Colombo, Meetotamulla Garbage is not to Puttlam but to Wilpattu

Kala-Oya/Lunu-Ela 200m away from proposed Garbage site

The old Quarry and proposed garbage site

Please see Update and Suggestions. 

The Meetotamulla garbage is not to Puttalam. Thats a red herring. The proposed site is on the Banks of the Kala Oya and bordering Wilpattu.

Wilpattu National Park is the latest location proposed to dump 470,000 cubic meters of garbage every year. That is the equivalent of a building 3 story high 33 feet x 33 feet of garbage every day.  .  Thats 479 large tipper trucks per day or a tipper truck every 4 minutes, 24/7. That garbage will grow to a mountain 250 feet high every year.

The location proposed is within 200 meters of the beautiful and historic Kala-Oya and in the Wilpattu National Park buffer zone.  Yes, the beautiful scenic Kala-Oya fed by the historic Kala-Wewa built by King Dhatusena in 455 AD.

Toxic Foam from Garbage in Bangalore

The proposed site at GangeWadiya / Aruwakkalu has a steep slope toward the Kala-Oya. It is just a matter of time when the seepage and overflow during the North East monsoon will turn the Kala-Oya into a toxic mess.

In addition any capping with concrete will crack because of dynamite blasting of limestone at the Holcim quarry 500 meters away

This beautiful pristine area is likely to end  up being like the Bellandur Lake in Bangalore and Toms River, New Jersey.  In Bangalore, toxic foam from Bellandur Lake covers the city.   In Toms River, New Jersey,  local residents are affected with higher rates of cancer and children with acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Toxic seepage from the garbage site into Kala-Oya  will kill fish, mangroves and contaminate the whole of  Puttalam Lagoon.  When toxic foams are created, the south west winds will carry the foam into the Wilpattu National Park and end up suffocating all animals.

To make matters worse, the garbage will cover the only visible Miocene Site, Wedi Pitiya, containing  stone tools, potsherds, beads and bony remains of prehistoric human habitation dating back to more than 250,000 years.

This author lived for 5 years (1998-2003) 7 km away from the largest landfill/garbage dump in the World in Staten Island, New York.  Now of course it is called Fresh Kills Park.   It looks nice from a distance, 14 years after its closure in 2001.  However still  "its presence is palpable in the four grassy monadnocks rising up to 225 feet tall, in the intermittent exhalations of landfill gases from passive vents, in the 386,000 gallons of leachate that daily ooze from the mounds into an on-site treatment plant, and in the hundreds of protruding gas wellheads and monitoring pipes".

Thats 467 large bowsers of chemicals every day, and this is 14 years after the land fill was close.

Map of Kala Oya and Garbage site. Click on Image for Google Maps

Glyphosate Found in Urine of 93 percent of Americans Tested

Glyphosate, labeled a “probable human carcinogen” by the World Health Organization’s cancer agency IARC in 2015, has now been revealed to be ubiquitous in the first ever comprehensive and validated LC/MS/MS testing project to be carried out across America.

In a unique public testing project carried out by a laboratory at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), glyphosate was discovered in 93 percent of urine samples during the early phase of the testing in 2015.

The unique project, which has already provided more urine samples for testing than any other glyphosate bio-monitoring urine study ever in America, was supported by members of the public, who themselves paid for their urine and water samples to be analyzed for glyphosate residues by the UCSF lab.

Glyphosate was found in 93 percent of the 131 urine samples tested at an average level of 3.096 parts per billion (PPB). Children had the highest levels with an average of 3.586 PPB.
The regions with the highest levels were the West and the Midwest with an average of 3.053 PPB and 3.050 PPB respectively.

(n.b. US West and mid west has the most agriculture)

Glyphosate residues were not observed in any tap water samples during the early phase of the project, most likely due to phosphorus removal during water treatment.
The results from the UCSF urine testing in America showed a much higher frequency and average glyphosate level than those observed in urine samples in the European Union in 2013. The average level in Europe was around 1 PPB with a frequency of detection of 43.9 percent.

