AIDS Landfill Issue Was Raised in 1988

Former Simi Valley Councilwoman Ann Rock said in a Letter to the Editor (June 25) that the Environmental Coalition was using scare tactics related to the proposed Weldon Canyon Landfill in Ventura. She asked if we had “any data to show that other county landfills . . . also pose a real and imminent threat of AIDS infection? If so, why did the coalition fail to speak out when the environmental impact report for extending the Simi Landfill was circulated a few years ago?”

If Mrs. Rock had examined the 128 comments submitted by the Environmental Coalition on the Simi Valley Landfill Environmental Impact Report in 1988, she would have known that one of the 128 concerns we voiced was: “Patients being treated at home with diseases deposit their trash directly in their trash bins. There are no controls to require that infectious wastes be deposited as it is required in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. As more patients are being taken care of at home due to the high costs of hospitalization, this issue with regard to hepatitis and AIDS should be addressed definitively in this document. Some mitigations such as advertising how to properly dispose of infectious wastes in the private home so as to protect other people who come in contact with it would be helpful (in Spanish too). Funding of public education on this issue as a condition of this project could be (considered) as one mitigation.”

Draft EIRs provide a good opportunity for the public to ask questions about issues that have not been addressed, and they have to be answered in writing by the consultant. In the future, if Mrs. Rock or any other persons concerned about the impact of landfills wish to review the Environmental Coalition’s stated concerns, they are welcome to call us at the number listed in the local phone book.

PAT BAGGERLY, Environmental Coalition of Ventura County, Ventura