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End Illegal Dump Sites

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Spring is here, which brings warmer temperatures and rain; therefore, time to clean up and put an end to those Illegal dump sites before they harbor mosquitoes.

If your city is like most cities throughout the United States, then you are up to your eye balls with the illegal dumping problem.  Illegal dumping is not only unsightly but is also a breeding ground for rats and mosquitoes, which carry disease to the community.

The newest virus is the Jamestown Canyon virus, which is spread by a bite of an infected mosquito. The Jamestown Canyon virus can cause a severe disease including encephalitis, defined as brain inflammation.  There are over 200 different categories of mosquitos and 12 which spread diseases harmful to humans. Some known diseases are Malaria, West Nile virus, Dengue, chikungunya, and Zika virus.  The ability to spread germs to a person depends on the type of germ, the amount of the germ eaten, the age of the mosquito, and the environmental conditions.

In order to breed and lay eggs, the mosquito must have water.  Unfortunately, temporary sitting water, created by rain in an unlawfully disposed tire or debris, is the perfect environment to leave over 100 eggs. This is just one of the reasons the eradication of unauthorized dump sites is essential.

To rid your community of the unlawful dumping areas, the implementation of an Illegal Dumping Program is necessary.  A successful Illegal Dumping Program includes departments working together. This involves educating the community, changing legislation to include stiff fines, staff resources that make illegal dumping a priority, tools specifically designed to stop illegal dumping , and the ability to prosecute.

Take the next step and end the illegal dump sites in your city.

Illegal Dumping Contaminates Soil

Illegal Dumping Contaminates Soil

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Illegal waste contains hazardous substances and chemicals that contaminate and pollute the soil and eventually infect the ground water.

Soil is a mixture of minerals and life forms that benefit all life on the earth.  When children play outside and soil is everywhere, it is logical that some of the soil will be ingested and inhaled.  Because most food is grown using soil, polluted soil affects the food supply.  Contaminates can be absorbed through skin when the wind picks up the soil and carries it.

When the contaminates filter through the soil it can work its way into the ground water polluting the very water used for drinking.

Also, Illegal disposal of waste pollutes the surrounding area and will poison natural habitats causing death to life in a wide area.

It is essential that illegal dumping be stopped, and the environment be protected for the sake of health and the communities’ wellbeing.

How can the problem of illegal dumping and soil contamination stop?

Each community must create an Illegal Dumping Enforcement Program.

  • Educate:

The people within the community should know more about what an illegal dumping health crisis is, how the contaminated soil will hurt them, and where the soil is being affected.

  • Enforce:

Enforce with  Illegal Dumping Cameras . These cameras catch the dumpers in the act and record license plates even in complete darkness.

Stop illegal dumping and protect the soil!

Illegal Dumping Pollutes Water

Illegal Dumping Pollutes Water

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Public water supplies can become a public health threat if the waterways are contaminated by toxic waste.  This is especially true when the environment encounters the illegal dumping of waste chemicals.  The toxic chemicals enter water wells and other ground water supplies. Common scenarios are illegal dumping sites that contain chemicals that seep into the ground connecting with underground waterways and/or when it rains the rains carry the toxic waste into waterways.

This type of situation happens more often than cities are aware of, as people who illegally dump try to hide the fact that they are doing it.  When this form of illegal dumping continues to go unchecked, it can lead to any number of serious health complications for the population who use the water supply.

There is a good reason the manufacturers of cleaning agents are legally expected to label their products with a hazard warning sign, if it contains hazardous substances that are known to be harmful to humans. Not doing so is dangerous, and the manufacturer is held liable if anyone is harmed by their failure to do so.

Furthermore, certain chemicals become even more toxic when cross-contaminated with other chemicals.  The likelihood of this happening increases when companies regularly dispose of their waste solutions by directly dumping them into public water drains or close to underground water sources.

The solution to preventing this type of public health hazard is simple: protect the water supply from illegal dumping of any sort.  Although regular water testing for chemicals is important – sometimes to help identify if people are dumping chemicals – once the source of the issue is nailed down, it can be easily stopped.

It is paramount that every city enacts an illegal dumping prevention program!

 

Illegal Dumping-Contaminating Water Supply

Illegal Dumping-Contaminating Water Supply

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Clean drinking water continues to be a challenge in certain cities in the United States when recurrent illegal-dump sites go unsupervised. Crews working for companies who use hazardous materials frequently will dump the liquid waste illegally near water wells, or into a drain that connects to the public water supply. Public water can also become contaminated when groundwater is carried over from other illegal dumping sites.

Sometimes the people dumping the chemicals are not intentionally committing a crime. This is when it is reasonable for Municipalities to educate the public regarding proper disposal of liquid wastes. Also, help local businesses become informed of exactly what materials are illegal to dump, when and why it is illegal to dispose of a certain substance, and when and where the legal sites are for proper disposal.

When people fail to follow the laws and health guidelines pertaining to appropriate waste disposal, legal action befits the circumstance. This could mean everything from an illegal dumping fine, down to suing the chemical manufacturer. If proper warnings are not clearly printed on product labeling, chemical companies who manufacture the hazardous substances dumped illegally could be held liable for this action, even if the waste product was not directly dumped by them.

Public health effects could include infertility in large numbers or cancer, and in some circumstances, there is an immediate poisoning— this all depends on the substance(s) that contaminated the water supply. This is an alarming public threat that continues to grow. If public hazards like this are not immediately identified and aggressively addressed, locals and other people who use that city’s water supply will face serious health consequences by no mistake of their own in the future.

Public hazards such as a contaminated water supply are very preventable, especially if the cause is a nuisance crime like illegal dumping at recurrent problem sites. When a city creates a strategy to prevent illegal dumping,, the nuisance will stop before a health hazard develops.