Cleanup Complete at Largest Hazardous Landfill in the West

Date: May 12, 2010

Source: News Room

Chemical Waste Management, which owns the Kettleman Hills landfill in central California, said that it had cleaned up contaminated areas cited by federal investigators. The landfill, which is the largest hazardous waste facility in the West, has been subject increasing scrutiny by activists and government ever since a study by a local environmental justice group called Greenaction, found that five out of twenty children born in the area from September 2007 to November 2008 had birth defects including cleft lips and palates. However, state health officials subsequently found nothing unusual about the rate of infant birth defects but said the findings were preliminary. Last month the US EPA said the landfill had violated the Toxic Substances Control Act by improperly disposing of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chemicals that have been linked to cancer and other health effects.

The California EPA maintains information on the facility on their website: www.dtsc.ca.gov/HazardousWaste/Projects/CWMI_Kettleman.cfm.

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