PITTSBURGH \u2014 Neighbors are calling on the Department of Environmental Protection to address the risk of radioactivity in Pennsylvania. <\/p>\n
On Thursday, a coalition of environmental groups protested outside of DEP\u2019s office in Pittsburgh. They want the DEP to conduct a survey to assess the danger the landfills pose to residents. <\/p>\n
\u201cLocal, municipal, sanitary landfills [are] situated near homes and drinking water sources. The DEP has clear responsibility to Pennsylvania residents to ensure that leachate does not pose a threat to public health,\u201d said Katie Jones, the Ohio River Valley coordinator. <\/p>\n
This protest follows a recently released DEP report<\/a> from a multi-year study that found that there\u2019s \u201cno significant risk to human health\u201d from radium in landfill leachate. <\/p>\n The coalition argues the data disagrees with the findings, claiming that several landfills demonstrate radioactivity levels exceeding the Nuclear Regulatory Commission\u2019s standards for waste material from nuclear power plants.<\/p>\n Download the FREE WPXI News app<\/a> for breaking news alerts.<\/p>\n Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>. | Watch WPXI NOW<\/a><\/p>\n TOP STORIES FROM CHANNEL 11 NEWS <\/p>\n \u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n