Air testing near Tontitown landfill raises new concerns
TONTITOWN — Further air quality testing near the Eco-Vista landfill found higher-than-recommended levels of two chemicals potentially harmful to human health, the state Department of Energy and Environment reported Friday.
These tests followed up on tests done in December. The December tests found sulfur dioxide, the state reported. The tests that began Feb. 5 were more sensitive, according to the state, and did not find sulfur dioxide. However, the February tests did find acrolein and benzene, according to the report released Friday, with further testing being recommended to definitely identify the source of the pollutants.
There are no other obvious sources of this pollution but the landfill, said state Rep. Steve Unger, R-Springdale.
“Today’s report from the Department of Energy and Environment should lead to the closure of the Tontitown landfill,” Unger said in a phone interview Friday.
Unger will request state taxpayer money for the University of Arkansas to conduct extensive testing for pollution of water under and around the landfill, he said. He will make that request in the Legislature’s fiscal session, which begins April 10.
“If these things are going into the air, imagine what’s going into the groundwater,” he said.
Rep. Robin Lundstrum, R-Elm Springs, represents the district that includes the landfill. She wants to know why the routine air quality monitoring of the landfill required by the state did not report these chemicals before.
“The citizens are having to beg for protection,” she said.
WM Inc., formerly known as Waste Management, owns the landfill. Jennifer McKay, a regional spokeswoman for WM, on Friday afternoon acknowledged receipt of an email from the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette seeking comment on the matter, but she provided no immediate comment.
Complaints of noxious odors and eye and throat irritation by Tontitown residents came in to the state Department of Environmental Quality for months and flared in December. The December complaints resulted in the state requesting a specialized unit of the Arkansas National Guard to conduct air sampling and tests. The guard agreed, and its tests found higher-than-recommended levels of sulfur dioxide.
The state brought in CTEH LLC, an environmental consulting firm, along with the National Guard in February’s round of tests. CTEH, based in North Little Rock and with offices in Springdale, is an “experienced, independent environmental contractor with the capability to conduct more sensitive analytical testing,” according to a letter announcing the February test results signed by state Energy and Environment Secretary Shane E. Khoury.
“Acrolein and benzene concentrations in air samples, including the background sampling location, were above Resident Air Regional Screening Levels (RSLs) established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency,” says the report by CTEH.
Concentrations of acrolein were above the recommended levels at all four tested locations on Feb. 6 and 7 and in three of the four locations Feb. 7 and 8, “with estimated detections ranging from 0.094 parts per billion (ppb) through 0.14 ppb,” the CTEH report says.
“Benzene was detected at concentrations above the U.S. EPA Resident Air RSL in air samples from all four locations on all three days,” the CTEH report says. “Results for benzene ranged from 0.13 ppb (estimated detection) through 0.32 ppb.”
The National Guard also participated in February’s testing.
“Though sulfur dioxide was potentially indicated in both the December 2023 and February 2024 real-time monitoring tests conducted by the 61st [a unit of the National Guard], the more sensitive analytical results from the February 2024 testing reported no detection of sulfur dioxide or hydrogen sulfide,” Khoury’s letter to Unger, Lundstrum and Tontitown Mayor Angie Russell said.
His department “is coordinating with the Department of Health to evaluate the data and investigate the source of these compounds in the area,” Khoury’s letter said. The air sampling reports did not identify the landfill as the source of the chemicals found. Unger said a source besides the landfill is unlikely.
Acrolein usually comes from the breakdown of other pollutants when they come in contact with outdoor air during the burning of organic matter. This includes burning of refined fuels such as gasoline or oil, according to the Federal Environmental Protection Agency website. Benzene is found in fuels and as a solvent for waxes, resins, inks, paints, plastics and rubber. It is also used in manufacturing. The chemical’s most common source is motor vehicle exhaust. Tontitown residents have complained to the state of frequent fires at the landfill.
“The health and safety of the Tontitown citizens is of great importance to me,” Russell said in a statement Friday. “I am thankful the air testing from the National Guard was able to determine what chemicals are being emitted into the air. I am also concerned with what could potentially be going into our water system.
“This not only affects Tontitown but the surrounding communities. It is imperative that the issues at hand be resolved quickly. All citizens have the right to breathe clean air and drink clean water.”
The city of Tontitown and a group of city residents are appealing state approval of an expansion of the landfill, which would extend Eco-Vista’s operations for another 10 years, according to appeal documents.