Source: http://www.waff.com, September 23, 2015
By: Nick Lough
The environmental group Tennessee Riverkeeper has mailed written notices to 3M, BFI Waste Systems of Alabama, LLC, Decatur Utilities, and the City of Decatur informing them of their intent to file a federal lawsuit regarding dangerous chemicals in the Tennessee River’s Wheeler Reservoir.
The environmental group has significant health concerns about perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) contamination in and around the Decatur area.
According to the environmental group’s release: 3M has produced PFOS at its Decatur site beginning in the early 1960s and PFOA beginning in 1999. On-site disposal practices have resulted in groundwater contamination and the contamination of the Wheeler Reservoir of the Tennessee River. 3M has also transported waste off-site to nearby landfills, the largest volume to the City of Decatur-Morgan County Sanitary Landfill, owned by the
City of Decatur.
READ MORE: 90 Day Notice of Intent to File Lawsuit
Waste was also transported to the A.J. Morris Landfill (Morris Farms Landfill), in Hillsboro, Alabama, owned by BFI Waste Systems of Alabama, LLC. Waste was also received by the now closed Bert Jeffries Landfill (also called the Browns Ferry Road Site), which is now owned by 3M. These landfills all have high levels of groundwater contamination from PFOA, PFOS, and related chemicals.
These chemicals are also found at high levels in the liquid waste, called leachate, collected from Morris Farms and the Decatur-Morgan County landfills.
The collected leachate from both landfills is sent to the Dry Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP), owned by Decatur Utilities. The plant has inadequate treatment capabilities for these chemicals and, therefore, discharges harmful amounts into the Tennessee River.
The Alabama Department of Public Health has placed a fishing advisory on a portion of the Tennessee River in Decatur
due to PFOS.
WAFF 48 News investigated the issue back in April.
According to the 90-day notice, Tennessee Riverkeeper is seeking “injunctive relief to remedy the ongoing releases of these toxic chemicals into the groundwater and into the Tennessee River (Wheeler Reservoir) and its tributaries, which have resulted in contaminated groundwater in several locations, contaminated water supplies, and contamination of surface water, fish, and sediments.”
WAFF 48 News has reached out to 3M, the City of Decatur’s legal department, BFI Waste Systems of Alabama, and Decatur Utilities. A Decatur Utilities spokesperson declined to comment on the notice.
“Our company has voluntarily undertaken numerous projects to help reduce the potential release of these materials into the local environment,” says Robin Higgs, manager of 3M’s Decatur plant. “We have made substantial progress and will complete further actions in the near future.”
Higgs continued, “The activity you currently see represents ongoing progress in our commitment to isolate these materials from the environment. All of this work is being done in coordination between 3M, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, and other regulatory agencies.”
IIn more than 30 years of medical surveillance we have observed no adverse health effects in our employees resulting from their exposure to PFOS or PFOA,” says Dr. Carol Ley, vice president and corporate medical director, 3M Medical Department. “This is very important since the level of exposure in the general population is much lower than that of production employees who worked directly with these materials.”
Dr. Ley continued, “We do not believe PFCs such as PFOA and PFOS present any harm to human health at levels they are typically found in the environment or in human blood.”
Decatur City Attorney Herman Marks confirmed he received documents in regard to the potential suit Tuesday.
He said in a statement, “We are going to review it and respond to it at the appropriate time.”
BFI Waste Systems of Alabama, LLC said their Landfill team is now in the process of reviewing the notice, which involves three other named parties, as well as claims specific to Morris Farms Landfill. Morris Farms Landfill will respond to these claims at the appropriate time.