SOUTHBURY — For the fourth time in a week, a load of municipal solid waste at the Southbury Transfer Station has been flagged for radioactive material, prompting the town to begin screening trash bags before residents toss them.
The material has been identified as iodine-131, a radioactive form of iodine commonly used in thyroid treatment, Department of Public Works Director Matt Tarnowski told the Record.
According to sources at the transfer station, the material has turned up in cat litter and diapers.
First Selectman Tim O’Neil said the facility is safe.
“There are no hazards to the public,” said O’Neil, adding that the town has been in communication with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
A November 4 town notice attributed two earlier positive tests to improperly discarded medical waste.
When a positive test is found at the disposal center in Bridgeport, the entire trailer load is rejected, and the town must pay to locate, isolate, store and properly dispose of the material.
The cost to isolate and store any found radioactive material in 55-gallon drums at the top of the hill for 90 days at the Transfer Station is several hundred dollars a day, per the First Selectman.
Section 8-17 of the Town Code of Ordinances classifies radioactive and other hazardous waste as “Unacceptable Waste” prohibited at the station.
As a result, Transfer Station workers are now scanning bags of trash before residents toss their trash.
A geiger counter – an instrument that can detect radiation – is now in use, via a loan from the town’s volunteer fire department.
“We are balancing respect for the time of residents using the transfer station while helping reduce the risk of further problems at the disposal facility,” said O’Neil. “We will evaluate the process next week.”
By Evan Triantafilidis – Support The Record’s Independent Journalism
