Residents Against Pollution

Enough Is Enough!

The Basics Of Landfills

About HDPE Liners

All Landfills Leak

The Catch 22's Of Landfill Design

Analyzing Why Landfills Leak

Flawed Design

The EnviroLink Network is a non-profit organization which has been providing access to thousands of online environmental resources since 1991.

Cumberland County Landfill

What Does It Mean To You?

Learn More About Allied

RAP is a group of alert citizens from Cumberland County, Virginia. We are tax payers and family members, and most importantly we are patriots. We rise now because we have uncovered some alarming facts regarding the alleged reliability of certain key components of the proposed landfill in our county. Despite threats of lawsuits aimed at stifling our dissent we have organized this public forum.

A common tactic of these large corporations is what is called a "SLAPP" suit. The reality that our laws actually work FOR the criminal and against the common citizen is made all too clear, SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) lawsuits are initiated by large corporations against private citizens with the intent of silencing criticism and stifling the petitioning activity that we are engaged in.
Yet we carry on regardless!

Despite Popular Opinion, The Creation Of A Landfill Does Concern You. It has been suggested that the Cumberland landfill will only affect those that live near the actual site. Yet studies indicate that the presence of noxious and carcinogenic gases are present well beyond the property barriers of all landfills. Additionally, high incidences of cancer and birth defects have been observed in residents that live in proximity.

The EPA itself admits that hazardous liquids, known as leachate actually find their way through woefully inadequate liners and deposit chemicals such as arsenic, lead, and PCB's, Which in turn contaminate the food we eat in a process known as Bioaccumulation. And even more alarming, evidence that US EPA has known this since 1979 yet because of the threat of major lawsuits signed off on a flawed technology.

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Allied Waste and other large waste handlers eye-balling our community are banking on the notion that you are simply unaware of most of these facts. The creators of this web site hope to put an end to the heresay and inuendo that is racing through our community at this time regarding the landfill proposed in our county.

RAP urges you to avoid the opinion factories, and don't place your faith in any free newsletters published by uninformed imbiciles. It is fear, and ignorance that these entities use most effectively against us, and we must somehow counteract that through education, public awareness, and activism. Regardless of the fact that our public officials have actually changed bylaws in order to stifle us.

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Please allow us to put it bluntly:

Subtitle D "Dry Tomb" Type Landfills Don't Work!
The US EPA Has Known This Since 1984!

Industry argued during the development of the regulations

that liners could contain landfill leachate forever. EPA disagreed:

“A liner is a barrier technology that prevents or greatly restricts migration of liquids into the ground. No liner, however, can keep all liquids out of the ground for all time. Eventually liners will either degrade, tear, or crack and will allow liquids to migrate out of the unit. Some have argued that liners are devices that provide a perpetual seal against any migration from a waste management unit. EPA has concluded that the more reasonable assumption, based on what is known about the pressures placed on liners over time, is that any liner will begin to leak eventually.”
Fed.Reg. (July 26, 1982), at pp. 32284-32285
Not only are landfill leaks inevitable, but dangerous chemicals present in modern consumer products make the toxicity of leachate produced by a solid waste landfill comparable to the leachate produced by a hazardous waste dump. According to EPA,
"the concerns relating to failure of containment structures are the same for any landfill regardless of waste type."
53 FR at p. 33334.

Not All Americans Bear The Ecological Burden Of Pollution Equally.

Industries and state agencies regularly adopt pollution strategies that promise the path of least political resistance.

The less political power a community possesses to defend itself, the more likely it is to suffer arduous environmental and health problems.

This is an outcome that the 1987 United Church of Christ (UCC) report on toxic waste and race concluded was not due to mere coincidence, but rather the result of what then-project director Benjamin Chavis termed "environmental racism"

Just who is being targeted for new waste repositories? A 1984 report contracted by the California Waste Management Board to identify the characteristics of communities least likely to resist the siting of waste incineration facilities offers a clue. Demonstrating that siting is ninety-nine percent politics and, at best, one percent science, Cerrell Associates identified the ideal community for locating these noxious facilities.

