STATE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT STATE OF TH
NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT STATE OF THE NEIGHBORHOO
REPORT STATE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT STAT
OF
THE
NEIGHBORHOOD
REPORT
STATE
OF
TH
NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT STATE OF THE NEIGHBORHOO
REPORT STATE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT STAT
OF
THE
NEIGHBORHOOD
REPORT
The Esperanza Environmental Justice Project’s
STATE
OF
100 YEARS OF SOLID WASTE:
TH
A State of the Neighborhood Report
from Martinez, Texas
NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT STATE OF THE NEIGHBORHOO
Enrique Valdivia
Filmona Hailemichael
REPORT STATE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT STAT
OF
THE
NEIGHBORHOOD
REPORT
STATE
OF
TH
MARTINEZ
A DESPERATE STRUGGLE_
100 YEARS OF SOLID WASTE:
A State of the Neighborhood Report
from Martinez, Texas
Enrique Valdivia
Filmona Hailemichael
One morning Dorothy Schneider walked
to her back fence to check on her
neighbor’s newborn calf. “I saw the cow
was fighting the buzzards. Those buzzards
wanted to eat her calf. Poor thing broke it’s
leg trying to get away!” The sight of
vultures in her backyard was all too
familiar to Dorothy. The desperate struggle
For their hard work and encouragement, special
thanks to Colette Walls, Father O’Brien and the
Parishoners of St. Jerome’s Church.
beautiful park on the site. Four years later
BFI received permission to expand to
265 acres. In 1997 BFI expanded again.
This time the company obtained a permit
to pile the garbage higher, up to 756 feet.
Finally, in January 1999 BFI applied for a
permit to expand laterally to 929 acres and
add another 49 feet to the height of the
garbage dump. If granted, this permit will
more than triple the capacity of the dump,
allowing BFI to continue burying garbage
at Tessman Road for another 57 years.
In the summer of 1999 the folks
of Martinez and the surrounding communities of China Grove and Gardendale
decided to organize. They formed the
determine whether BFI would get it’s permit. A MEG member with a talent for web
publishing created a webpage chronicling
the group’s activities and providing information about landfills and BFI.
Homemade billboards, always a favorite
Stop BFI Dump sign on FM 1516
Dorothy Schneider with her grandson, Mark Zigmond
she witnessed that day was just one battle
in her town’s 20 year war against the
nearby Tessman Road landfill.
Dorothy and her husband Bob
moved to Martinez Texas expecting to
spend the rest of their lives enjoying
the quiet rhythms of rural life. All that
changed after 1981 when Browning Ferris
Industries obtained a permit to build and
operate a landfill less than a mile from the
Schneider’s property. The original landfill
was 159 acres. BFI officials told people
it would remain open for 20 years after
which the community would be left with a
MEG Meeting at St. Jeromes Church
Martinez Environmental Group (MEG)
which quickly grew to over 600 members.
They hired a lawyer and were granted party
status in the administrative proceeding
before the Texas Natural Resources
Conservation Commission (TNRCC) to
way of expressing one’s opinion in
Martinez, advertised MEG’s opposition to
further expansion if the dump.
In Martinez the dump is considered
a monstrosity poised to swallow up the
community. As the dump grows so do the
numbers of buzzards, large rats, and flies
attracted to the garbage. Foul odors blanket
the neighborhood early in the morning.
Trash blown off the landfill ends up along
the roadside or dangling from trees
and fences. Land values have fallen. And
families who have lived in the area for
generations are moving away.
MARTINEZ COMMUNITY HEALTH SURVEY RESULTS
ºLANDFILL GASES AND CANCER
Bob Schneider noticed the dump seemed
to take a toll on people’s health as well. “I
can’t prove what’s causing all this sickness
and death around here. Personally I think
the dump has a lot to do with it. I can
name a whole list of my friends that are
dead or are dying of cancer. Right here, in
this area. I’m not talking miles away. It
seems awful strange that so many people in
Bob Schneider at his pickup truck
one small area close to the dump have
cancer. Lots of them are dead already.”
Mr. Schneider’s hunch may not be so
far fetched. The decomposition of waste
inside a landfill produces substances which
can endanger human health if not properly
controlled. Two such byproducts, methane
and carbon dioxide gas, build pressure
inside a landfill as they form, forcing some
of the gases through the surrounding
garbage and topsoil. As the gases move
they carry along with them toxic chemicals
such as paint thinner, solvents, pesticides
and other volatile organic compounds
(VOCs). Many of these VOCs are known
carcinogens. Thus, people living close to
a landfill may be exposed to hazardous
cancer causing chemicals which move with
drifting landfill gases.
