Toxic metals leached into groundwater at southeast Georgia landfill
Outrage mounts as southeast Georgia residents learn that a landfill near Jesup leached toxic metals into the soil and the groundwater.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last week that beryllium and other heavy metal residues from coal ash were found below ground at the Broadhurst Environmental Landfill in December 2011, yet the landfill operator didn't get rid of the ash until more than two years later.
The AJC pored over hundreds of pages of documents and discovered that the coal ash may have begun damaging the environment much earlier. Beryllium, if ingested in sufficient quantities, may cause cancer and other serious maladies. No illnesses have been reported.
The news comes as the landfill’s operator, Republic Services, is pursuing plans that could allow it to accept millions of tons of coal ash annually, a possibility that alarms Wayne County residents and elected officials.
“If I were dying, I would find the strength to crawl out of my deathbed to throw one more punch in this fight to protect our people and our environment,” said Dink NeSmith, the publisher of The Jesup Press-Sentinel.
Utilities across the nation, including Georgia Power, generate coal ash by burning coal for electricity. Georgia Power will shut down 29 ash ponds and 10 ash landfills, many surrounding metro Atlanta, over the next few years.
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