Toxic Landfill on Lake Michigan

[Steven Pollack <themissinglink@eznetinc.com>]

Dear Reader:

The Army created a toxic unlined landfill in a former
ravine(geologically unstable) on the edge of an eroding
bluff(geologically unstable) overlooking Lake
Michigan(regulatory flood plain and primary drinking water
source) at the former Fort Sheridan north of Chicago. Untreated
infectious medical wastes, radioactive materials, containerized
liquids, solvents, paint thinner and stripper, four-100 pound
bags of flouride, and sewage treatment plant sludge were all
mixed in this landfill using the area method and not the
trench-cell method of landfilling and therefore the Army was not
covering the refuse of the previous day with at least 6 inches
of compacted soil prior to daily closing.

This is the textbook example on how not to site and operate a
landfill. The analysis of remediation options by the Army is a
textbook example of how the conflict of interest of having the
polluter and financially responsible party conduct their own
analysis will lead to the contortion of facts to fit the least
costly alternative. Capping Landfill 7 in place is the option
most likely to harm human health and the environment. The Focus
Feasibility Study, with the blessing of the U.S.EPA and Illinois
EPA, consistantly talked up the dangers of excavation while
never exploring the possibility and consequence of cap and
leachate collection failure. Never. This is a lack of due
dilligence in light of the Army's failure to maintain the cap
and leachate collection system placed on Landfill 7 in 1982
which everyone admits failed, sagged, and never collected any
leachate.

I would argue that this suggests unkown pathways into Lake
Michigan and that the Army is wrong in their assessment that the
geological proccesses which formed and deepen this former ravine
have now ended. The Army only admits failure when the
alternative is worse. In this case, the alternative is that
ravines deepen over time which caused and will continue to cause
caps to sag and fail.

The solution to pollution is NOT dillution. Low biological
productivity and long hydraulic retention time in Lake Michigan
together with bioaccumulation should steer environmental
decisions toward total toxic loadings instead of concentration
level analysis. The waste in Landfill 7 should have been
characterized. Instead we have leachate analysis which shows a
variety of metals above fort tolerance levels but below RCRA
action levels. 100 gallons of cyanide leaking quickly is no more
dangerous that 100 gallons of cyanide leaking slowly in the long
run. It all ends up in the environment.

I would like to see the EPA's treat Federal Facilities with the
same zeal as they do private industry. Visit my website at:
http://www.familyjeweler.com/fortweb.htm

Steven Pollack
847-835-9375