SLUDGE TRUCKS – SPILLS (public health and quality of life issues), PROBLEMS, ACCIDENTS, ILLEGAL
OPERATIONS, ETC.
July 1, 2007 http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/harford/bal-ha.sludge01jul01,0,7152881.story?coll=bal-local-
harford
MARYLAND Synagro dumping Class B sewage sludge "biosolids" in public state parks - truck spill - sludge free wedding
"Synagro and the county are trying to cooperate with the neighbors. When a truck spilled sludge on the Lawsons' street
Thursday, county inspectors cleaned the site. During Friday morning's downpour, the company discontinued operation.
Synagro has halved its truck trips and agreed to stop hauling for 10 days to accommodate a neighbor holding a
wedding at home. "
PENNSYLVANIA
"
----- Original Message -----
From: Annette Etchberger
To: rmw19@psu.edu ; Mike and Amy Rubinkam ; trico@fastcable.net ; essigstrans@verizon.net ; Mary C. Crocker ;
Michael Rubinkam
Cc: dantejp@ptd.net ; MICHAEL POLYAK ; bengprice@aol.com ; hshields@worldpath.net ; matthewpolis@webtv.net
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 11:17 AM
Subject: Truck containing biosolid overturns on Route 222 this morning
Hello,
According to the morning radio traffic report, a truck containing “biosolids” overturned on Route 222 near 30 in the
Lancaster area this morning. According to some motorists who called in, the smell was of course putrid….like dead
corpses, etc. I thought it was interesting that the reason for the longstanding delay was because a DOT hazmat team
had to be brought in to clean it up!
I can’t find anything on the local news stations from that area, but if anyone comes across more details, I am very
interested.
Thanks,
Annette"
http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/209968
Sludge spill shuts Rt. 222 for four hours
By TOM KNAPP, Staff
Intelligencer Journal
Published: Sep 26, 2007 1:10 AM EST
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - Route 222 was closed for several hours Tuesday morning after a truck dumped 7,000
pounds of refinery sludge on the busy highway.
The tractor-trailer was hauling sludge from a Sunoco refinery in Philadelphia when the driver braked and spilled about
half of his cargo over both southbound lanes of Route 222, near the Landis Valley Road overpass, at about 7 a.m.,
according to Manheim Township Police. The 59-year-old driver, David M. Currier of Norristown, was cited by Officer
Michael Kuntz for failure to secure a load. The Pennsylvania State Police also cited the driver with a violation of state
Department of Environmental Protection regulations.
***************************************************
MAINE
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 8:31 AM
Subject: SLUDGE TRUCK FLIPS OVER
SLUDGE TRUCK FLIPS OVER
A truck carrying human sludge flips over on the Maine Turnpike in
Scarborough. Only a small amount of waste spilled from the truck, but the
accident shut down all three southbound lanes for nearly two hours. State
police say the driver of the truck, 50-year-old Donald Beauchesne was
treated
and released from Maine Medical Center. The accident did create quite a
smell, especially for drivers stuck downwind. The accident scene is now
clear.
http://www.wgme.com/
************************************************
CALIFORNIA
". other violations are of a Solano County Ordinance, #1685, which was passed into law in late March, 2002 as a result
of citizen uproar in August, 200l when
an especially odiferous load was dumped right behind the highschool of this
tinytown within city limits. It resulted in months of people getting headaches,
nausea, nasal congestion, pulmonary congestion and complaints, an huge
inbreeding of flies(which violates the VECTOR CONTROL Of RULE 503),etc.
and for months and months no one would tell the locals anything about what
they were breathing,exposed to,getting into their groundwater and soils as well
as their air/bodies."
Of course, 40 CFR Part 503 has no requirements regarding truck transport of sewage sludge -- so they may continue
to travel uncovered and filthy, dribbling their noxious waste along the roads . . . . but still it is interesting to learn of
Synagro's ongoing arrogance as to lack of compliance with notification requirements and indifference to the impact on
human health and the environment in rural communities from its transport and spreading of this biologically active
toxic/pathogenic waste . . . .
----- Original Message -----
From: Lunltd@aol.com
To: hshields@worldpath.net
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2003 7:34 AM
Subject: Re: You Said U Want to Know of Synagro Violations here:WELL...... .
1,Under 503...sludge trucks are not allowed to stop enroute to dumping or enroute back to origin because THEN the
materials being transported are
recognized as "hazardous materials"(or maybe this is California's state
statute. have to check but know i read it somewhere and it made a big impression).
