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Environmental Health Project: 75% Of Hazardous Waste Accepted At MAX Environmental Yukon Facility In Westmoreland County Comes From Shale Gas Industry; Sludge Proposed To Be Delisted As Hazardous Waste

The following blog post By Tina Curry-Bashioum was posted on the Environmental Health Project website providing a detailed look at the MAX Environmental Yukon Facility hazardous waste disposal site that accepts shale gas drilling waste in Westmoreland County.

She lived there for 16 years before moving to a neighboring town about two years ago. “Not living there now,” Tina said, “I can physically feel a difference in my whole body. Looking back, I didn’t realize how sluggish I was. When I go back now, I can feel how heavy the air is there.”

In addition to a history and a tour of the facility, she describes how the facility accepts hazardous waste from the oil and gas industry--

Health Impacts of Shale Gas Industry Waste

MAX Environmental disclosed in a public meeting that, historically, 75% of the hazardous waste accepted at the Yukon Facility comes from the oil and gas industry.

The shale gas industry produces a tremendous amount of toxic waste in liquid, sludge, and solid forms.

The EPA estimates that, on average, 160,000 gallons of waste is produced each day in just the first five days after a fracturing job.

While this amount can decrease over time, it is still estimated that a well can produce 1,100 gallons of liquid waste every day for anywhere between 10-30 years. This waste is a public health concern because of its toxicity and radioactivity.

Leachate is formed in landfills as rainwater filters through the waste, and, in doing this, the liquid draws out and concentrates a variety of chemicals or other substances present in the waste.

At the MAX Environmental Yukon Facility, this is of particular concern because accepted oil and gas solid waste is known to contain radioactive materials that, in turn, can produce leachate that is also radioactive.

Previous data has shown that leachate at landfills accepting this waste had frequent concentrations of radium-226 and radium-228 present that exceeded the maximum contaminant level.

The presence of radium-226 and radium-228 is of great concern for individuals’ health.

The decay chain of radium involves the release of radiation. Exposure to radiation has been linked to causing various types of cancers, such as lymphomas, leukemia, and bone cancer.

EHP’s factsheet, Risks from Liquid, Sludge and Solid Waste from Shale Gas Development, further explains the exposure pathways and health impacts of shale gas industry waste.

The blog post notes MAX Environmental withdrew its application to expand the facility in February 2023. The post continues--

The harm caused by MAX Environmental continues even without the Landfill 7 expansion. Tina is focused on pushing MAX to fulfill their Landfill 6 permit requirement to provide an emergency response plan to nearby residents.

Among her requests to the corporate giant that looms so large over Yukon: a distinct siren for a chemical event at the plant and emergency supplies stored in case of emergency evacuation.

“This stuff has to go somewhere,” Tina says of the hazardous waste stored in her community. “People are worried about fracking. This is where fracking comes to die. And if it has to come to Yukon, it needs to be stored safely and properly regulated.”

Click Here to read the entire post.

Delisting The MAX Hazardous Waste

At the request of MAX Environmental, DEP and the Environmental Quality Board are considering a regulation change to delist the sludge generated from the treatment disposal impoundment and landfill leachate as a hazardous waste from both the Yukon and Bulger facilities.

The proposed regulation was published for comment in January 2022 when three virtual hearings were held. Read more here.

A final version of the regulation was discussed with DEP’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee in December. There is no timetable on when the regulation is to be finalized. Status of rulemaking.

For more information, visit DEP’s MAX Environmental Delisting Hazardous Waste webpage.

(Photo: Yukon Facility waste treatment area, courtesy Marcellus Air.)

(Reprinted from the Environmental Health Project website.)

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