2008 Woodie Awards
Explosive levels of gas under Cleveland-area shopping center
By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Issue date: 4/15/08 Section: State
GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP) - A shopping mall built on a dump has explosive levels of methane gas in sewer basins with the potential to blow off manhole covers.
City View is the first major commercial development in Ohio to be built atop a landfill and, at its 2006 opening, was billed by the builders as an engineering marvel.
Fire Lt. Dave McKee, who oversees the City View Center plaza for the Cleveland suburb, said an explosion wouldn't endanger people in stores and restaurants, but he's concerned nonetheless.
"The stores are safe on the inside, but we don't want anything happening on the outside," McKee said.
The gas buildup is just one of at least 20 violations cited by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The agency has asked the Ohio attorney general's office to file a lawsuit accusing the owners of the development of not correcting problems fast enough.
According to Ohio EPA records, a paving machine ignited a small methane fire four months ago, with flames rising through the grate of a parking lot drain near an Applebee's restaurant. The fire was extinguished and no one was hurt.
The EPA says water containing dangerous substances continues to leak from the old dump into storm sewers, which empty into nearby streams and the Cuyahoga River.
"These are not normal things that should be experienced at a shopping center," Ohio EPA spokesman Mike Settles said.
City View is the first major commercial development in Ohio to be built atop a landfill and, at its 2006 opening, was billed by the builders as an engineering marvel.
Fire Lt. Dave McKee, who oversees the City View Center plaza for the Cleveland suburb, said an explosion wouldn't endanger people in stores and restaurants, but he's concerned nonetheless.
"The stores are safe on the inside, but we don't want anything happening on the outside," McKee said.
The gas buildup is just one of at least 20 violations cited by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The agency has asked the Ohio attorney general's office to file a lawsuit accusing the owners of the development of not correcting problems fast enough.
According to Ohio EPA records, a paving machine ignited a small methane fire four months ago, with flames rising through the grate of a parking lot drain near an Applebee's restaurant. The fire was extinguished and no one was hurt.
The EPA says water containing dangerous substances continues to leak from the old dump into storm sewers, which empty into nearby streams and the Cuyahoga River.
"These are not normal things that should be experienced at a shopping center," Ohio EPA spokesman Mike Settles said.
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