Glyphosate has never been studied by regulators or the chemical industry at levels that the human population in the U.S. is being exposed to (under 3 mg/kg body weight/day). This is a huge hole in the risk assessment process for glyphosate, as evidence suggests that low levels of the chemical may hack hormones even more than high levels—a higher dose does not necessarily mean a more toxic, hormone disruptive effect.

From Comments
Glyphosate (Roundup) was initially patented as a pipe descaler -- it binds with minerals, making them easier to remove. It binds with minerals in GMO crops (which are genetically modified to withstand it's lethal effects) as well as in humans, blocking absorption/utilization.



https://ecowatch.com/2016/05/29/urine-test-monsanto-glyphosate/

Is Ranil Wickremesinghe planning to send Colombo Garbage to Wilpattu

Kala-Oya/Lunu-Ela 200m away from proposed Garbage site

The Garbage in Colombo is becoming a political nightmare and is standing in the way of the Colombo Megalopolis project. Is Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe advocating the move of the Colombo Garbage to the Holcim Aruwakkalu Old Quarry 200m from the Wilpattu National Park border.

The surrounding area of the proposed garbage site is pristine Mangroves and the beautiful Kala-Oya. Maybe the animals and fish do not have a vote, whereas Kolonnawa is a large vote bank for Ranil Wickremesinghe. The idea is that garbage sites should be in less populous areas – not in residential areas. i.e. Send the garbage to where there are more animals than people.

The Colombo Garbage to Wilpattu has been revived and is about to be approved. Rumors have it that the Wildlife Dept was obstructing the approval. A change in Wildlife Dept leadership is planned and will approve the Garbage site adjacent to Wilpattu National Park and the beautiful Kala-Oya. Large amount of toxic chemical leachate (7 bowser loads, every day for at least 20 years) will end up in the Kala-Oya and the Puttalan Lagoon which is a enclose environment. (See Colombo Garbage to Wilpattu and Update: Colombo Garbage to Wilpattu and Suggestions: Colombo Garbage to Wilpattu)

The reason for all the chemical ending in the Lunu-Oya and Kala-Oya is because the underlying ground is limestone and very porous.  Additionally the limestone and the High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) will crack because of blasting in the nearby active Holcim Quarry.

To quote from  A case study on anticipated leachate generation from a semi-aerobic sanitary landfill at Aruwakkalu (Puttalam District) and its impacts (2015) by Ranil Kularatne

However, disposal to the Lunu Oya is not a good solution due to its almost stagnant nature. Furthermore, the proposed effluent treatment plant is likely to fail, with no mechanism to remove colloidals, COD and heavy metals, etc.

Therefore, releasing the effluent from the treatment plant to the Lunu Oya would result in intense pollution especially during the drier spells when discharge is very low due to high evapotranspiration and the leachate pollution would even spread to upstream areas (up to the zone of saline water intrusion) during the high tides.

The reduced, total organic carbon (TOC) rich mangrove sediments would become a crucial sink for the heavy metals due to adsorption and sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) mediated dissimilatory SO42- reduction mechanisms; however, ingestion of contaminated sediments/detritus matter by bottom dwelling fauna wouldultimately result in bioaccumulation in higher trophic levelfaunal species such as Birds of Prey which are found inplenty due to the close proximity of the landfill site to the Wilpattu National Park (about 1.5 km to the boundary of the park, which is located towards the East of the landfillsite), one of Sri Lanka’s Ramsar wetlands. Also during high tidal events when there is saline water intrusion, there could be desorption of sediment adsorbed metals due to intense competition between Na? ions and metal ions for adsorption sites, resulting in an increased likelihood of the bioavailability of desorbed metals to fish, etc. in the long run considering that the Project area experiences a drier climate

However, operation of the nearby potential quarry sites (i.e., the Eluwankulama Forest; Fig. 1) for limestone extraction by Holcim (Lanka) Ltd (for cement production) could pose a danger to the single composite liner. This is because higher peak particle velocities due to the usage of detonators and charging drilled holes with ammonium nitrate/fuel oil and dynamite may rupture the HDPE liner and perhaps the soil bentonite layer too, ultimately leading to groundwater contamination.