These trucks that continue to thumb their noses at us,re: above, have repeatedly stopped to eat at fastfood places both
here in Rio Vista and in the surrounding towns of Fairfield and Suisun both last year and this one.
And we have both pictorial and personal documentation proof of these
continuing violations and have shared these with Solano County Bd. of Supervisors.
For all Kromm's replies, County is doing nothing and he claims that County
Counsel(not a very impressive attorney and definitely there to CYA the County
govt. and is own job's future) has told him that "they can't stop this."
|BULLS...T! IF THEY SIMPLY enforced the LAW, they could!
JUST another example of the deeply entrenched collusion here between govt.\and Syn-a-grow?.!!!
PENNSYLVANIA
From The Morning Call -- September 12, 2003
Sludge haulers
s
By Bob Wittman
Of The Morning Call
A sludge-hauling company ordered by the courts to remove sludge-filled containers from Allen Township last month
after residents complained of foul odors has surreptitiously set up business in Allentown, city officials said.
SEI Express Inc.'s truck terminal on former Lehigh Structural Steel property near Front and Tilghman streets has come
under scrutiny in recent days from Allentown's health, code, police and zoning officials as well as enforcement officers
from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Allentown officials say SEI Express in recent weeks moved its operations to the site — perhaps even onto land owned by
the city — without getting zoning approval, a health department review or even a simple business license.
PENNSYLVANIA
From The Morning Call -- September 12, 2003
Sludge haulers
s
By Bob Wittman
Of The Morning Call
A sludge-hauling company ordered by the courts to remove sludge-filled containers from Allen Township last month
after residents complained of foul odors has surreptitiously set up business in Allentown, city officials said.
SEI Express Inc.'s truck terminal on former Lehigh Structural Steel property near Front and Tilghman streets has come
under scrutiny in recent days from Allentown's health, code, police and zoning officials as well as enforcement officers
from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Allentown officials say SEI Express in recent weeks moved its operations to the site — perhaps even onto land owned by
the city — without getting zoning approval, a health department review or even a simple business license.
***************************************************************************************
EPA REG. 9 = CALIFORNIA - AND VIRGINIA
----- Original Message -----
From: HShields
Sent: Monday, September 15, 2003 5:01 PM
Subject: OIG ON TRUCK TRAFFIC - VIRGINIA - CALIFORNIA http://www.whistleblowers.org/OIGFinalSludgeReport.htm
Truck traffic around land application sites is also a quality of life concern. According to the EPA Region 9 Biosolids
Coordinator, heavy truck traffic caused concerns in two California counties and was a factor in both counti
PENNSYLVANIA
From The Morning Call -- September 12, 2003
Sludge haulers
s
By Bob Wittman
Of The Morning Call
A sludge-hauling company ordered by the courts to remove sludge-filled containers from Allen Township last month
after residents complained of foul odors has surreptitiously set up business in Allentown, city officials said.
SEI Express Inc.'s truck terminal on former Lehigh Structural Steel property near Front and Tilghman streets has come
under scrutiny in recent days from Allentown's health, code, police and zoning officials as well as enforcement officers
from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Allentown officials say SEI Express in recent weeks moved its operations to the site — perhaps even onto land owned by
the city — without getting zoning approval, a health department review or even a simple business license.
es' decisions to limit land application. Biosolids are typically delivered to application sites in tractor trailers or tanker
trucks. Application rates generally equate to about one tractor trailer truckload per acre. Therefore, a 50-acre field
could receive about 50 truckloads of biosolids. In Virginia alone, biosolids were land applied on more than 39,000 acres
in the year 2000. This suggests that as many as 39,000 truckloads of biosolids were on the road in Virginia that year.
PENNSYLVANIA
From: HShields
Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2003 4:01 PM
Subject: pennsylvania n-viro pottsville special exception trucks and odor
http://www.schuylkill.com/pub/2003/Nov/19/E603202A.htm
Top Stories -- November 19, 2003
Last biosolids hearing held
Zoning board slated to vote Dec. 4 on Reilly Twp. facility
"For me, this has to deal with changing the image and perception of Schuylkill County," Tremont resident Robert
Wiscount said. "We are a fourth-class county. If we continue to import garbage and export our youth, we are going to be
a fifth-class county.
"I've never heard a real estate agent advertise that a home is 2 miles from a landfill," he said. "We need the county to
take the lead on this issue. We do not want to have the first biosolids plant in the state. We are not a bunch of radicals
here. We are concerned citizens."
WeCare Organics, based in Jordan, N.Y., has proposed to build a biosolids processing facility on an 8.5-acre tract in
Newtown.
