Giant Foods is the leaseholder of the former gas station property located at the corner of Wynnewood Road and Lancaster Avenue. Giant wants to build a new gas station there. This location was previously a gas station, but it has become an eyesore that has not been used for anything, for the last several years.
Since the previous (Riggins) gas station closed there, the Lower Merion Township zoning code has changed, and the site no longer meets the code for a gas station.
Representatives for Giant appeared at an August 11 meeting of the township’s Zoning Hearing Board, asking for relief from the current requirement that the pumps of any gas station have to be at least 200 feet away from any residences. One of the pumps at the gas station that Giant is proposing to build is only 168 feet away from the Wyndon Apartments. Another pump would only be 144 feet from the apartments.
Recorded vent emissions factors were >10 times higher than estimates used to derive setback distances for gas stations.
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Ken Kehres is director of fuel for PeaPod Digital Labs – a sister company to Giant. He said that nine of the 200 gas stations that Giant operates have pumps closer than 200 feet away from nearby residential properties. According to Kehres there have been no environmental emergencies at any of the Giant gas stations.
However, when Max Hauser, a resident of Wynnewood Plaza (located across Lancater Avenue from the proposed gas station), asked Kehres if Giant “conducts or reviews research on the long-term health impacts of those living in close proximity to a gas station” – Kehres responded “I do not.”
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Later in the hearing, Hauser asked to submit three articles about the negative health impacts of having gas stations located near residences.
Counsel for Giant objected to Hauser’s request, claiming that it was “hearsay.”
After hearing that one of the articles was authored by researchers from Columbia University and Johns Hopkins, another was done by a group of researchers from respected French academic institutions and was partially funded by the French Ministry of the environment, and the third article was published by Springer, a publisher of academic research – Board Chair, Kenneth Brier, agreed to allow the articles to be submitted into the record.
We found that clusters of gas stations have increased cancer risk compared to a single gas station because of cumulative emissions from the individual gas stations.
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When asked to comment on the three articles Hauser submitted about the health risks associated with gas stations located close to residences, Ashley Flower, Public Relations Manger for The GIANT Company responded, via email –
We appreciate all of the feedback shared during the recent zoning hearing board meeting as well as the opportunity to speak to our proposal in greater detail. We look forward to continuing the process in hopes of bringing our proposed fuel site to the Wynnewood community.
Gas stations are highly regulated for leaks now. Studies based on older tanks are not good comparisons The newer tanks are all doubled walled etc. Testing and inspections are required by the state DEP. If the neighbors get public water instrad of well water there should be a great risk of contaminated water
If the gas station goes up everyone should not shop at giant anymore if your strongly against it. I will not shop there anymore, hopefully others will follow.