Work is underway to remove chemicals present at an old landfill in Northern Virginia. It can cause central nervous system disease, and a lawmaker representing the region has also been diagnosed.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday celebrated $22 million in funding from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Act that will be earmarked for environmental cleanups. hidden lane landfill It is located in Loudoun County, a known Superfund site, and is a designation that identifies highly contaminated areas.
The 25-acre site was a privately owned landfill located north of Route 7 between Broad Run Farms and a rural community adjacent to the Potomac River floodplain, according to the EPA.of landfill The facility opened in 1971 to accept solid waste, construction waste and discarded appliances, and the county closed it in 1984 due to a court order issued the previous year.
About five years after the closure, the degreasing solvent trichlorethylene (TCE) was discovered in the well that supplied water to homes in the Broad Run Farms area. This site was added to the Superfund program's National Priorities List in 2008.
“[TCE] is an acute and long-term hazard,” said Adam Ortiz, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator. “The concentrations we found at sites like this were alarming. This is especially true for pregnant mothers.”
TCE chemicals can be ingested through the air or drinking water. Associated health problems include heart problems, numbness, and Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease has similarities to progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). PSP is a rare neurological disease, and in September, Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Loudon) revealed that she had been diagnosed and said it was the reason she would not seek re-election. Wexton was initially diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, she said in a statement in September.
This followed a speech in the US House of Representatives using text-to-speech assistive technology. Month Because of the condition, Wexton spoke using the same method in Monday's announcement, as it was the first time a member of Congress has used this method to deliver a floor speech.
“One study of water at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, found that Marine Corps veterans exposed to TCE-contaminated water were more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than Marine Corps veterans who were not exposed to the chemical. It turned out to be 70% higher,” Wexton said.People who also submitted letter This supports EPA's proposed rule to regulate TCE, which is still used in cleaning today. “I have seen firsthand how Parkinson’s disease and related diseases such as PSP can have a devastating impact on individuals, their families, and the communities around them.”
hidden lane
The first step in the project is excavation of the contaminated soil, a $5 million project that began in February and is expected to be completed this summer.
The project's main “deliverable,” a $17 million new water main design and construction project, was then installed over a period of about five years with support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Baltimore office and will serve approximately 110,000 people in the area. The plan is to connect the houses in the eaves to water pipes. Fresh water source.
“We are relieved to have this infrastructure funding to accelerate the cleanup,” Ortiz said. Ortiz added: “Water access is critical so that local residents can drink water from their taps without fear.”
Since the discovery of TCE and until the work is completed, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, with support from the EPA, has been providing treatment systems to homeowners in the area, which is a new permanent pipeline. It is scheduled to be replaced by
“Decades of work with the EPA to clean up the Hidden Lane Landfill has led to contamination remediation and the construction of public water lines, improving the environment and eliminating broad runs,” DEQ spokeswoman Irina said. We are pleased to have benefited the Countryside community.” Kalos said in his statement.
The site could then be repurposed, perhaps for solar energy generation or as a baseball stadium. Said Charlie Root, EPA restoration project manager. Loudoun County has seen a lot of data center development, but the data center would not be eligible for the site because the landfill was closed with “just a cover,” Root said.
“I don't think it will support large buildings like data centers,” Root said. “That's kind of why we're talking about baseball fields and passive recreational uses for solar panels.”
Superfund site
Superfund site cleanup is overseen by EPA with assistance from DEQ.
EPA has 36 locations in Virginia. Websiteincluding the former C&R Battery Company Inc. in Chesterfield. August 2022 and the Nansemond Arsenal suffolk It was reborn as a distribution center.
Ortiz said the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act will provide the impetus to complete approximately 85% of cleanup projects at Superfund sites through $3.5 billion in funding.
“This allows us to move faster than before,” Root added.
One project in Virginia that is also funded by federal law is Arrowhead Associates, Inc./Scovill Corp. site Businesses are currently based in Montross.
Root said the project has the logistical challenges of keeping the business open during the cleanup.
Therefore, in-situ or in-situ thermal techniques must be used to burn off approximately 99% of the toxic chemicals in the ground beneath buildings. This is because soil cannot be dug up and brought to the facility at a lower cost. Certified landfill operators such as the Hidden Lane project.
“At the Hidden Lane Landfill, we're excavating to a depth of about 35 feet,” Root said. “However, we were able to safely perform the work while backing up, and we were able to slope down, allowing us to complete the work safely without endangering the workers.”
Heat treatment “requires a lot of electricity, and you have to build an infrastructure to provide that power. … It's a more powerful, more complex technology,” Root said.
Even if that is completed, “it's important that we can accelerate and eliminate these hazards,” Ortiz said.
“There's a reason these were determined to be Superfund sites,” Ortiz said.