The tract is part of 2,300 acres owned by Blackwood Inc., Wind Gap. Nolan A. Perin, Pen Argyl, is the majority
shareholder of Blackwood Inc.
WeCare proposes to use a process call N-Viro, which combines biosolids and dry byproducts such as fly ash, cement
kiln dust and lime kiln dust to induce chemical changes and improve the class B biosolids to a class A soil amendment
end product, according to testimony heard earlier in the hearing process.
The board would have to grant the company a special exception in order for it to build the facility.
Reilly Township, represented by its solicitor William C. Reiley, Pottsville, called several citizens and elected officials to
testify on how the proposed project would affect their neighborhoods - their water, their safety and their overall quality of
life.
Pine Grove borough council President Phyllis E. Hesser talked about the town's problems with trucks since the opening
of the Waste Management Inc. landfill.
"At first they made an attempt. They promised us that there would be no trucks in the borough," she said. "But that's
something that they just could not possibly enforce. Without physically stopping them, there's no way, there's nothing to
say that they can't use the road through town."
Hesser is concerned that a similar problem would occur if the project were to take shape in Newtown. It was her belief,
she said, that the traffic study that had been done greatly underestimated the number of trucks that would be in and out
of the facility.
"The brochure said that they expect 23 trucks in the morning and 23 trucks in the afternoon," she said. "That's 46
trucks. But they have made no plans to include an area for washing these trucks, to use the same trucks going out as
are coming in. So instead of 46 trucks, there will be 92 altogether, and I doubt they'll be coming off of Interstate 81."
Charles E. Huntzinger, Tremont mayor, said that his town is already competing with truck traffic along Route 209, which
runs through the center of town.
"It's counterproductive to the safety of the children and adults," he said. "There are crowded roadways already, and the
kindergarten and elementary school children are already competing with heavy truck traffic.
"It's fine for the northbound traffic to use the Ravine exit off of 81, but when the truckers become aware that it's two miles
shorter to exit at Hegins, or four miles shorter to exit in Tremont, it's going to be a problem," he said.
Attorney Ronald J. Karasek, representing the parties supporting the biosolids processing facility, asked Huntzinger if
they did not have police in the borough.
"You want our borough to police your trucks?" Huntzinger responded. "I can tell you, we're not going to do it, sir. What
do we cite them on? There's no law against using the road."
FLORIDA
1/24/2004
http://www.palatkadailynews.com/pages/01242003/tanker.html
Sludge tanker overturns, killing driver
by Kirk Collier
The Palatka Daily News
BARDIN -- A tanker carrying treated sludge overturned on Bardin Road
on Friday afternoon, killing the driver.
Robert, D. Barner, of Middleburg, was driving north on Bardin Road between State Road 100 and Bud's Grocery shortly
after 1 p.m. when witnesses at the scene said the truck went off the road, rolled over and slid to a stop.
The tanker belonged to H & H Liquid Sludge Disposal of Fort White and was carrying treated sludge used for fertilizer,
said Joe Guidry, Putnam County fire marshal. Some of the nonhazardous sludge spilled out of the truck, mostly in the
ditch where the truck came to a rest.
Bardin Road was closed for a short time, then down to one lane until equipment could be brought in to clear the
wreckage. The road was tobe closed for several hours, with drivers being detoured to Springside Shortcut Road,
according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Barner's death was the third traffic fatality in Putnam County since
Jan
CALIFORNIA
From: HShields
To: CHARLOTTE HARTMAN ; CAROLINE SNYDER ; CANADA - MAUREEN REILLY Reilly
Sent: Tuesday, January 28, 2003 9:35 AM
Subject: CALIFORNIA - LOS ANGELES - SLUDGE TRUCK CRASHES - - PEOPLE "DECONTAMINATED" AT THE SCENE
"The truck left a swath of human waste over three-quarters of a mile, he said. "
"Several people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, Gaines said.
Others involved in the crash were "decontaminated" at the scene, he said."
http://www.nbc4.tv/news/1937141/detail.html
Truck Sewage Spill Closes Busy Freeway
Several Taken To Hospital For Minor Injuries
UPDATED: 11:48 a.m. PST January 27, 2003
LOS ANGELES -- Crews are cleaning up a freeway Monday morning after a truck carrying human waste spilled and
caused 13 other vehicles to crash into the sludge, authorities said.

The multi-vehicle pileup occurred about 8:15 p.m. Sunday night on the northbound Harbor (110) Freeway transition lane
to the eastbound Glenn Anderson (105) Freeway, CHP Officer Bruce Gaines said.
Several people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, Gaines said.
