Michigan DEQ Investigates Gas At Explosive Landfill Site

Date: August 29, 2002

Source: News Room

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality officials say dangerous levels of methane gas have been found in a former Rochester Hills landfill. Officials say there is no evidence that the gas threatens nearby homes, but the discovery was made near where a house exploded two years ago. Methane gas was blamed for the April 21, 2000, explosion that destroyed a home adjacent to the former Six Star landfill. The blast did not cause any injuries. State officials have found levels of methane gas as high as 50 to 70 percent in soil in another nearby landfill owned by the Southeastern Oakland County Resource Recovery Authority. Trash was dumped in the 30-acre landfill from 1958 to 1962. Rochester Hills is currently suing the recovering authority to force construction of a golf course on the vacant land.

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