Fumes at Stark landfill difficult to stop

By Bob Downing
The Akron Beacon Journal

PIKE TWP - It might be impossible to halt through chemical injection the reaction behind smoldering underground fires at a Stark County landfill.

Preliminary research conducted by landfill owner Republic Waste Services of Ohio indicates that none of five compounds tested in a laboratory would halt the chemical reactions taking place inside the 258-acre Countywide Recycling & Disposal Facility in Pike Township.

Shaw Environmental Inc., at its New Jersey laboratory, tested three compounds magnesium chloride, sodium silicate and sodium phosphate, all salt-like materials and two commercially available products FirstStrike mine firefighting foam and FlameOut concentrate.

''None of the compounds tested had an effect in controlling or suppressing the aluminum reaction,'' landfill manager Tim Vandersall said in a July 10 letter....Read more.