Others involved in the crash were "decontaminated" at the scene, he said.
The truck left a swath of human waste over three-quarters of a mile, he said.
The connector between the northbound 110 to the eastbound 105 was closed, as well as the connector from the
southbound 110 to the eastbound 105, while crews cleaned up the mess, he said. The freeway has reopened at about 7:
30 a.m. Monday.
----- Original Message -----
From: "M Reilly" <maureen.reilly@sympatico.ca>
To: <sludgewatch-l@list.web.net>
Sent: Saturday, December 11, 2004 10:25 PM
Subject: Sludge Watch ==> US exports Sewage to Canada??!!
MAINE Friday, December 10, 2004
Sewage sludge spills on way to Canada
ANSON -- A tractor-trailer load of partially treated sewage sludge that
spilled while on its way to Canada on Wednesday was due to be cleaned up
Thursday.
A trailer carrying partially treated sludge from a sewage treatment plant
in Auburn separated from the truck pulling it and spilled, mostly onto a
field off U.S. Route 201A north of Carrabec High School on Wednesday about 9:45
a.m.
Maine State Trooper Joseph Parker said Sylvain Ferland, 49, of Weedon,
Quebec, was driving north when he failed to negotiate a sharp turn at a
location where the road also dipped, according to Parker.
The tractor-trailer jackknifed and cut off a utility pole and the trailer
separated from the rest of the truck and rolled over, according to Parker.
Parker said the company responsible for the sludge, Jean-Guy Perras Inc. of
Quebec was due to return to the scene and clean up the sludge Thursday. It
was not clear, as of late Thursday afternoon, if the sludge had been
completely removed.
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/1208868.shtml
MAINE LETTER TO EDITOR:
http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/view/letters/1220766.shtml
Monday, December 20, 2004
Protocols needed for accident scenes
Copyright ｩ 2004 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
The sewage sludge spill near Carrabec High School in Anson suggests that adoption of accident scene protocols could
enhance public safety when such mishaps occur (Dec. 10).
The value of these protocols was exemplified when a truck spilled a three-quarter mile long swath of human waste along
a freeway in Los Angeles.
That spillage caused a string of collisions involving 13 vehicles. Several people required hospital treatment; others were
promptly decontaminated at the scene by police and emergency medical personnel who applied the protocols.
Contamination of travelers and bystanders in such accidents can occur by direct contact with sewage sludge or by
breathing pathogens discharged into the air. Research by many independent scientists shows that even treated sewage
sludge can harbor human disease organisms.
Perhaps some people would be spared involvement with sewage sludge highway accidents if the trucks were required to
bear signs reading "Caution -- Sewage Sludge."
Russell P. Kaniuka
*************************************************************************
VIRGINIA
http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?
c=MGArticle&cid=1031779831377&pagename=LNA/MGArticle/LNA_BasicArticle
Biosolids truck overturns
Christie Chapman / cchapman@newsadvance.com
December 23, 2004
APPOMATTOX - A tractor-trailer carrying biosolids overturned Wednesday morning, spilling about 22 wet tons of
biosolids and a small amount of fuel along Virginia 616 in Appomattox County.
The driver, who was not injured, was transporting the biosolids to a nearby farm from Gladstone for a biosolids company
called Synagro. Hunter Richardson, a spokesman for Synago, said the material was nonhazardous and that the spill
should not be a risk to residents or to the environment.
Lonny Hamlett, county building official, was on the scene taking photos after the accident happened and said the stench
of the spill was strong.
An official from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality was also on the scene and “he didn’t seem too
concerned,” Hamlett said, noting that the mess had been mostly cleaned up before the DEQ official arrived.
A representative from the DEQ who knew about the accident couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.
Cal Sawyer, director of the wastewater engineering office at the Virginia Department of Health, said a health department
official on the scene was told that the tractor-trailer pulled to the side of the road to avoid hitting a car that had crossed
the center line. He said the truck went off the road and into a ditch.
He said that county government officials and sheriff’s officers were at the scene and that they were concerned about the
fuel spill.
An inspector from Concord-based WEL, a company that performs hazardous waste management, was dispatched to the
scene to survey the accident and report to county officials, Richardson said. Synagro sent its own crew to clean up the
spill, he said.
The accident happened around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday and workers had the spill cleaned up by about 1 p.m.,
Richardson said. The tractor-trailer had been hauling about 22 wet tons of biosolids and spilled almost its entire load in
the accident, he said.
“I know it must have still been dark because the driver of the truck said a car’s headlights got in his eyes and caused
him to swerve and then overcorrect,” Hamlett said.