Map of Kala Oya and Garbage site. Click on Image for Google Maps

Suggestions: Colombo Garbage to Wilpattu.

Perth, Australia. The materials used for land reclamation,
included general household rubbish.

Opposing or being critical of a project should be accompanied by alternative suggestions.

Obviously I am critical of Garbage of Colombo shipped to a Landfill in the Wilpattu Buffer zone or for that matter to any interior part of the Sri Lanka.  This is simply because the large amount of toxic chemical leachate (7 bowser loads, every day for at least 20 years) is trapped in an enclosed environment. (See Colombo Garbage to Wilpattu and Update: Colombo Garbage to Wilpattu)

In the case of the Wilpattu Buffer zone site, the leachate is trapped in the Kala-Oya/Lunu-Ela Estuary Complex and the Puttalam Lagoon.  Tidal currents are clockwise (Coriolis force) in the Northern hemisphere.  That means all the toxic chemicals are going to flow toward Puttalam town, and the longer the water stays (residence time), more of the chemicals will settle on to the bottom.  These will then eaten by various organisms (shrimp etc) and end up in the bigger fish (food chain).  The worst case is that all the chemicals use up all the oxygen (eutrophication) in the south end of the Lagoon.  Then all fish will die, the lagoon covered with algae and a stink to high heaven (think Bolgoda in Colombo).

Any landfill site in the interior of Sri Lanka will similarly trap the leachate in groundwater sources for years in the future.

So what are my suggestions.

• Use the garbage to create Landfill for the proposed Colombo Port City
  
  I am well aware that the leachate is going into the ocean. However, it is a much better choice than the leach contaminating and getting concentrated in closed environments such as Kala-Oya-Puttalam Lagoon system or groundwater in the interior of the country. 
  
  JFK and La-Guardia Airports in NYC were built using garbage as Landfill. However, they are an environmental disaster a) because wetlands were filled up b) as the leachate continues to seep into enclosed water bodies.  In the case of JFK Airport into Jamaica Bay and La-Guardia into Western Long Island Sound.
  
  Japan and the Netherlands and Perth Australia, seem to have better results, i.e. lesser concentration of leachate because the land reclamation has been bordering in open ocean. Also see Land Reclamation for more examples.
  
• Create blocks of garbage and cement to create artificial reefs and sea -walls where erosion is an issue.
  Charitha Pattiarachi of Uni of Western Australia created an artificial reef for surfing at Cable Station near Perth (I like the "In her study, Pattiaratchi", presumably because of the Charitha.  Pattiaratchi is 6 foot plus, Royal College swimmer and was a bouncer in a London Night Club, while a university student).  
  
  Imagine that, a surfing spot off Colombo Port City.
  
  
• Use waste plastic and burned garbage to create plastic lumber.
  
  See Waste Reduction and Management Institute at School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University for recycled plastic lumber and construction material comprised of municipal solid waste combustor ash and concrete.  They have been doing this since 1987.

Update: Colombo Garbage to Wilpattu

This is an update to some of the questions on Colombo Garbage to Wilpattu. The previous post pointed out that Colombo Garbage dumped in Gangewadiya would seriously degrade the beautiful Kala-Oya, kill pristine Mangroves in Wilpattu National Park and kill breeding and fish stocks in Puttalam Lagoon.

Now to answer some of questions I was asked.

First and foremost, if this a state of the art Garbage Recycling system
a) why are the Western countries not using the methodology
b) Why is the West/Developed world exporting Garbage to third world countries.

