Stinky Gas From NJ Landfill Shuts Down Hudson County Soccer Field

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — Authorities evacuated 160 children from a soccer field near a landfill in Hudson County earlier this week. The culprit? Stomach-churning hydrogen sulfide gas, a New Jersey law firm says.

On Monday evening, Kearny Mayor Al Santos ordered an evacuation of Harvey Field due to allegedly high levels of hydrogen sulfide gas coming from nearby Keegan Landfill. About 160 children were practicing on the field, which hosts local youth soccer games, the law firm of Williams Cedar reported.

Levels of the gas — which smells like rotten eggs — reached around 75 parts per billion on the field, and on Saturday and the previous Tuesday, exceeded the state threshold of 30 parts per billion, Williams Cedar stated.

A Kearny resident and mother wrote about the smell on Twitter, tagging Gov. Phil Murphy:

“I am sure you have heard about the toxicity being emitted from Keegan Landfill. Last night the smell at Harvey field was nauseating. My 9-year-old has soccer practice there. We were rushed off of the field because the levels were high.”

The complex reopened Tuesday, NJ.com reported.

The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) has owned and operated the landfill since 2010, and has seen ongoing complaints from people living nearby.

"We’ve had to cancel barbecues in the summertime because of the smell," a fed up resident told NJTV News earlier this year.

The NJSEA previously reached an administrative consent order with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to create a continuous monitoring system to detect hydrogen sulfide emissions from Keegan Landfill. The NJSEA has also agreed to construct a temporary gas collection and control system until a more permanent system can be built.

• See related article: Hudson County Landfill Is About To Get Extra Stinky, NJDEP Says

On Wednesday, a NJSEA spokesperson told Patch the agency started operating its new gas collection system on Sept. 5, but the system is in a “shakedown” period which may take another two weeks to complete. After that date, the system should work as expected.

“The NJSEA has been working expeditiously to combat this odor problem in order to provide relief and a solution for affected area residents,” the spokesperson said.

“Increased odors have been an issue at landfills across the region and the state, and the installation or expansion of gas collection and control systems has proven to be a successful engineering solution,” he added. “A properly designed, implemented and maintained landfill gas collection and control system, such as the system at the Keegan Landfill, is considered the best engineering practice to address the situation.”

Local protest about the landfill continues, however, despite the NJSEA’s assurances.

“While the NJSEA insists that the gas collection system will be the solution to keeping the landfill emissions under control, it may take time to regulate the air,” Williams Cedar wrote. “Until that time if the emissions do not dissipate, individuals who become exposed to the hazardous air may develop health conditions such as headaches, nausea, and eye, nose and throat issues.”

In April, town officials demanded that the landfill be closed permanently and filed a lawsuit against the NJSEA. State senators from Hudson County and county freeholders have also introduced measures to urge the closing of the landfill.

As of Wednesday, an online petition to close the landfill has gathered more than 5,000 signatures.

STINKY GAS: HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

According to the NJDEP, the state uses a "conservative" hydrogen sulfide regulatory threshold of 30 parts per billion, averaged over a 30-minute period as measured at or beyond a landfill property line.

Exposure to low concentrations of hydrogen sulfide in excess of the state's standard has the potential to cause eye, nose, or throat irritation, headaches, and nausea. It may also cause difficulty breathing for some individuals with respiratory problems, such as asthmatics, officials said.

The exact amount of hydrogen sulfide wafting from the landfill isn't easy to pin down, state officials said.

According to the NJDEP:

"Between May 15 and July 22, 2019, the average of hydrogen sulfide emissions from Keegan Landfill were between 0.96 ppb and 3.30 ppb, below the regulatory standard of 30 ppb over 30 minutes and below the Minimal Risk Levels observed by the New Jersey Department of Health, which means that the levels of hydrogen sulfide recorded to date are not known to cause adverse health effects. However, exceedances of the 30-minute, 30 ppb regulatory standard were detected on multiple occasions between 30.3 ppb and 828 ppb."

Kearny town officials have disputed some of the DEP’s statements about the landfill.

“This is not a conservative standard,” officials stated in July, referring to the DEP’s statement about the regulatory threshold in New Jersey. “It’s a human-protective minimum. 30 ppb of H2S is the threshold for health symptoms, such as headaches and nausea, resulting from brief exposure periods. In addition, epidemiological data show that levels above 30 ppb may be associated with increased hospital visits for respiratory symptoms, especially for children.”

Town officials also said a DEP news release issued in July contained “several incomplete or misleading statements” about the landfill and the agency’s own monitoring efforts.

According to Kearny officials:

“Mayor Alberto Santos first complained to the Hudson Regional Health Commission, the DEP’s agency for odor complaints in Hudson County, about noxious rotten egg odors emanating from the Keegan Landfill on May 25, 2018, seven months earlier than acknowledged by DEP. Complaints increased in number in December 2018 and January 2019. At the time, the NJSEA denied the Keegan Landfill as the source of the odors. Because of the State’s inaction, the Town acquired its own air monitoring stations in March 2019, located them on municipal property as close to the landfill as possible, and publicly disclosed repeated readings of hydrogen sulfide in excess of 30 ppb.”

Kearny officials continued:

“The DEP has not issued any violations against NJSEA since June 5, 2019, even though there have been numerous exceedances of hydrogen sulfide since that date. By way of example, the town’s air monitoring stations registered 61 ppb of H2S on Tuesday, July 23, 39 ppb on Wednesday, July 24, and 69 ppb on Thursday, July 25. On each of those dates, the town closed the Harvey Field recreational complex, cancelling scheduled games and practices. The exceedances and field closures were communicated by Mayor Santos to the DEP commissioner and assistant commissioner, and to the governor’s chief of staff. None of the recipients responded to Mayor Santos.”

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