The rural road wasn’t closed, Hamlett said, although an officer was directing traffic around the accident.
John Spencer, assistant county administrator, said when he arrived, the truck was lying on its side. The biosolids had
been in an open container and some of the sludge spilled in the accident.
“When I left, they had brought in another empty container and were using another truck to scoop it up into the other
container,” Spencer said.
*******************************************************
-PENNSYLVANIA
---- Original Message -----
From: "M Reilly" <maureen.reilly@sympatico.ca>
To: <sludgewatch-l@list.web.net>
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2005 12:07 PM
Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Unreported sludge spill in Pennsylvania
Westmoreland
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/westmoreland/s_332745.html
Crew Cleans up but Odour Lingers....
By Craig Smith
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Firefighters dispatched to a spill on Route 119 near Greensburg Monday
morning thought they were going to clean up fertilizer.
"I'm thinking lime or something like that," said Midway-St. Clair Fire
Chief Bill McCrobie.
The initial call mentioned "unknown substance, maybe fertilizer," he said.
"When we pulled in with the windows down, we knew that's not what it was,"
McCrobie said.
A truck hauling sludge from an unidentified sewage treatment plant spilled
part of its load after swerving to miss a car near the traffic signal at
the entrance to Westmoreland Manor.
No injuries were reported. A state police report on the accident was not
available last night.
"It wasn't real pretty," said one witness who drove past the mess.
Firefighters arrived just before 12:30 p.m. and spent about an hour hosing
off the road. PennDOT laid down anti-skid material, McCrobie said.
"We had some hose to scrub when we got back," he said. "In fact, we'll
probably be scrubbing hose again today."
George Horchak, superintendent of the Greater Greensburg Sewage Authority
plant on Route 119, was on his way back to work from a dentist appointment
when he noticed a distinct aroma.
"I could smell that stuff ... just like a landfill," he said.
McCrobie said it could have been worse.
"At least it wasn't in the middle of July with the humidity up," he said.
MAINE
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/1646878.shtml
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
BENTON Truckload of sludge hits building
By ALAN CROWELL
Staff Writer
Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
BENTON -- Gerald Spencer woke up Monday to a loud "bang" as 30 tons of septic sludge slammed into his storage
building on Route 139.
"It sounded like an atomic bomb going off," said Spencer, who owns Spencer's Trading Post & Discount in Fairfield and
Benton. "What a day. I just put three truckloads of antique furniture in there. They don't know whether that is going to be
salvageable or not."
The day, which featured blowing rain, showed little signs of improving as it progressed. By 1:30 p.m., Spencer had
talked to police, representatives of the Department of Environmental Protection, insurance adjusters and a reporter but
still hadn't been able to eat breakfast.
The dark, smelly substance knocked in the front door and spilled into the structure, which Spencer uses to store
furniture for his own business as well as vintage clothing for his wife's business. Ardria Spencer, Gerald's wife, owns
"Clothes of Yesteryear."
Shoes and other clothing items are probably ruined, Spencer said. He said state environmental officials had warned him
not to enter the building, which he believes will probably have to be torn down.
State Trooper Paul Stewart said the body of the truck apparently came off the frame of the vehicle as it was traveling
east down a straight stretch of Route 139.
The driver of the truck was Kevin Orcutt, 37, of Troy.
The accident is still under investigation, and police say it is not clear what caused the accident.
"The driver said he does not know ... what caused the dump body to come off," Stewart said.
Stewart was on his way to a court hearing at Superior Court in Skowhegan and was wearing a suit and tie when he
responded to the accident. Spencer remarked that Stewart was overdressed for the occasion.
John Mitchell, Department of Environmental Protection sludge and residuals unit manager, said the sludge was from a
sewage facility in Biddeford and was on its way to New England Organic in Unity Plantation, which processes the material
into compost.
Mitchell said New England Organic responded quickly to clean up the material and spread lime on the site to kill any
pathogens.
He said the sludge is not considered hazardous, but could contain pathogens.
"In our experience this is not a situation that calls for any concern for lasting effects," said Mitchell. "It is sewage and you
want to clean sewage up."
STATE OF WASHINGTON
----- Original Message -----
From: <maureen.reilly@sympatico.ca>
To: <Sludgewatch-l@list.web.net>
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 11:59 PM
Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Willett of Yakima: Will trucked sludge spill and stink? - yes
> www.nwnews.com/editions/2004/040119/front1.html
>
> Odor guy: Brightwater won't smell
>
> No-smell assertion met with skepticism
>
> by Jeanette Knutson
> Staff Writer
>
> The question of smell
>
> King County's go-to odor consultant Jay Witherspoon and three Brightwater
> wastewater treatment plant project managers spoke at the Jan. 12
> Woodinville City Council meeting. The gist of their presentation was that
> the $1.35 billion sewage plant proposed for 114 acres just north of
> Woodinville will not smell.
