Second Cache Of Toxic Waste Discovered On Federal Lands 8 Barrels Of Cyanides, Heavy Metals Could Cost $25,000 To Clean Up
For a second time this year, taxpayers have been stuck with the cost of removing barrels of toxic waste dumped on federal land in North Idaho.
The latest disposal bills could add up to $25,000, said David Fortier, hazardous materials coordinator for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. That’s what it could cost to deal with eight barrels found on bureau land north of Wallace in March.
The barrels’ contents include cyanides and heavy metals in sludge. Similar poisons were contained in nine barrels found in February on national forest land east of Coeur d’Alene.
Such chemicals are used in metals plating or for removing gold and silver from ore.
The two sets of barrels appear to come from the same source, said Forest Service special agent Jerry Moore.
But “I still don’t know who dumped them,” he said.
Investigators believe more barrels might be found, according to Fortier.
In neither incident did much waste material appear to leak onto the ground. Test results on the national forest soil aren’t back, Moore said.
The Bureau of Land Management will take soil samples, too, Fortier said.
“One barrel was only partially filled,” he said. “Now we’re down to this game of whether it leaked or if it was only partially filled to begin with.”
Such games are expensive.
“It’s a heck of a lot cheaper to dispose of this stuff properly if you know what you have to deal with,” said John Sutherland of the Idaho Division of Environmental Quality. “If we don’t know, we have to do a full-blown waste characterization. If you are dealing with known chemicals and they’re properly labeled, you just need confirmatory tests.”
If toxic waste leaks into the environment, cleanup costs can soar, Sutherland said.
Olympus Environmental Inc. was hired to help handle the barrels in both Idaho cases. Chris Guntert, manager of the company’s Spokane office, said proper disposal of a 55-gallon drum costs $150 to $1,000, depending on its contents.
In addition, he said, treatment, disposal and storage facilities charge an average of $250 to test the contents and say whether they will accept the waste.
Most companies legally dispose of their waste, Guntert said, but “some people look for an easy way out.”
Sometimes, he said, a company will get a bargain rate for disposal from someone who takes the waste and dumps it along a road.
Safety precautions, such as the use of breathing devices, are another reason that cleanup costs jump when the substance is unknown.
“We have to treat it as a worst-case scenario until we know it’s not,” said Bill Schwartz, director of disaster services for Kootenai County.
People who see a barrel-laden vehicle heading into the woods should report it to law enforcement officials, Schwartz said.
Anonymous calls led both federal agencies to the barrels on their land.
The barrels on BLM land were found on the south side of Dobson Pass in the Nine Mile Creek drainage. They were sent to an Arkansas incinerator.
The other barrels, found near Fernan Lake, were sent to a Seattle disposal facility.
Under federal law, a person convicted of unauthorized treatment or disposal of toxic chemicals can face up to 15 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
xxxx Penalty Under federal law, a person convicted of unauthorized treatment or disposal of toxic chemicals can face up to 15 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.