There is a fundamental disagreement over how radioactive waste at an Estill County landfill should be handled. State environmental officials and concerned citizens are taking opposing positions.
Resident Mary Farmer spoke at Tuesday’s press conference at the Estill County Fair Grounds. She said Advanced Waste Disposal knew it was placing citizens at risk by bringing the material into the county. Farmer said the landfill operator should be responsible for taking it out.
“Removal of this waste is the best solution to this problem,” said Farmer.
In 2015 about 1,200 tons of radioactive material was put in the landfill located close to a middle and high school and the Kentucky River.
Mary Cromer is a lawyer with non-profit Appalachian Law Center. Cromer said leaving the material at the landfill poses a health and environmental risk for generations to come.
The state has recommended the radioactive material not be removed but managed at the landfill.