Learn More About The Cerrell Report Click Here

Yes, Landfill Gases Are Dangerous

Methane is a naturally-occurring gas created by the decay of organic matter inside a landfill. As methane is formed, it builds up pressure and then begins to move through the soil, following the path of least resistance; often it moves sideways for a time before breaking through to the surface of the ground.

Methane is lighter than air and is flammable. If it enters a closed building and the concentration builds up to about 15% in the air, a spark or a flame is likely to cause a serious explosion. For this reason, landfill designers sometimes install a set of pipes full of holes like a swiss cheese to provide a known pathway for the methane to escape through; such systems are sometimes successful and sometimes not.

Landfill gases are not limited to methane, carcinogenic and noxious nerve gas is also present and has been linked to modern health problems.
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It has also been established that many landfill reclamation programs, parks and schools for instance, are not viable due to the presence of what the public called a rotten egg smell at each of these facilities. Many multi-million dollar reclamation programs lie vacant and unused. Ground subsidance also makes them dangerous places.

In Short, Methane Kills!

Exposure To Landfill Gases Is Proving Deadly To Tens Of Thousands Of Citizens.

Human exposure to hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) can result in both acute and chronic health effects. Shortterm, acute effects can include eye irritation, nausea, difficulty breathing, asthma, or even death. Long-term, chronic effects include damage to the respiratory or nervous systems, birth defects and damage to reproductive systems, neurological disorders, and cancer.

The Voluntary Childrens Evaluation Program

The people currently most vulnerable to the effects of breathing landfill gases are children, the elderly, and people with asthma or other respiratory diseases. Despite alleged attempts to control gas release from landfills, the risk of developing cancer or reproductive, developmental, or neurological disorders due to chemical exposures in the air around landfills remains high.

Childhood Asthma And Environmental Interventions

And What About Our Drinking Water?

Safe drinking water is not a political mandate, it is not a power struggle between political parties, nor is it a grounds for congressional stalemate.
Safe Drinking Water Is A Right!
Protect our health from source to tap, support the Safe Drinking Water Act !

Find Your Legislator By Zip Code What Is Bioaccumulation

The 10 Myths About Landfill Design

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)

Join us in making the right choice, let your elected officials know where you stand

Cumberland!

NO

YES

To Cumberland Landfill To Cumberland Schools

A Quick Lesson About Garbage Trucks

There seems to be some misconception as to the actual type of garbage truck that will crowd onto US Route 60 and our surrounding area roads. We want to make it clear that the kind of garbage truck that residential area dwellers are frequently awakened to each morning and the type of trucks that will actually be in and out of our area are two different entities.

At their many public hearings, Allied continually showed the picture on the left (below) as the primary type of truck that will most frequently deliver MSW to the site. But it is more likely that the trucks hauling into our area will be giant 80-ton menaces crammed with a vast array of toxic waste from places like Brooklyn, DC, and other major cities.

This is not a garbage truck...

THIS is a garbage truck!

This truck carries about 5 to 6 tons of ordinary household waste picked up in your own neighborhood. Delivered daily by these fresh-scrubbed beauties that Allied Waste is so proud of.

But this truck can haul about 20 tons of rotted Washington, DC and New York MSW, medical waste, and hazardous consumer waste crammed into a derilect sub-contractors truck hundreds of times per day!

These trucks are frequently in poor mechanical condition due to the fact that accessing the landfill sites as the mountain of garbage progresses upward requires them to drive over rough dirt roads to get to the cell being formed in order to dump. Road trucks were not designed to be operated under such conditions, so therefore maintenance on these vehicles tends to lapse. In other words, most of them are junk!

It is also important for us to mention that these trucks do not have tarps on them that seal the waste from the outside, as anyone that has ever driven up behind one can tell you, the garbage is open to the air. Kept in by a thin plastic net that is rolled over the top of it once it is filled. These trucks stop at local businesses such as gas stations, restaurants and stores and leak black liquid onto parking lots and driveways.

Here Is Some Additional Reading.... VITAL!

More Regarding The Liner Plastics, The Sixth Basic Food Group
VITAL Please Read

learn More About The Basic Design Of A Modern Landfill,
Please Read This
Is This Just Another Conspiracy Theory?
Please Read This.