A study by the New York State
Department of Health reports that women
living near solid waste landfills have a
four-fold increased chance of bladder
cancer or leukemia.1 A Canadian study
found significant incidences of two types of
cancer in women and four types in men.2
(November 1995) The results for women
showed excessive rates of stomach cancer
and cancer of the cervix uteri. The men had
rates higher than expected in cancer of
the stomach, liver, intrahepatic bile ducts,
trachea, bronchus, lung and prostate.
Another Canadian study, found that
women who lived near landfills tended to
have smaller and lower birth weight babies
than women who lived elsewhere.3
This study found a significant excess of
between 11 and 20% in low birth weight
and between 8 and 13% in “small for
gestational age” newborns among mothers
who, at the time of delivery, were residing
in an area near the landfill. These findings
indicate that as many as 185 additional
low birth weight babies were born in the
high exposure areas over the 11 year period
of study.
MARTINEZ COMMUNITY
HEALTH SURVEY
In the Fall of 1999, the Esperanza
Environmental Justice Project conducted a
community health survey in the Martinez
area. While the survey does not purport
to show a causal link between the incidence
of cancer and exposure to landfill gas,
the results corroborate the perceptions
of many in the Martinez community like
Bob Schneider.
The households surveyed were made
up of 88 individuals, 66 adults and 22 children. The average household contained
3.93 persons with the longest household
having 5 adults and 4 children living in this
residence. The neighborhood appears to be
relatively stable in that the average length
of residence was 22.8 years.
Among those who responded when
asked whether someone in their immediate
family had suffered from some form of
cancer, 35.7% answered yes. When asked
Types of cancer identified by the
Esperanza’s Martinez survey:
Cancer Type
Breast
Lymphoma
Brain
Cervical
Lung
Lung aquamous cell
Melanoma
Pancreas
Prostate
Small bowel adenocercinoma
Thyroid
Count
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
to include family members who had
already died the percentage of those who
reported having cancer in the family
increased to 45.5%. Among those who
responded to the question about whether
or not anyone in their family had died from
cancer 25% answered yes. Among female
respondents 25% said they had cancer but
did not indicate the type of cancer.
The survey did not inquire into
incidences of low birth weight babies. On
the other hand, the survey did have questions regarding numerous other illnesses
and symptoms including birth defects and
pregnancy complications. Although no
birth defects were reported in any of the
surveyed families, 17.9% of the respondents indicated someone in the household
had experienced pregnancy complications.
Other Illnesses and Symptoms:
Illness/Symptom
Asthma
Diabetes
Cancer
Bronchitis
Liver Problems
Kidney Problems
Lung Cancer
Headaches
Respiratory
Eye Irritation
Blurred Vision
Chronic Cough
Breathing/Nasal
Birth Defects
Pregnancy Complications
Rash/Warts
Immune Deficiency Disorder
Bone/Joint Problems
Nose Bleeds
Percent
7.1%
14.3%
35.7%
50%
7.1%
3.6%
3.6%
53.6%
53.6%
50%
21.4%
25%
46.4%
0%
17.9%
28.6%
21.4%
35.7%
17.9%
and state laws and regulations requiring
landfill gas monitoring and control do not
directly address the issue of contaminants
migrating with landfill gas.4 Their purpose
instead is to ensure that the concentration
of methane gas generated by the facility
does not exceed 25 percent of the lower
explosive limit (LEL) thereby reducing the
risk of explosions.
At the Tessman Road landfill,
methane is collected and routed to a
flare where it is burned. BFI latest permit
application includes plans to place
U.S. METHANE EMISSIONS
From Principal Anthropogenic Sources (1996)
Coal
Mining
10.5%
Natural Gas
and Oil
Systems
20.1%
Livestock
Manure
9.3%
Other
4.5%
MONITORING METHANE
Landfills are the leading man-made source
of methane gas. Yet, whether landfill gas
emanating from the Tessman Road landfill
poses a cancer risk to humans is not
currently being studied. Moreover, federal
Domesticated
Livestock
19.2%
Source: U.S. EPA Inventory, 1998
Landfills
36.4%
RESOURCE INFORMATION
A LANDFILL’S LEGACY
A few folks from Gardendale like to gather
every “Blue Monday” at Chillie Willie’s
Mustang Lounge. They share stories, eat
barbeque and speculate about the future
of their community. If BFI gets it’s permit
the landfill will expand to within a few
yards of where they now sit. They wonder
if they will ever see the beautiful park BFI
promised years ago.
Dolores “Shorty” Hill with friends at Chillie Willie’s
Mustang Lounge
In fact the dump may remain a
problem long after BFI stops burying waste
there. Although landfills are designed to
protect the public and the environment,
modern “containment” methods may have
the unintended effect of prolonging the
threat posed by landfill gases.6 How fast
waste decomposes depends upon the type
of waste and conditions inside the landfill.
