The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been on the scene of an Alabama landfill fire for just over a week now, and air quality readings taken at the site are beginning to show some improvement as contractors work to smother the underground fire with dirt.

Air quality in the area may still be dangerous to people, and EPA contractors operating the equipment at the site are still supposed to wear respirators or supplemental air, and limit exposure to the smoke as much as possible.

“We’re doing our job,” said EPA Region 4 Administrator Daniel Blackman, who oversees the EPA’s operations in the Southeastern states.

The fire has been burning since late November, but wasn’t handed over to the EPA until January 18.

Blackman said the agency was quick to respond after air samples taken at the site showed elevated levels of natural and synthetic chemicals that can be harmful to people who breathe it in.

“Whether it’s an issue in Alabama, or in any of our eight states, our job is to recognize when there’s a community impact,” Blackman told AL.com Friday. “From the time we got the information, we put boots on the ground.”

Residents living near the blaze have reported experiencing symptoms including headaches, coughing, breathing problems, difficulty sleeping and constant smoke smells since the fire was first reported on Nov. 25. Many who are able to relocate have left their homes to stay with family or in rental properties.

Since arriving on the scene last week, the EPA installed continuous air monitors at four locations in and around the site, and has begun grading the site with heavy construction equipment and using tons of fill dirt to bury the embers and thousands of gallons of water to help control the smoke leaving the site.

Those air monitors show that the amount of particulate matter in the air near the site has been decreasing since the agency took over.

EPA On-Scene Coordinator Terry Stilman told AL.com on Friday that the work was progressing as expected so far.

“We’re moving forward, things are going well,” Stilman said. “We’ve reduced the amount of smoke coming off the landfill and we’re continuing to move forward.”

”We’re hoping within a month, there’ll be very little noticeable smoke.”

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Birmingham-area landfill fire still burns after 6 weeks

Lance LeFleur, director of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, said he was pleased with the EPA’s response.

“Progress is moving along smartly,” LeFleur said Friday. “Getting started was the difficult part. Executing is going very well. I’m very pleased with the progress that’s being made.”

LeFleur said he was encouraged by the air quality measurements coming from the site.

“The air discharges are declining every day, and you can see that with those statistics,” LeFleur said.

ADEM is keeping personnel at the site to observe and will likely investigate after the fire is extinguished to determine whether illegal materials were disposed of in the landfill or burning violations occurred.

The Environmental Landfill was designated as a green waste landfill that was only supposed to accept materials such as fallen trees and vegetation. However, ADEM inspectors and neighbors reported seeing tires, construction waste, electronics, roofing materials, and automobile parts at the site.

According to ADEM and EPA documents, a sign at the landfill indicates that asphalt and concrete were acceptable materials, and the landfill was often left unattended, with a camera and an honor box set up for customers to report material deposited at the site.

The landfill is owned by a trust and operated by family members of the trustee. The owners and operators could face penalties from the EPA or ADEM.

Meanwhile, the EPA continues to bring in fill dirt from a site about 2.5 miles away to smother the fire. The agency warns that there will be increased truck traffic in the area as the work progresses.

“We know there’s a lot of work to do,” Blackman said. “But I think people can be reassured that EPA is here, and we’re taking a very unbiased approach to resolving the problem and doing our job.”