Sludge Watch ==> Hinkley - proposed sludge compost site to release toxic gases, toxic particulate

[Maureen Reilly]

http://www.desertdispatch.com/opinion/waste_1743___article.html/hinkley_facility.html

October 21, 2007 - 10:33AM
Letters to the editor, October 22, 2007

Reminders about the dangers of the composting facility

This “facility” will bring in eight jobs, yes eight as in less than 10. Most 
of the jobs are filled by the employees from the closed Adelanto Facility. 
This “facility” will also bring in 400,000 tons of others people’s waste. 
This will be 87 trucks a day, or about one every eight minutes, 365 days a 
year.

These trucks of sludge will dump their “peanut butter”-like material on the 
ground. This sludge must be mixed within four hours with dry wood waste into 
long piles. These piles will be 30 feet wide, 12 feet high and 1000 feet 
long. They need to dry out the muck, and will turn and mix the piles to kill 
the pathogens. While drying out, the piles will release 357 tons of 
dangerous gases every year.

Large amounts of dust will be produced while mixing and turning. That dust 
and gas will be carried downwind to Hinkley and Barstow. The approved site 
has the 4th highest wind in California. (11 mph/day average) The wind is 
consistently blowing towards Hinkley and Barstow.

Sludge is a dangerous mix of more than just human and household waste. 
Medical waste, industrial waste, roadway runoff and all sewer waste is 
included. Antibacterial, flame retardants, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, 
pesticides and more.

Lots of the chemicals and metals do not decompose, just get concentrated and 
blow. All these potential problems can be reduced with cost-effective 
enclosure. Most areas require enclosure to protect their citizens and air 
quality.

These sludge companies make very large profits, potentially $30 million-plus 
in Hinkley. Air quality, water quality and human health can be affected.

This is the same company, process and employees as in Adelanto, with history 
of many problems. The Adelanto site was much smaller and less windy than 
site proposed for Hinkley. The City of Adelanto spent four years and 
thousands of dollars to run them out.

This is all my opinion, but I do not think we are being treated equally or 
reasonably. We should not have to be the open sewer for Southern California.

D. Norman Diaz
Hinkley