60 Protesting Ohio Incinerator Are Arrested Near White House
About 60 demonstrators handcuffed themselves to a mock toxic waste incinerator and were arrested Monday to protest approval of commercial operation of an incinerator in East Liverpool, Ohio.
The mock incinerator was a van carrying a smokestack that spewed mock pollution onto Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House. “Clinton-Gore: Keep Your Word: Shut It Down!” was written on the vehicle. The arrested protesters included actor Martin Sheen.
Activists in the Ohio Valley have been fighting the incinerator, built by Swiss steel group Von Roll AG, for more than a decade, arguing that its emissions will harm residents in the heavily populated region and especially children in a nearby elementary school.
Vice President Al Gore promised in December to prevent operation of the $160-million facility until after the results of a federal investigation were released this summer. But the Environmental Protection Agency in April approved limited commercial operations at the facility, which is owned by Von Roll subsidiary Waste Technologies Inc.
It said the results of a trial burn at the facility met emission levels specified in its permit, but Greenpeace organizer Beth Newman said the incinerator emitted four times more mercury than allowed under law.
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