After a lined landfill stops accepting waste
it must be sealed with an impermeable
cover that prevents water and oxygen
from mixing with the waste.7 This can slow
or stop the processes which produce
landfill gas until water and oxygen are
reintroduced to the undecomposed waste
remaining in the landfill.
Original land level
Current landfill level at 756 feet
▼
methane detection probes along the outer
edge of the expanded dump. BFI’s methane
monitoring system will not detect other
contaminants like VOCs which may also
be coming from the dump.5
▼
BFI Tessman Road Landfill, AKA Mt. Trashmore
After closing the Tessman Road
landfill, perhaps 57 years from now, BFI
will be required to maintain the top cover
and bottom liner and monitor gas for
another 30 years.8 After that BFI’s duty
ends. Without maintenance, cracks can
form in the top liner allowing oxygen and
water to reenter the landfill. Once that
happens landfill gases may once again seep
through the soil. And a hundred years from
now the Martinez community may still be
struggling to protect itself from the dump
on Tessman Road.
Notes
1. State of New York Department of Health,
Investigation of Cancer Incidence and Residence Near
38 Landfills with Soil Gas Migration Conditions, New
York State, 1980–1989 (Atlanta, Ga: Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, June, 1998)
2. M.S. Goldberg, Al-Homsi, Goulet, Riberdy,
“Incidence of cancer among persons living near a
municipal solid waste landfill site in Montreal,
Quebec,” Archives of Environmental Health Vol. 50,
No. 6
3. M.S. Goldberg, Goulet, Riberdy and Bonvalot,
“Low birth weight and preterm births among infants
born to women living near a municipal solid waste
landfill site in Montreal, Quebec,” Environmental
Research, Vol. 69, No. 1 (April 1995).
4. See Resource Conservation and Recovery Act,
Subtitle D regulations 40 CFR §258.23, and Texas
regulations 30 TAC §330.130
5. Attachment 14 Landfill Gas Management Plan
TNRCC Permit No. 1410-C
6. Friends of the Earth Citizen’s Guide to Municipal
Landfills, Chapter 2, “The Decomposition of Waste:
Understanding Biological and Chemical Processes in
Landfills,” www.foe.org/ptp/chapter2.html
7. 30 TAC §330.253(b)(1)
8. 30 TAC §330.254(b)(1)
Esperanza Environmental Justice Project
P.O. Box 5616
San Antonio, Texas 78201
Tel: (210) 732-7262
Fax: (210) 222-2478
www.esperanzacenter.org
Martinez Environmental Group
P.O. Box 201777
San Antonio, Texas 78220-1777
www.stopbfi.com
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Solid Waste
Toll Free Hotline: (800) 424-9346
Metropolitan DC & international Tel:
(703) 412-9810
TDD Toll Free: (800) 553-7672
Metropolitan DC & international
TDD Tel: (703) 412-3323
www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/index.htm
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region 6 (NM, TX, OK, AR, LA)
Solid Waste Programs
1445 Ross Avenue
Mail Code 6PD-U
Dallas, Texas 75202
Toll Free: 800-887-6063
www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6pd/
pd-u-sw/contact.htm
Texas Natural Resources Conservation
Commission
Office of Permitting, Remediation
& Registration
P.O. Box 13087
Austin, TX 78711-3087
Tel: (512) 239-2104
Fax: (512) 239-5151
www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/admin/directory/
phone/permit.html#permit
Texas Natural Resources Conservation
Commission Region 13
140 Heimer Rd., Suite 360
San Antonio, TX 78232-5042
Tel: (210) 490-3096
Fax: (210) 545-4329
www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/admin/directory/
region/reglist.html#13
Alamo Area Council of Governments
118 Broadway, Suite 400
San Antonio, Texas 78205-5937
Tel: (210) 362-5220
Fax: (210) 225-5937
email: mail@aacog.dst.tx.us
Solid Waste Management Information
www.aacog.dst.tx.us/nr2/wwwroot2/
solidwaste.htm
Texas Find Your Incumbent System
Contact information on elected officials
www.capitol.state.tx.us/fyi/fyi.htm
Although the information in this document has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
under an assistance agreement, it has not been submitted to the Agency’s publications review process and therefore, may not reflect the
view of the Agency and no official endorsement should be inferred. Activities completed under the assistance agreement are for outreach
and demonstration purposes only. Data collection and environmental related measurements are not conducted in accordance with EPA
Quality Assurance requirements.
© 2000 Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, San Antonio, Texas
Design: David Cabrera, Production Assistant: Sarah Moore, Printing: Morton Printers, San Antonio, Texas
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