EPA draws air samples at burning stump dump

The Environmental Protection Agency came to Bella Vista to test air quality around the burning former stump dump site off Trafalgar Road last Friday, Nov. 9.

Results are expected near the end of the month.

Cassi Lapp, communications manager for Bella Vista, said that this is the second round of air tests, which is required for a full report to be compiled. Residents can expect to hear back on these tests near the end of the month, she said.

Lapp said the public should not go on or near the stump dump because it is private property and the unstable ground makes it dangerous. On-site measurements showed some areas burning at more than 800 degrees, she said.

Matt Loesel, the federal on-scene coordinator with the agency, said the EPA was gathering air samples at the request of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.

Samples were drawn from the site itself as well as other locations, chosen based on wind patterns, surrounding the site, he said.

The sampling process is designed to find volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, he said.

Once the lab work is done on these samples, he said, it will go back to the EPA for quality assurance before the information is distributed to state agencies, who will act based on the results.

“Until we get results, we don’t know anything,” he said.

Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista An air sampling unit (left) draws air samples at the stump dump site off Trafalgar Road while steam rises from the ground. The unit draws air through a medium that captures particles which can be examined in a lab. The EPA placed four additional units in the neighboring areas to collect additional samples.

Keith Bryant/The Weekly Vista A weather station placed by the EPA records meteorological data at the stump dump site off Trafalgar Road.