Emergency Order issued for trash mound near Okatie. People in “imminent and substantial danger”
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control has issued an Emergency Order for the ongoing fire at a towering trash pile in Ridgeland. The health of nearby residents and the environment are in “imminent and substantial danger,” the order said. The agency advised neighbors to stay indoors with windows closed.
The owner of the trash pile, located near many houses and businesses as well as “vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and children,” was allowed to continue accepting new debris at the site until late Wednesday. For more than a week, DHEC monitors located near the site continuously detected air quality levels considered hazardous and toxic.
The state has received complaints from neighbors about the smoke, smell and potential health risks since June 3, but DHEC regularly told residents and the media that the particulate levels at the site did not exceed the 24-hour health-based standard for fine particulate matter established by the EPA.
According to online information from the EPA, the health standard for 24-hour particle pollution exposure is 35 µg/m3. The levels at the site of the trash pile have been as high as 565 µg/m3 — more than double the range for air quality considered “hazardous.” Particle pollution levels are labeled as Good, Moderate, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy and Hazardous. Exposure to greater than or equal to 250.5 ug/m3 is hazardous.
The elevated levels, first reported by The Island Packet on Tuesday, now constitute an emergency requiring immediate action, according to DHEC.
On Thursday, DHEC officials reported that “sensors are measuring very small diameter particulate matter (2.5 microns in diameter).” That level “is consistent with the size of particles in smoke,” they said.
Daytime levels of the particles are “similar to what we typically see,” the agency wrote. “However, during some nights when the smoke generated hugs the ground in the immediate area around the fire, the concentrations of particulate matter spikes. The high spikes are, on some days, putting the 24-hour average numbers used to generate an air quality index in the unhealthy for sensitive groups or unhealthy ranges.”
The agency has ordered Chandler Lloyd and Able Contracting to immediately stop all operations at the trash pile not related to extinguishing the fire. Lloyd is also required to hire a contracting company within 48 hours to extinguish the fire. A plan must be set in place to eliminate the fire within 72 hours.
When The Island Packet asked DHEC Thursday whether residents should stay in the area, Tommy Crosby, the agency’s director of media relations, said he would call back later.
Reporters from The Island Packet went door to door Thursday and talked to people in the area. Residents, including a pregnant woman, say the smoke billows into their homes at night and they have nowhere else to go.
“The Department is working closely with the residents and businesses closest to the facility to ensure they are aware of potential health impacts and find solutions to minimize exposure,” said Myra Reece, DHEC’s environmental affairs director. “DHEC issued an Emergency Order due to continued elevated air quality monitoring results along with the company’s failure to provide an adequate fire suppression plan to deal with the current fire at the facility.”
The agency advises people living in the general area to “follow the same precautions that we would provide for wildfire smoke:
- Stay indoors with windows closed;
- Run air conditioner with the fresh air intake closed;
- Avoid strenuous outdoor activities during times when smoke odor is noticeable.”
This story was originally published August 1, 2019 at 2:27 PM.