>
> Said Witherspoon, "There will be no detectable odor from Brightwater at
> the property line 24 hours per day, 365 days per year."
>
> He said the skunk, baby-diaper, cabbage, rotten-egg smells often
> associated with sewage plants will be controlled at every step of the
> treatment process. All odor sources will be enclosed. The county will
> integrate best management practices into the design of the system. There
> will be continuous monitoring, alarms to signal failure of odor control
> equipment, a properly trained staff, backup air scrubbers, tarps to cover
> biosolids trucks as they leave the plant. Witherspoon maintains the plant
> will not release detectable odors even in worst-case weather conditions.
>
> City council members queried the odor panel, and citizens who chose to
> speak at the public-comment portion of the council meeting voiced
> skepticism of Witherspoon's bold no-smell-ever assertion.
>
> Jim Willett of Woodinville owns a biosolids hauling company and said he
> has visited some 50 wastewater treatment plants.
>
"They all smell," said Willett. "Odor control that was explained tonight does not exist."
*********************************************************
MAINE
----- Original Message -----
From: "M Reilly" <maureen.reilly@sympatico.ca>
To: <sludgewatch-l@list.web.net>
Sent: Wednesday, June 22, 2005 9:06 PM
Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Truck spill dumps sewage sludge in
wetlands -Augusta MAINE
> Wednesday, June 22, 2005
>
> Investigation: Human waste fell into wetlands
>
> Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
>
> from the Kennebec Journal
>
> AUGUSTA -- An accident investigation has found that about 10,000 pounds of
> sludge from human waste fell into wetlands alongside the Maine Turnpike in
> Augusta on Monday.
>
> The accident occurred around 1:30 p.m. Monday when a tractor-trailer
> hauling the waste from Salem, Mass. to Norridgewock flipped onto its side.
MAINE
from Maureen Reilly - Sludgewatch
ADMIN SLUDGEWATCH:
Now if urban communities took responsibility for their wastes instead of
trucking them out to defenseless rural communities these kind of accidents
wouldn't happen. This kind of material has about 2 million fecal coliform
per gram....lots of room for spread of disease and parasites.
Note this is the second time New England Organics was responsible for a
spill here. Do you think that charges might be laid?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
MAINE
Friday, October 7, 2005
8-mile sludge spill closes Route 139
By JOEL ELLIOTT
Staff Writer from the Morning Sentinel
BENTON -- An undetermined amount of processed human and industrial waste was
spilled across nearly eight miles of roadway between Benton and Unity when
the tailgate failed on a dump trailer Thursday.
Motorists attempting to travel between the towns along Route 139 between the
hours of 7 a.m. and noon had to find a new way. Kennebec County Sheriff's
deputy Scott Cyrway shut down the road while New England Organics employees
came out to clean up the mess.
At least one driver lost control in the slick and ran off the road, but no
injuries were reported, Cyrway said. While Cyrway talked and directed
traffic, NEO employees spread straw across the ditches and sprayed bleach on
the roadway.
This was the second time in less than a year that human waste has spilled
from an NEO truck along the same stretch, according to Kennebec Sanitary
Treatment District Superintendent Timothy J. LeVasseur. While those in his
profession would not call the material spilled 'hazardous,' you wouldn't
want to splash around in the stuff, LeVasseur said.
"Of course, there's always a risk of pathogen bacteria, disease-causing
organisms from warm-blooded animals," he said. "In my world, this is not
called hazardous. I don't want to mislead you. We use that word 'hazardous'
kind of generically."
MAINE – [BIG TRASH TRUCKS HAVE ACCIDENTS, TOO ]
Sent: Friday, December 30, 2005 12:24 PM
Subject: Trash truck overturns in Bangor, Maine
http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=126080
Big trash truck overturns in Bangor
Friday, December 30, 2005 - Bangor Daily News
BANGOR - A television, computer monitor, suitcases, tires, even a couple of kitchen sinks could be seen as city
employees worked Thursday to empty a load of debris from an overturned truck in downtown Bangor.
The truck, owned by K-B Corp. of Hampden, was hauling a load of construction and demolition debris from the
Waterville transfer station to the West Old Town Landfill when its load shifted while going around a turn. The truck rolled
over shortly after 9 a.m. at the intersection of Railroad and Summer streets near the Bangor waterfront.
