DuPont bought about 108 acres on Cherry Island in 1958. The land is old dredge spoils from the Delaware River. The area in question is called the Hay Street Sludge Drying Site, Cherry Island-Iron Rich Staging Area. It is a 22-acre parcel, with the Iron Rich pile covering 15.9 acres.
The title "Iron Rich" was given to this waste material by duPont. They sold some of it as soil cover for the Delaware Solid Waste Authority landfill on Cherry Island. This waste pile was stockpiled from 1997 to 2001 and sits on top of 30 to 40 feet of dredge spoils.
When the true nature of the waste pile became known, duPont agreed to a Consent Order lodged with the Superior Court of Delaware on November 2, 2001. This mandated that duPont enter into a DNREC Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) "to close in place the Iron Rich staging area." Thus, it appears from the start that DNREC gave its blessing to a plan to simply cover the waste. As a result, duPont devised a plan to cover the 15.9-acre pile with a polyethylene geomembrane, cover that with a foot of dirt, then six inches of topsoil, planted with grass.
The purpose of the membrane is to keep the waste pile dry. Rainwater would be drained off to a storm water retention area. There would be a groundwater monitoring program. There would be deed restrictions for groundwater and land use. There would be an evaluation of the pile after five years. Sounds nice, right?
So why are citizens so upset? What is in the 500,000 tons of solid waste? Let us begin with a group of chemical compounds called dioxins. There are 210 compounds in this group, some toxic and some not. One source claims that only 17 of these compounds are toxic. The most deadly dioxin compound is 2,3,7,8-TCDD, or often just referred to as TCDD. The amount of dioxins present in a ton of waste is very small and duPont estimates that the total waste pile contains from 294 to 363 pounds of dioxins.
The waste also contains radioactive elements such as uranium, thorium and radium. They add up to only 100 parts per million, but amount to 50 tons in the 500,000-ton pile.
Other contaminants of concern are hexachlorobenzene and PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyls), arsenic, mercury, cadmium, chromium and lead.
DuPont claims that all of these dangerous ingredients are present at such low concentrations that their proposed plan is the best and safest solution. It is also the cheapest!
The waste now being produced at the Edgemoor plant is now shipped by truck to a landfill in South Carolina. However, that waste is not classified as "hazardous waste" as is the Iron Rich pile. It would cost more money to ship to a landfill with a license to accept hazardous waste.
I have a better plan. The waste is 23.4% iron and 2.8% manganese. Why not ship this waste to a steel mill where 26.2% of the material could be converted to steel? The high temperatures used would destroy the dioxin and PCB compounds. In fact, why not load the Iron Rich onto barges for a short trip north to the Citisteel Plant in Claymont? They could fire up one of the furnaces to do the job. That might cost less and be a better solution than the duPont plan.
There are other concerns about the proposed "cover-up" plan. DuPont claims that the geomembrane will last 240 to more than 540 years. Excuse me, but how can they claim that? I’d be amazed if it would last for 50 years. Then there is the problem that there is no liner under the pile, nothing but sandy dredge spoils. I am also concerned that the pile sits next to the Delaware River and that waste leaching into the river would face no barrier.
And what of the future? DuPont proposes to leave this covered waste pile on the edge of the Delaware River forever. Who will monitor this waste pile in 100 years? Will duPont still exist then? How about 200 years from now, who will guarantee that the deed restrictions added in 2005 are still enforced? This state is presently dotted with Superfund Sites, land declared off limits forever, such as the Metachem site near Delaware City. Given the size of Delaware, predicted to shrink with increases in sea level, this state will hold the title "Most Unlivable Landmass" at some future point.
We face a tough challenge at this point. Since DNREC has given its blessing to duPont’s "cover-up" plan, we must now convince them to withdraw from "Plan A" and insist on "Plan B," sending it to a safe, licensed landfill for hazardous waste or sending it to a steel mill.
Timing is now critical! Share your thoughts immediately with Gov. Minner. Call her at 1-800-929-9570. The e-mail option is Leeann.walling@state.de.us or you can FAX: 577-3118.
It is time for Delaware to change its motto from "Be Kind to Business" to "Think of Our Future." Do this for future generations! Thank you.