A fire at a landfill near Birmingham, Alabama, has been burning for almost a month.
The fire started at Environmental Landfill, Inc, a green landfill that generally only accepts storm debris and vegetative material, AL.com reported. Since it only accepts green waste, the landfill is not regulated.
For the better part of a month an underground fire has been raging at an environmental landfill near Birmingham, blanketing Alabama’s largest metro area with smoke, raising concerns about air quality and what steps to take next.
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The fire has produced smoke that has affected local areas including Birmingham, reported AL.com. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management has warned people near the landfill to install filters in their homes and limit outdoor activity, according to a news release on the agency’s website. The smoke could linger for “an extended period.”
“The fire has gotten into the pile of debris, which is very large,” Fire Inspector James Mulkey said, according to AL.com. “The actual size of the debris pile, we’ve heard estimates from 23 to 50 acres, and it’s multiple layers.”
It is unclear what started the fire, but officials believe it could have been started by unauthorized solid waste in the landfill, AL.com reported. (RELATED: Thousands Of Cattle Buried, Flattened In Mass Graves At Landfill)
Local officials are not yet sure how to put the fire out, the outlet reported.
“All options are on the table,” Mulkey said, according to AL.com. “Letting it burn itself out was one option that we looked at, but we realized that’s a pretty in-depth [fire] and we really can’t give a timeline on it.”
A local air quality group called GASP installed air monitors around the fire, reported the outlet. The monitors have shown air quality index readings of “very unhealthy” and “hazardous.”
Michael Hansen is the executive director of a local air quality group GASP, AL.com reported. He is not happy with the response by the state.
“It’s absolutely unacceptable that state agencies are not doing more to protect the people from this dangerous air pollution event,” Hansen said. “We need a multi-agency state and local response to this situation.”