Dr G. Fred Lee has been active in the battle against dangerous landfill practices for decades, check out his web site here

The Dynamics of Clogging

(Please note that the web sites listed below are located on outside sources)

Other Web Sources

Rotten Truth About Garbage Stability Of MSW Landfills: A Problem?

The Perils of Plastic Municipal Liability For Pollution

A National Assessment Of Tap Water Quality Garbage Corporation Watch

Mercury And Household Batteries

Rachels Democracy and Health News

Multi State Task Force Digs Up Trashy Performance Medical Waste Found In Virginia-Bound New York Garbage

Leachate From Hazardous Dumps Is Same As Leachate From Municipal Dumps Pesticides Pose Greater Threat To Drinking Water Supplies Than Factories And Toxic Dumps

EPA Study Reveals Low Birth Weight's and Cancers in people living in proximity to landfills Leachate Collection Systems: The Achille's Heel Of Landfill Design

Recycling Is Hampered, It Can't Compete With Low Cost Landfills Do Garbage Incinerators Produce Pollution Harmful To Humans?

Become A Member of RAP

Find out what you can do to join the fight against polluters and waste cartels, contact us by calling 804 492 9417, or write to us at Goawayallied@aol.com.

Our members attend hearings and presentations, speak at public forums conducted by Cumberland County and Allied Waste, distribute flyers, contribute to our news letter, write to legislators, and generally make a stand against those who plan to turn our homes into a toxic waste dump.

Please help us in any way that you can, the waste cartels have endless funds and major corporate lawyers at their disposal, but we have you!

Sources and Contributors DISCLAIMER:

California Department of Health and Environment, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), G. Fred Lee, PhD and Anne Jones-Lee, PhD, Rachels Environmental Health Weekly, Phillips Petroleum, Environmental Research Foundation, Center For Environmental Justice (ejnet.org), Center For Health Environment and Justice (CHEJ)

This site was created and is maintained by an alert citizens group, and is a not-for-profit organization. Use of Allied logo is not intended for anything business related. The name "Allied Waste" is a registered trademark and was used solely as a point of public interest, no copywrite infringements were infered or intended.

Webmaster: Ric Losey (riclos@aim.com)
Graphic Arts: ShadowFX
Public Relations: Esther Boley (goawayallied@aol.com)

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Find Your Legislator By Zip Code	What Is Bioaccumulation
The 10 Myths About Landfill Design	Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)

This is not a garbage truck...	THIS is a garbage truck!

This truck carries about 5 to 6 tons of ordinary household waste picked up in your own neighborhood. Delivered daily by these fresh-scrubbed beauties that Allied Waste is so proud of.	But this truck can haul about 20 tons of rotted Washington, DC and New York MSW, medical waste, and hazardous consumer waste crammed into a derilect sub-contractors truck hundreds of times per day!
These trucks are frequently in poor mechanical condition due to the fact that accessing the landfill sites as the mountain of garbage progresses upward requires them to drive over rough dirt roads to get to the cell being formed in order to dump. Road trucks were not designed to be operated under such conditions, so therefore maintenance on these vehicles tends to lapse. In other words, most of them are junk!	It is also important for us to mention that these trucks do not have tarps on them that seal the waste from the outside, as anyone that has ever driven up behind one can tell you, the garbage is open to the air. Kept in by a thin plastic net that is rolled over the top of it once it is filled. These trucks stop at local businesses such as gas stations, restaurants and stores and leak black liquid onto parking lots and driveways.

Sources and Contributors	DISCLAIMER:
California Department of Health and Environment, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), G. Fred Lee, PhD and Anne Jones-Lee, PhD, Rachels Environmental Health Weekly, Phillips Petroleum, Environmental Research Foundation, Center For Environmental Justice (ejnet.org), Center For Health Environment and Justice (CHEJ)	This site was created and is maintained by an alert citizens group, and is a not-for-profit organization. Use of Allied logo is not intended for anything business related. The name "Allied Waste" is a registered trademark and was used solely as a point of public interest, no copywrite infringements were infered or intended.

	Webmaster: Ric Losey (riclos@aim.com) Graphic Arts: ShadowFX Public Relations: Esther Boley (goawayallied@aol.com)