Trial Burn Begins at Controversial Incinerator

A trial burn began Tuesday at a hazardous-waste incinerator that generated criticism from Vice President Al Gore and picketing by opponents.

A federal judge cleared the way last week for Waste Technologies Industries to go ahead with a trial of at least eight days but said commercial operation must await an analysis of the test burning.

The $160-million incinerator was completed last year along the Ohio River, 300 feet from a neighborhood and 1,100 feet from an elementary school. Some residents in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia have fought it, along with Greenpeace and other environmental groups.

Proponents said the incinerator will be a source of industrial development in economically depressed eastern Ohio, but opponents call it an environmental disaster that will scare away potential businesses and residents.

Opponents wanted the federal Environmental Protection Agency to study risks to the food chain from dioxin before burning was allowed. Opponents also are worried about the emission of other chemicals, including lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium.

The plant would burn byproducts, such as solvents and sludges from refineries, automobile plants, chemical plants and other industrial operations. The company said the incinerator would safely destroy 99.99% of all material.

Opponents have protested outside the incinerator, and more than 100 people have been arrested.

In Washington, about 20 opponents tried to arrange a meeting Tuesday with Gore’s staff in an effort to stop the burn. An assistant to the vice president told the group no one was available. They went to a park across from the White House and demonstrated.

Gore said in December that matters relating to the health effects of lead and mercury emissions, construction standards and location of the plant, along with permit issues, “have consistently been downplayed or ignored by the Environmental Protection Agency.”

He called for an investigation by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, and one is under way.

Opponents had asked U.S. District Judge Ann Aldrich to block the trial burn because of dioxin, a suspected cause of cancer.

Federal regulators and consultants hired by the plant said opponents misinterpreted test data. They said the cancer risk was below EPA standards.