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Residents tell Quorum Court of air-quality tests and health concerns near Tiny Town landfill
Summary
Two Washington County residents told the Quorum Court about air tests they say show toxic chemicals above regional screening levels near a landfill in Tiny Town and said state regulators have not responded to complaints.
Mark Calcagney and Kenneth Lovett told the Washington County Quorum Court on Jan. 16 that air tests near the Tiny Town landfill detected multiple chemicals at levels they described as higher than EPA regional screening levels, and they asked the court to take note.
Calcagney said he lives about a half-mile west of the landfill and chairs a Tiny Town air-quality committee. He said two National Guard tests and one Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) test identified five chemicals above regional EPA screening levels, including acrolein and benzene. “Acrolein was 49,100 percent over the EPA regional levels,” he said, and he described a “rash of cancer” and other illnesses in the area.
Kenneth Lovett, who said he lives on Clearwater Road, gave the court a packet of test results and urged officials to respond. He described acrolein measurements ranging from 0.17 to 0.48 micrograms per cubic meter versus a cited regional screening level of 0.021 micrograms, and said that difference is the basis for the percentage he reported. He told the court that attempts to reach the county emergency office produced no response and said residents worry about recurring “clouds” of emissions.
Both speakers also raised concerns about water and other environmental impacts. Calcagney said a red dye test by Waste Management flowed into Little Wildcat Creek, which feeds the Illinois River. Lovett said residents have observed debris on roads and found dead birds; he told the court about roughly 800 dead birds discovered in the area.
The speakers said Tiny Town’s city council had rejected landfill expansion proposals three times and argued ADEQ should follow state pollution-control rules the speakers identified as 22.203 and 22.204. They asserted ADEQ had not enforced those provisions.
The county judge and other officials did not make additional findings on the record during public comment. The speakers urged the court to take notice and to press ADEQ or other agencies to respond.
The comments came during the court’s allotted public-comment period; no formal action or vote followed these remarks at the meeting.
