Radford's Environment
A web site explaining
environmental problems
of Radford, Virginia.
Right: A washout along the river shows
drainage problems from the
Intermet foundry sand dump site.
This is located half a mile upriver from Bissett Park.
How will the Pathwasy Phase II bike path go through this?
Winter in Radford
A new environmental low?
Dead deer in Conelly's run are reported to Radford city authorities in December and January.
These photos were taken in late February.
(Sorry, it is pretty gross, but as of April 9,
the dead deer were still there in Wildwood park).
City of Radford
- Air pollution: untested, unregulated
- Solid waste: unregulated dumps, foundry sand, Railroad Ties
- Waste recycling: low quality system
- Water quality: raw sewage, erosion, PCBs
- Interference with endangered species
- Natural beauty .
- Pathways for Radford bike path
- Children willing to help adults understand
the importance of the environment.
Right: Here we see mounds of trash within a stone's throw of the Glencoe museum. This is an unregulted dump. Bottles of transmission fluid, barrels of unknown substances, old appliances and animal carcasses were found in the heap
Three young men help clean up in April, 2004. Fortunately for Radford, young people are very willing to help -- if only the government can find a way to lead.
Still, even the most well-meaning volunteers can't tackle the kind of daunting cleanup jobs facing Radford.
You can barely make out a white truck perched on the top of this seemingly endless heap of railroad ties. The wall of ties is about 20 to 30 feet high and easily half a mile long. It's located behind the post office and the shopping center near Glencoe museum. There are at least a quarter million railroad ties dumped here. To see it, go to the end of the Glencoe road and walk down to the tracks.
What's wrong with railroad ties? The creosote that preserves them is made from coal tar and is carcinogenic. They contaminate groundwater. And they are flamable. Smoke from the ties would be very dangerous.
The railroad refuses to take responsibility for this clear and present danger to human health.
Other environmental problems remain.
- Raw sewage has been gushing up from sewer lines into the New River during heavy rains for decades. Recently, funds for an improved sewer pumping system were approved, but this doesn't solve the public health problem.
- The city's recycling center is nowhere near as well managed as any of the local counterparts in Montgomery, Giles or Pulaski counties. Participation in a regional recycling system would probably be a more effective use of resources.
- Monitoring by DEQ of toxic dust particles from the Intermet foundries took place sporadically between 1982 and the fall of 2001, but the results were never made public, although they could be made public under the Freedom of Information Act. (The monitors showed particulate matter sometimes near the top of, but not exceeding, EPA guidelines.) Other types of emissions were not monitored even though effective monitoring was proposed in EIC commission meetings. Such monitors (eg, Summa canisters and Tedlar bags) are well within the city's budget constraints at $100 per test. In any event, some of the foundry's emssions are known carcinogens, according to EPA studies of identical foundries in the Casting Emissions Reduction Program (CERP).
In the summer, people swim in this river...
But when heavy rains come, sewage overflow from low manholes. It is a serious public health issue along the river. Although some progress is being made with better pumping, new manhole systems are not in the budget.
Rusted barrell on the river, more sewage overflow, beer cans piled along the Intermet fence line by the river (left to right, below)
And then there is the foundry ...
.
(Right) Dump site for foundry waste casting sand.
Monitoring results are in a report in the Radford city library. Heavy metal contamination and
silicosis are the major concerns from the sand.
Air pollution from the foundry is also far heavier than Radford residents have been led to believe. Over 200,000 pounds per year of hydrocarbons and 80,000 pounds per year of benzene represents a very serious problem.
Environmental responsibility is not all that hard.
Fred Hilliard of the New River Resource Authority and Linda White of Montgomery County (left) look over the Pulm Creek recycling operation (center). Note how very clean and organized it is.
In contrast, Radford's 17th street operations are poorly managed, dirty and dangerous.
