Burning Questions

An environmental-impact report was clearly needed for the hazardous-waste incinerator proposed for Vernon. Now there must be one. The South Coast Air Quality Management District has wisely reversed itself and ordered that the report be prepared by an independent consultant. The incinerator, which would burn wastes like solvents and paint sludges, may well be as safe as its advocates say it will be, but the people who live and work in the area deserve the kind of reassurance that only a full-fledged study can provide.

The air-quality district and the state Department of Health Services had issued most of the permits that California Thermal Treatment Services needs to build the incinerator four milesfrom downtown Los Angeles. The company had filed many documents assessing health risks, but neither of the government agencies had required the formal environmental report. Residents of the neighborhood, East Los Angeles politicians and some business people questioned the project, saying that they just weren’t convinced of its safety.

No matter what happens in Vernon, California must decide how to handle these and even more dangerous wastes. It may be far safer and more economical to burn the wastes, with careful control of any gases or residues from the process, than to truck them to disposal sites in someone else’s back yard. It’s time for the state to come to terms with this question.