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Contaminant spreading out of landfill

By Brandon Stahl
Fergus Falls, Minnesota - March 09, 2005 - City tests in Fergus Falls have detected a toxic chemical that has moved out of the landfill and into the ground water; however, the engineer in charge of monitoring the problem said it does not currently pose a health risk and is not a threat to contaminating nearby residents drinking water.

The chemical, vinyl chloride, has been known to be in the landfill for several decades, according to City Engineer Dan Edwards. It has slowly spread northwest out of the landfill, running essentially parallel to Interstate 94. The contaminant moves horizontally underground through the soil at a rate of 10 feet to 20 feet a year. Edwards said that drinking water supplies are protected from the chemical by at least 35 vertical feet of clay.

The city tests the movement of the contaminant three times a year, Edwards said, with the chemical seen progressing toward the edge of the landfill in the late 1990s.

The highest concentrations of the contaminant can be found near the center of the landfill; the further the vinyl chloride has spread out, the more it has broken down into simpler compounds, rendering it essentially unharmful.

However, the city is taking steps to protect nearby residents. Edwards said the homes that use well water have been switched to the city's water, or will be switched by the end of next year.

"It's just to be extra cautious," Edwards said.

According to the Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, people can only become sick from vinyl chloride if exposed to it for prolonged periods of time or have ingested large amounts of it.

While studies have shown that people who have breathed vinyl chloride over many years showed an increased risk of liver cancer, brain cancer, lung cancer, and some cancer of the blood, Edwards said the contaminant is not a risk to the employees at the landfill because it is buried too far underneath the ground to be harmful.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15, at the Government Services Center in Fergus Falls to discuss the contamination with the community.