Who wants this Done

The Ministry of Defense and Urban Development.  This landfill/garbage dump site project was approved by the previous govt based on a paper submitted by President Mahinda Rajapakse in his capacity as Minister of Urban Development.

On a Sandbank right at the Kala-Oya mouth.
This is about 1 km from proposed Landfill site.
Would you swim on sandbank at Kelaniya River Mouth

The story is that former Def Secy Gotabhaya Rajapakse saw the large abandoned limestone quarry site while flying over the area and thought it was a good site to export Colombo's garbage.

How will it be Done

Basically garbage of  about a  3 floor building sent by train every day.  Thats 479 large tipper trucks per day or a tipper truck every 4 minutes, 24/7. The Garbage would be put into plastic lined pits and then concrete poured over (capping).  Seems a perfect solution.

Except for the detail.  There is expected to be toxic chemicals leak (leachate), an Olympic swimming pool amount every month (26,531.6 m3/yr)¹.  Thats about 7 large bowsers toxic chemicals every day. of Oh! it could also be more if cracks in plastic liner and concrete occur, which is very likely because of dynamiting by Holcim ².

Then there is also garbage and chemicals overflowing (storm water run off) during the North East Monsoon rainy season.

What are the consequences

Direct:  Loss of fish, clams, mussel breeding and stock in immediate vicinity and Puttalam Lagoon. The Kala-Oya/Lunu-Ela  becoming a foul smelling canal.  Loss of livelihood from fishing.

Indirect: Cancer, Leukemia for generations.  Loss of pristine Mangrove. No more tourism, kite surfing at Kala-Oya and Kalpitiya / Puttalam Lagoon.

On the Banks of the Kala-Oya/Lunu Oya estuary.
3 km from the proposed Garbage Dump/Landfill

The Sales Talk

About 20 villagers were taken to Colombo and shown videos of how plastic liner and concrete capping would create beautiful golf course like parks (e. g. Fresh Kills Park, Staten Island, NY).  The video show to the villagers was of South Korean origin.

Of course they forgot  to mention the Olympic Swimming pool size of toxic chemicals leaking / leachate every month.  Also the beautiful golf course landscape would be about 20 years down the line.  10 years while the garbage is dumped into the landfill, and then another 10 years for the covering soil to be landscaped.

The villagers are no fools.  Garbage is garbage, and how ever much lipstick you put on a pig it is still a pig (I like pigs).  A couple of Villagers asked me, "If this is such great idea, why isnt it being done in Colombo" (ඇයි ඔච්චර හොඳ අදහසක් නම් කොළඹම ඔක කරන්නෙ නැත්තෙ). 

Positives (sarcasm):

Small community of only about 1,000 adults in Gangewadiya and another 2,000 or so in Eluvamkulama who would be directly affected by pollution.  So a good possibility of bulldozing the project thru, despite opposition by a 3,000 or so individuals.

Excerpts from Environmental Impact Assesment (EIA)
The EIA has seemed to have disappeared from the Central Env Authority (CEA) website

¹  that 18% of the precipitation becomes percolation. Peak PERC quantity is expected from the 3 cells of the landfill during the period of November. It is evident that the time taken for leachate production from a cell with a height of 40 m is .8 years at the rate of 26,531.6 m3/yr during

²  However, operation of the nearby potential quarry sites (i.e., the Eluwankulama Forest;) for limestone extraction by Holcim (Lanka) Ltd (for cement production) could pose a danger to the single composite liner. This is because higher PPVs due to the usage of detonators and charging drilled holes with ANFO and dynamite may rupture the HDPE liner and perhaps the soil-bentonite layer too, ultimately leading to groundwater contamination. (pg 9 EIA)

Therefore, the proposed biological treatment plant would become a failure resulting in intense pollution of the Lunu Oya especially during the drier spells (noting that rainfall is confined largely during the period of October-December to account for a significant flushing and dilution) when discharge is low due to high evapotranspiration