Bangor fire and police, as well as the Maine State Police, were dispatched to the scene of the accident, which took more
than six hours to clean up. Traffic was diverted for more than an hour in the afternoon while the truck was turned upright.
The Department of Environmental Protection also was called in to make sure nothing was leaking or contaminated.
MAINE – SLUDGE TRUCK ACCIDENT VICTIMS SUE
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/2555719.shtml
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Couple sue over sludge truck accident
By DOUG HARLOW
Staff Writer
Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
BENTON -- What might have sounded like an atomic bomb going off last May when a loaded sewage truck dropped its
contents on Route 139, the Unity Road, is now on its way to court.
Waterville lawyer Louis J. Shiro said he has filed claims on behalf on Gerald and Ardria Spencer, whose land and
buildings on Unity Road were affected by the truck accident that day.
Gerald Spencer, 85, owns Spencer's Trading Post & Discount and his wife Ardria, 83, owns a store called Clothes of
Yesteryear. They say buildings and merchandise were destroyed and must be replaced, according to Shiro.
The Spencers are seeking an as yet undermined settlement against New England Organics of Unity and driver Kevin
Orcutt, then 37, of Troy. Orcutt is charged in the law suit with operating the truck "negligently, recklessly and carelessly."
The law suit alleges the truck was not inspected, maintained or operated properly before, and at the time of the accident.
New England Organics is "an assumed name" of New England Waste Services of Maine, Inc., according to the court
documents filed at Kennebec County Superior Court in Augusta. The companies are divisions of Casella Waste Systems
Inc.
New England Organics also distributes lime mud and lime cake to farmers in area towns, including neighboring Clinton,
for use as fertilizer by farmers.
"Their insurance (company) is saying the building can be repaired," Shiro said Monday. "The Spencers are saying the
building is a total loss and has to be torn down."
MICHIGAN
"That would certainly be a relief to residents and drivers like those along Will Carleton Road in Huron Township, where a
Canadian truck spilled sewage Thursday near I-275 and kept part of the road closed well into Friday. This is at least the
second such incident -- Flat Rock suffered through a sludge spill last year -- and points to increasing health concerns
from trucking so much waste so far."
Sent: Sunday, March 26, 2006 2:06 PM
Subject: Detroit Free Press: State needs to know safety risks of imported trash
Detroit Free Press
Risky Garbage
State needs to know safety risks of imported trash
March 6, 2006
It is unconscionable that the Department of Homeland Security has studied Canadian waste coming into Michigan but
won't release its report.
MASSACHUSETTS – TRASH TRUCK = RADIOACTIVE MEDICAL WASTE – SEWAGE SLUDGE ALSO CONTAINS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=125270
Metrowest Daily News
Toxic truck still at Casella
By John Hilliard/ Daily News Staff
Friday, March 24, 2006
HOLLISTON -- For some residents, it has been an interloper that will not go away -- a trash truck loaded with radioactive
waste and parked for days at Casella's Washington Street station.
"If it's not safe to be transported on our highways, it shouldn't be in Holliston," said neighbor Andy Bell.
Casella Regional Vice President Michael Wall said the company is trying to keep the stuff out of their operation.
"We're putting our haulers on notice that this material is not acceptable," said Wall. "We don't want it at the facility."
The load of trash laced with low-level radioactive waste was first discovered inside a truck attempting to leave Casella
Waste System's station on Monday. The state Department of Public Health ordered the material kept at the facility until
at least this morning.
Board of Health Chairman Richard Maccagnano said the radiation does not threaten people, but levels have been too
high for the material to be removed from the facility.
Town officials think the material could be medical waste.
MAINE
(SPILL OF PAPER MILL SLUDGE)
Wednesday, April 9, 2003
>
> Lime mud spill closes U.S. Route 2
>
>
>
> By ALAN CROWELL, Staff Writer
>
> Copyright © 2002 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
SKOWHEGAN — Firefighters closed a busy five-mile stretch of U.S. Route 2 for
four hours Tuesday morning after a caustic material leaked from a tractor-trailer.
The lime mud originated at the Lincoln Pulp and Paper Co. mill in Lincoln,
according to emergency workers. About 4,000 pounds leaked from a truck
with an improperly secured tailgate mostly along U.S. Route 2 as the truck
drove from Prospect to the Crossroads Landfill in Norridgewock.
