Federal Judge Delays Decision on Test of Ohio Incinerator

A federal judge on Friday postponed until at least February a decision on whether a controversial new hazardous waste incinerator should be allowed to conduct a test.

U.S. District Judge Ann Aldrich scheduled three days of hearings starting Feb. 7 to hear more testimony on health questions raised by opponents of the facility in East Liverpool, Ohio.

The judge gave no indication of when she would rule on the issue. A temporary order that she issued a week ago halting the planned test remains in effect.

Aldrich, who heard testimony on the issue Friday, said the unusual Sunday date for the continued hearings was designed to accommodate witnesses who will be called to testify.

The recently completed $160-million incinerator, which could burn up to 60,000 tons of toxic waste a year, was built by Waste Technologies Industries, a unit of Von Roll Inc. of Switzerland. Opponents, including the environmental group Greenpeace and some local residents, contend that the test won’t measure the plant’s real-life performance and poses an unacceptably high threat of releasing dioxin, a chemical linked to cancer in laboratory animals.

Vice President Al Gore raised questions about the plant during the presidential campaign and urged that a federal investigation be conducted before it is allowed to start operations.