Gas Smell Nauseates DeKalb, Illinois, Residents

Commuters on the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway, Interstate 88, near DeKalb, Illinois, report the strong odor of gas near the Waste Management landfill. The landfill is located a few miles to the east of DeKalb, to the south of Cortland, Illinois. The smell extends at least as far north as the intersection of Somonauk Road and Lincoln Highway, and the odor is strongest downwind of the facility.

Residents passing through the area find that the odor enters the car and takes a minute or two to clear, usually soon after passing the landfill. It seems stronger now than in the past. Such fumes have been known to cause nausea.

While residents of the area may find the odor annoying, it is also an environmental concern because one way that landfills emit mercury is via the venting of gas. Another way mercury enters the environment is when trucks make their dumps into landfills. Fine particulate from batteries, fluorescent lights and thermometers makes its way into the air, and all of those objects contain mercury. Residents are not supposed to dispose of those kinds of items in the garbage for this very reason. A truck emptying a dumpster containing fluorescent lamps can also spread the contaminant.

All landfills create methane gas. The gas can migrate underground and enter piping systems. This is a concern because methane is an explosive gas.

In the past, the Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, has acted with injunctions against landfills that emit too much gas, for example, one in Cook County, the Hillside landfill. The gas has migrated underground to contaminate certain buildings. Hillside was required to drill more collection sites and to pay for any future evacuations made necessary by the gas.

The frequency of the odor raises the question of whether or not Waste Management is doing enough to mitigate the release of gas. All landfills are required to have collection systems to mitigate such problems.

Anyone concerned about the odor can contact Waste Management, or Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan at www.IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov . There is information about the Hillside agreement there.

Until people complain, it is difficult to know the extent of the problem. Residents of Cortland, Illinois, might be more strongly affected by the odor, because Cortland is located just to the north of the facility.

The odor might be less on windy days, or may seem to disappear, depending on the wind direction.