MASSACHUSETTS
From: <maureen.reilly@sympatico.ca>
To: <Sludgewatch-l@list.web.net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 1:38 PM
Subject: Sludge Watch ==> Quincy Mass - residents object to emergency
plansto truck sludge / pellets
>
> Sludgewatch Admin:
> the residents near this sewage sludge pelleting plant sure seem upset and
> suspicious of this plant.
>
>
>
>
> http://www.patriotledger.com/articles/2006/04/25/news/news01.txt
>
> //////////////////////////////////
>
> Sludge hits fan over MWRA plan:
> Agency defends arrangement to truck out waste in case of emergency at Fore
> River pellet plant
>
> By CHRISTOPHER WALKER
> The Patriot Ledger
>
> QUINCY - The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority apologized for not
> keeping Quincy officials and residents better informed, but stood by its
> plan to use trucks instead of trains to get rid of excess solid waste in
> case of an emergency at its sludge pellet plant at the Fore River
> shipyard.
>
> ''We assumed that because we knew about this for some time, that everybody
> else knew,'' MWRA Executive Director Frederick Laskey told city councilors
> last night. ''We should have been thorough in our educating of the city
> and the people in the neighborhood about the situation. It would have been
> a lot easier to explain what it would mean, and what it wouldn't mean.''
>
> Laskey was flanked by several other MWRA officials at a hearing of the
> council's oversight committee, which was called amid sharp criticism from
> city hall for the agency's handling of a new back-up plan at the pellet
> site. The plan took effect this month.
>
> With the approval of a federal judge in charge of the Boston Harbor
> cleanup, the agency cut ties with a Utah landfill contracted to receive
> sludge via train in case of an emergency that shuts down the pellet plant.
>
> The new arrangement calls for excess sludge to be shipped to any one of five landfills by truck, a strategy that
prompted city officials to raise
concerns about convoys of sludge-carrying trucks rumbling through the city.
ILLINOIS
Published: April 26, 2006
Local News
Three injured in sludge-spill crash on Bypass 20
By Pat Cunningham
ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR
Three people were injured, apparently none seriously, in a traffic accident this morning caused by spillage from a truck
hauling sludge for the Rock River Water Reclamation District on the U.S. 20 Bypass near Illinois 2 south of Rockford.
The injured were taken to area hospitals for treatment.
Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Henry Wilson said two vehicles collided
when one of them lost traction in a westbound lane on U.S. 20, which had become like "a sheet of ice" from the spilled
sludge.
Wilson said the mess was expected to have been cleared by 9 a.m.
Staff writer Pat Cunningham can be reached at 815-987-1376 or at
pcunningham@rrstar.com.
*************************************************************
FLORIDA
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060429/NEWS/604290694/1006/SPORTS
Port Charlotte truck overtuns, spills sludge
By KRISTEN KRIDEL
kristen.kridel@heraldtribune.com
PORT CHARLOTTE -- A septic tanker truck overturned Friday, spilling 100 to 150 gallons of sewage along Old Landfill
Road.
Driver Todd Mciver, 31, was injured and had to be extricated from the cab, according to a Sheriff's Office press release.
He was flown to Lee Memorial Hospital.
The right side of the truck went off the road, which is lined by a 5-foot-deep ditch, said Florida Highway Patrol Sgt.
Herbert Head. Skid lines running at least 150 feet marked the driver's attempt to get all the wheels back on the road.
"He wasn't able to pull it back up before it overturned," Head said. "Now we're left with a stinky mess."
The wreck was the result of driver error, Head said.
Trooper Jennifer Drake said several charges will be filed against Mciver. FHP did not release details Friday evening.
MASSACHUSETTS – TRASH TRUCKS DRIP NOXIOUS WASTES ON ROADS – SEWAGE SLUDGE TRUCKS ARE
NOTORIOUS FOR DROPPING WASTES ON ROADS . . . .
Sent: Saturday, April 29, 2006 5:59 AM
Subject: Holliston police may go after dripping trucks
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=128592&format=text
MetroWest Daily News
April 28, 2006
Police may nab truck drippers
By John Hilliard/ Daily News Staff
Friday, April 28, 2006 - Updated: 01:33 AM EST
HOLLISTON -- The Planning Board may call on police to ticket Casella trash trucks for illegal "organic drippings" on
public roadways and force the waste hauler to mop up its own slippery mess.
"Casella’s obligation should be to wash the streets of this drippage," board Vice Chairman Geoffrey Zeamer said at last
night’s meeting. "The pavement is notably darkened in the summer, and when it rains, it becomes slippery."
Zeamer’s concerns were echoed by fellow board members.
"To me, if it’s dripping enough to create road hazards," said member Eric Maki, "I think it’s a nuisance."