Crematorium burning 3,000 bodies a year bad for Oakland, suit says
A lawsuit filed this week by an East Oakland environmental group alleges the city approved a large crematorium without considering the impact that burning roughly 3,000 bodies a year could have on neighbors.
The group, Communities for a Better Environment, believes city planners incorrectly labeled the crematorium a “general manufacturing facility” that did not need a public hearing to be approved, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Area residents are concerned the crematorium will send toxins into the already-polluted air.
“We’re in the midst of more toxic pollution here because we’re a disenfranchised community,” said Maxine Oliver-Benson, an East Oakland resident and member of Communities for a Better Environment. “Our families’ health is not being taken seriously and we don’t want the dead to kill the living.”
A spokesperson for the group that runs the crematorium, which currently operates in Emeryville, told the Chronicle they had not seen the lawsuit and had no comment.
ALSO:
NTSB hearing on Asiana crash focuses on pilot skill, training
Mountain lion kills dog in La Crescenta; more sightings reported
Ryan O’Neal testifies Andy Warhol gave him portrait of Farrah Fawcett
Twitter: @aribloomekatz | Facebook
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
