

Representative from the landfill and the DEP attended the meeting.

The landfill is located next to Wilson Elementary School in the West Allegheny School District.

The DEP recently confirmed the strong odor that can be smelled is indeed coming from the Imperial landfill.

The Allegheny County Health Department has been monitoring the air around the school and said it measured six volatile organic compounds or VOCs, including benzene.

Health department officials said the compounds were at levels that shouldn’t cause health problems in adults or children.

However, the county is continuing to check the air.

The county and DEP are negotiating a consent decree and agreement with the landfill owner Republic Services which will outline corrective actions the landfill needs to make. The consent decree will also set penalties for any past or future violations.

DEP spokesperson, Helen Humphreys said, “It is the responsibility of the landfill management to implement measures necessary to control the odor and gases at the landfill.”

For more information on test results and the final report on the lanfill go to the DEP Website.