Scrap tires create host of environmental hazards

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 1999 | 10:45 a.m.

By TIM ANDERSON Reno Gazette-Journal

RENO, Nev. - A fire at a former Mound House landfill raised serious questions about potential health and environmental dangers created by burning tires.

The fire was extinguished in about two days. Investigators never could pinpoint the exact cause, except to say it was man-made.

But the thick column of black smoke that filled the Mound House-Dayton area and was visible over much of Carson City and Virginia City served as a reminder of what can happen when large piles of tires burn.

Those problems were magnified this summer in California's Central Valley, when blazes broke out at two large tire-disposal sites and burned for weeks.

"Tire fires can create serious environmental hazards. The smoke from these fires contains toxic materials as well as particulates," said Colleen Cripps, chief of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection's bureau of air quality.

In addition to a significant amount of oil in tires, Cripps said, they also contain zinc and lead. Once a tire fire starts, it's often very difficult to extinguish. It creates intense heat and can spread quickly to other tires.

Applying foam often makes the situation worse by spreading the oil and toxins into the air and ground.

Health and environmental officials take the potential threat of oil seeping into groundwater very seriously, Cripps said. Also, discarded tires can be an unsightly intrusion on the landscape. And officials said the puddles of water they can retain are a magnet for mosquitoes, adding to the public-health threat.

"Waste tires are definitely a problem. But it's not as big a problem here as it is in other states," said Les Gould, supervisor for environmental protection's solid waste branch.

The key reason: Nevada is one of only six states in the country that don't restrict tires from going in landfills. Gould said most of Nevada's 24 permitted landfills have approved disposal plans. This includes the two landfills serving the major metropolitan areas - Lockwood for the Reno area and Apex near Las Vegas.

Officials said nearly 85 percent of waste tires generated in the state are believed to wind up at a landfill, either in whole or shredded form.

Nationally, the Rubber Manufacturers Association estimates 270 million scrap tires are generated annually, with 178 million going to market. The industry group estimates that 500 million scrap tires are in stockpiles.

Tires accepted at Nevada's landfills from retailers and processors must be buried to reduce potential hazards, Gould said. But he said problems with handling frequently occur.

The most common difficulty landfill operators experience is for buried tires to surface, potentially damaging landfill covers and adding to disposal costs. Large landfills are able to deal with this because they have sufficient construction and demolition waste to keep the tires under the ground, Gould said.

A 1993 survey by state environmental officials estimated 380,000 waste tires stockpiled in various areas of Nevada. Despite about 1.6 million waste tires generated annually in the state - about one per resident - officials say the number of reported stockpiled tires has held fairly steady because of the availability of landfills for disposal.

The largest pile of tires, then and now, is the 150,000 estimated at the Mound House property owned by Charles Brandenberg.

Gould said fewer tires are at the site today because of the 1998 fire, but state officials don't know precisely how many were burned. He said Brandenberg is preparing a long-range plan, including storing the tires for better fire management.

Brandenberg acquired the property four years ago with the tires on the site. The tires accumulated during more than 30 years when Lyon County leased the site as a landfill.

"We've worked out some issues to get the site cleaned up, but more needs to be done," Gould said. He said Brandenberg isn't accepting any more used tires and is being encouraged to use many of those he has on site for construction projects.