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Leachate Loopholes and Radioactive Risks: Communities Demand Action
Would you swim in a creek laced with arsenic, radioactive sediment, and lead? Many Pennsylvanians don’t have a choice.
Across western Pennsylvania, communities are raising red flags about the growing threat of leachate—a toxic brew of chemicals formed when rainwater filters through landfills filled with oil and gas drilling waste. In places like Westmoreland County and Yukon, residents have endured years of pollution from nearby landfills, and they’re calling for urgent regulatory action.
The Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill (WSL) and Max Environmental Technologies are at the center of the storm. Both sites have a troubling track record of violations—from killing municipal sewage bacteria to contaminating Speers Run with radioactive leachate. WSL now seeks a permit to discharge treated liquid waste directly into the Monongahela River, a drinking water source for millions.
But residents and environmental groups aren’t convinced. Public hearings have drawn packed rooms and emotional testimony. Parents come mourning lost children, scientists citing radioactive sediment levels 1.4 times higher downstream, and young people pleading for a clean future. Critics warn that existing treatment methods fail to remove heavy metals and radionuclides effectively, and that operators with repeated violations can’t be trusted with our water.
Meanwhile, a patchwork of loopholes allows radioactive fracking waste to be classified as non-hazardous, dodging the strict scrutiny it demands. Senate Bill 455 aims to close that gap but until it's passed, the leachate loophole persists.
At Diamond Scientific, we believe safe waste management starts with data and ends with accountability. We provide cutting-edge solutions for leachate and gas analysis—because clean water isn’t optional, it’s essential.
CITATION:
Mon Valley residents speak out against landfill permit request’ Mar 24, 2025 By Paul Paterra
Inside Climate News
Pollution From a Pennsylvania Landfill Caused Problems for Decades. Fracking Waste Made It Worse; By Kiley Bense February 23, 2025
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/23022025/pennsylvania-landfill-pollution-problems-fracking-waste/
Food & Water Watch; Residents Call on Shapiro, DEP to Regulate Fracking Waste, Shut Down Westmoreland County Landfill; Published Mar 21, 2025