A recent King County analysis of arsenic at the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill predicted arsenic emissions in a small area that extends into the community may exceed safe breathing limits put in place to protect the public. The King County Solid Waste Division, which manages Cedar Hills, collected air samples above two lagoons in the southwest part of the Maple Valley facility. The lagoons hold the landfill’s wastewater, also known as “leachate.” According to the test results, some of the air samples contained arsenic levels more than two times higher than safe breathing limits, which regulators refer to as “Acceptable Source Impact Level” (ASIL) limits. Based on those air samples, county consultants performed an analysis using scientific modeling and predicted airborne arsenic emissions could exceed ASIL limits at the nearby fence line and past the Cedar Hills’ border, according to a review of the King County reports. King County’s study came in response to a historic directive from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA), which monitors air quality in King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. In November, the agency issued an administrative order that required King County to complete a comprehensive analysis of airborne arsenic emissions at Cedar Hills to assess any potential risks to the public. READ MORE: https://www.king5.com/article/news/investigations/investigators/airborne-arsenic-levels-cedar-hills-regional-landfill-could-exceed-safe-breathing-limits-analysis-finds/281-34167de3-8a43-426a-9cf8-a87864d3753d