Illegal Junkyards Threaten Communities
Salvage yards are an important source of end-of-life recycling for motor vehicles. However, these yards can also be a source of pollution and endanger the health of nearby communities if they are not properly maintained and regulated. Junkyards contain many hazardous materials including lead batteries, mercury from light switches, anti-freeze, Freon from cooling systems, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), asbestos found in the brake pads and lining of older cars, motor oil, and heavy other metals.
These toxins pose real health
risks. Mercury is linked to kidney disease, and lead from batteries
may cause many health issues, including brain damage, problems with the blood
and damage to the reproductive and nervous systems. Asbestos, and PCBs, are
carcinogenic and oil-products have been linked to liver, kidney, and bone
marrow diseases. Heavy metals and other contaminates may enter drinking water
and pose a risk to human health for everyone living near a salvage yard or
sharing an aquifer.
There are environmental concerns as well. Anti-freeze is toxic to aquatic life. CFCs and Freon emitted from vehicles cause air pollution. If oil is spread on the ground, it may contaminate plants, animals, soil and groundwater.
Some junkyards are licensed and run according to
environmental regulations. A statewide survey of Vermont found well
over 200 unregistered “backyard” junkyards in Vermont. Many of these
junkyards operate in the midst of neighborhoods. For example:
In Milton, VT ABC Metals is home to an estimated
one million tires, posing a fire and disease hazard. The local fire chief has
stated that if the tires catch fire, the state of Vermont would not have the
resources to effectively fight the blaze. EPA testing has found
toxic chemicals in the surrounding neighborhood, including PCBs in the pond’s
sediment and arsenic in the drinking water. After nine years without
a permit, the junkyard continues to operate, while neighbors await the
conclusion of the state’s legal action.
In Strafford, VT a collection of more than 20
cars, excavators, skidders, and boats sit on a half-acre lot on Miller Pond
Road, abutting a stream. Neighbors regularly pull tires and scrap metal
from the stream, which runs through many of their yards. The
junkyard is not licensed and has continued to grow over the years, now crowding
the roadway.
What are we doing?
Toxics Action Center Campaigns worked with Milton CLEAN, Williamstown Healthy Environment Neighborhood Alliance, Strafford Green, residents from Sharon, and VPIRG to pass stronger junkyard laws in Vermont. The laws:
1. Create setbacks from waterways, drinking water wells, and wetlands
2. Give towns more discretion to decide appropriate
locations for salvage yards. In considering an salvage yard
application, towns can now consider:
- Proximity from places of worship, schools, hospitals, residential areas, public buildings or other places of public gathering;
- Whether the location will properly protect public health, safety, and the environment
- The location’s possible affect on aesthetics, tourism, groundwater, surface water, wetlands, and drinking water.
3.
Established the Agency of Natural Resources as the state’s salvage yard
regulator, instead of the Agency of Transportation, and set up and staffed a
new Salvage Yards Program.
How Vermont Regulates Salvage Yards:
1. A
salvage yard applies to the town for a Certificate of Location.
To find out if a junkyard in your town has this
certificate, contact your zoning administrator or town clerk.
2. A
salvage yard applies to ANR’s Salvage Yard program for a state license
Salvage Yard Inspector – John
Brabant: 802-241-3390, john.brabant@state.vt.us.
3. A
salvage yard applies for other environmental permits, based on the scope of their
operation
Jennifer Bryan, Permit Coordinator- (802) 241-4228, jennifer.bryan@state.vt.us