State wary of gas leak at closed Crystal Lake landfill
Officials from the Illinois Environmental Agency are keeping a close eye on gas levels near an unused landfill in Crystal Lake after tests show methane has started to seep dangerously close to homes.
The agency issued a news release stating high methane conditions have been discovered near the former McHenry County Landfill on Sands Road near Crystal Lake.
That is a concern because it is possible for methane to enter homes in the area and build up to concentrations that could cause a fire or explosion.
Stan Black, a spokesman for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, said six homes tested are not in danger now, but that the threat could become worse and the situation cannot be ignored.
"We discovered there was a potential problem last week during sampling of the perimeter of the landfill," he said. "The homes in the area are safe now, but this has become a high priority project for us. Our contractors are designing a solution to ease the pressure of gas building up to ensure the area remains safe."
The original owners of the landfill are long dead and the property has not been deeded to anyone, officials said. In cases like this, the landfill falls under the control of the IEPA.
Officials said buried garbage, paper, and other organic materials in landfills typically are broken down by bacteria, which produce methane gas as a byproduct.
The methane normally is vented from an active landfill and usually burned. But in some cases methane and other landfill gases have been known to collect underground and travel to areas off-site.
The Illinois EPA did soil-gas monitoring of the landfill in 2003 and found no evidence of methane leaving the property.
However, tests conducted on Oct. 13-14 showed the methane gas had spread.
Illinois EPA staff members contacted owners of the four homes closest to the elevated methane samples Oct. 21 to notify them of the possible problem and to arrange for testing the air in basements or lowest floors of the homes. The sampling was performed by Illinois EPA staff, in cooperation with the McHenry County Department of Health, on the afternoon of Oct. 22.