Dive Brief:
- Advanced Disposal will pay a $600,000 civil penalty following a Feb. 8 landslide that left one employee dead at the Greentree Landfill in Kersey, PA. This is part of a consent order and agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as reported by The Bradford Era.
- As part of the agreement, Advanced has agreed to make multiple operational changes. This includes limiting municipal sludge, removing and disposing of all waste outside of the lined area by the end of March, employing someone as the primary engineering and environmental compliance contact for the landfill and improving its odor control plan, as reported by We are Central PA.
- Advanced must also submit a "root cause" report to the DEP, detailing the company's findings and conclusions from investigating the cause of the slope failure, by Dec. 31.
Dive Insight:
William Pierce, 49, was driving a compactor when a landslide occurred on-site in February, causing the fatal incident. He was found buried under 40 feet of waste and not uncovered for two days. The incident shifted an estimated 15.5 acres of solid waste.
Since then, Advanced has paid a $12,000 fine to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) after an inspection found the company wasn't maintaining a workplace that was "free from recognized hazards."
While landslides at modern landfills are less common than at open dumpsites, the incident in Pennsylvania serves as a reminder that diligent safety and compliance training are critical to maintaining operations.
Injury rates for landfill employees were up slightly in 2016 and the area has been receiving increased focus from industry associations. The most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics fatality report showed an increase in landfill incidents during 2015. New 2016 data is due out later this month and will help track whether the industry is making progress on improving overall worker safety.
