Environmental groups disagree with landfill leachate study findings

PITTSBURGH — Neighbors are calling on the Department of Environmental Protection to address the risk of radioactivity in Pennsylvania.

On Thursday, a coalition of environmental groups protested outside of DEP’s office in Pittsburgh. They want the DEP to conduct a survey to assess the danger the landfills pose to residents.

“Local, municipal, sanitary landfills [are] situated near homes and drinking water sources. The DEP has clear responsibility to Pennsylvania residents to ensure that leachate does not pose a threat to public health,” said Katie Jones, the Ohio River Valley coordinator.

This protest follows a recently released DEP report from a multi-year study that found that there’s “no significant risk to human health” from radium in landfill leachate.

The coalition argues the data disagrees with the findings, claiming that several landfills demonstrate radioactivity levels exceeding the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s standards for waste material from nuclear power plants.

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