The Kentucky Division of Waste Management says recent soil testssuggest the public should stay off of the Lees Lane Landfill site.The tests revealed high levels of some heavy metals and chemicals remain, even though the landfill has been off the federal Superfund list for 17 years. There are heavy metals like lead and arsenic. Chemicals like benzo(a)pyrene were also found, and some PCBs, though it’snot clear to what extent the chemicals are coming from the landfill.Tim Hubbard is the Assistant Director of the Division of Waste Management. He says regulators don’t think the levels that were found in the landfill pose a danger to people living or recreating nearby.“They weren’t of sufficient concentration or extent at this point to be of immediate concern,” he said. “But obviously better things need to happen in terms of restricting access. There needs to be some thought put by stakeholders to help address that situation.”Right now, there aren’t many barriers keeping people from getting onto the Lees Lane landfill. Regulators have said in the past that the 112-acre site is too big to fence, and warning signs around the nearby section of the Louisville Loop are scant. Hubbard says the state is planning some more testing later this summer to determine the extent of the contamination.
