OH EPA Approves Modification for East Liverpool Toxic Incinerator (now handles Anthrax)

[mod mom]

http://www.epa.state.oh.us/pic/nr/2008/january/VonRoll.html

For Release: January 9, 2008
Media Contact: Mike Settles, [phone]
Citizen Contact: Caroline Markworth, [phone]


Ohio EPA Approves Permit Modification
For East Liverpool Incinerator

Ohio EPA has given final approval for Von Roll America, Inc., to receive, manage and incinerate waste not previously taken at its hazardous waste incinerator located at 1250 St. George Street in East Liverpool.

The permit modification allows the facility to receive and manage mixed infectious and hazardous waste. Typical wastes could include vaccines containing mercury; sharps containing chemotherapy drugs; growth plates and Petri dishes containing hazardous components; and tissue and organs from small lab animals preserved in ethanol or formaldehyde.

Ohio law requires that any infectious waste that also is hazardous waste be managed as hazardous waste. While the permit modification allows Von Roll to accept mixed infectious and hazardous waste, the facility will continue to be prohibited from accepting and treating waste that is only infectious.

On February 21, 2007, Ohio EPA held a public meeting in East Liverpool to discuss the draft permit modification. Comments presented at that meeting and during the public comment period were considered prior to final approval. Ohio EPA's written response to public comments is available online at:www.epa.state.oh.us/dhwm/von_roll_america_inc.html.

Issuance of the final permit modification can be appealed to the Environmental Review Appeals Commission (ERAC), 309 S. Fourth Street, Room 222, Columbus, Ohio 43215. Many appeals must be filed within 30 days of the issuance of the final permit; therefore, Ohio EPA recommends that anyone wishing to file an appeal contact ERAC at [phone] for more information. The appeal must be in writing and a copy must be received by the Ohio EPA director within three days of filing with ERAC. Further appeals can be made through civil courts.

The permit modification and related materials are available for review at the Carnegie Public Library located at 219 East Fourth Street, East Liverpool, and at Ohio EPA's Northeast District Office in Twinsburg by first calling [phone].


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found this at daily kos:

The Latest: January,2008
Ohio EPA Approves Permit Modification
For East Liverpool Incinerator (from OEPA pdf file
The permit modification allows the facility to receive and manage mixed infectious and hazardous waste. Typical wastes could include vaccines containing mercury; sharps containing chemotherapy drugs; growth plates and Petri dishes containing hazardous components; and tissue and organs from small lab animals preserved in ethanol or formaldehyde.
Ohio law requires that any infectious waste that also is hazardous waste be managed as hazardous waste. While the permit modification allows Von Roll to accept mixed infectious and hazardous waste, the facility will continue to be prohibited from accepting and treating waste that is only infectious.
Examples: From the public hearing PDF
Concerns Regarding Anthrax:
Comment 2:
Alonzo Spencer had the following question: "Will this facility be permitted to handle Anthrax at all?"
Response 2:
Yes, VRA will be authorized under this permit modification to manage anthrax, if it meets the definition of a mixed infectious and hazardous waste (MIHW). MIHW is defined as infectious waste that is also hazardous waste. In order to be managed as MIHW, waste must be both infectious waste and hazardous waste simultaneously. If a waste stream contained a mixture of untreated anthrax and hazardous waste with hazardous waste codes, then VRA could request to manage the waste under this permit modification request. Based upon Ohio EPA knowledge of waste generation, it is unlikely waste streams containing both anthrax and hazardous waste will be generated.
Untreated anthrax, by itself, does not meet the description of mixed infectious and hazardous waste (MIHW) because no hazardous waste codes are associated with it. Therefore, untreated anthrax without a hazardous component is solely infectious waste and cannot be accepted and managed at VRA at all. Solely infectious waste must be managed at an infectious waste treatment facility
Translated: Not Anthrax alone but if the waste contains a mixture of Anthrax and other wastes, it's Okey Dokey.
Radioactive Waste:
Comment 9:
Richard Wolf had the following question: "It says MIHW must be monitored for radioactivity to ensure levels do not exceed background concentration. How about letting us know what the background concentrations are?"
Response 9:
Radioactivity of incoming hazardous waste is currently evaluated by VRA personnel during analysis of samples in accordance with the Waste Characteristics and Waste Analysis Plan (WAP). Radioactivity levels of individual containers are also monitored as appropriate. In the case of MIHW waste, each individual container will be monitored.
Radioactivity measurements taken for quality control purposes to calibrate the monitor are measured inside of the VRA laboratory on a daily basis. Measurements between 11 and 14 counts per second are considered background levels. During waste evaluations, radioactivity readings above 14 would be considered unusual and VRA would take further action at that time.
On Infectious Waste:
Richard Wolf had related questions, such as: "Concentration of what? What percentage of it is infectious; what percentage is hazardous? When does infectious waste contaminate hazardous waste? When does hazardous waste contain infectious?"
Response 3:
The word "mixed" (MIHW) in mixed infectious and hazardous waste refers to the waste being simultaneously infectious as well as hazardous at the point of generation. VRA is prohibited from accepting solely infectious waste, and that will not change with the approval of this permit modification request. Therefore, solely infectious waste cannot be accepted at the VRA facility and then mixed with hazardous waste, as a means of creating mixed infectious and hazardous waste.
Translation: It cannot be mixed at the site but if it is mixed before it gets there, no problem.
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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/1/31/21045/9822/688/446786

This site is located on a FLOODPLAIN LOCATED NEAR AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!

[mod mom]

1. Photos here show why it such a bad idea-right on the Ohio River (floodplain)

http://www.ohiocitizen.org/campaigns/wti/publicrelations.html

[mod mom]

2. History from a U of Michigan Case Study:

The Problem

The Waste Technologies Industry, Inc. incinerator is located in the floodplain of the Ohio River in East Liverpool, Ohio. The surrounding area is elevated on a bluff, such that incinerator's stack is level with the windows of local buildings. The incinerator is located about 300 feet from homes and just 1100 feet from an elementary school. The location of the facility has been intensely criticized by citizens, scientists, and government officials alike. East Liverpool is located at the juncture of Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, approximately 35 miles from Pittsburgh.
The WTI struggle is a regional issue that drew much national attention during the early 1990's, much to the credit of organizer Terri Swearingen, a citizen of Chester, W. VA. who coordinates the Tri-State Environmental Council. Tri-State Environmental Council became outraged by the various environmental problems that the WTI facility has created for several reasons. First, there has never been a comprehensive study of the potential health effects upon the surrounding community, either from inhalation of toxics or accumulation of materials (such as dioxin, a known carcinogen) in fatty tissues and subsequent transmission via mother's milk or the food chain. Also, the incinerator will be pumping hazardous chemicals into the environment, including mercury and other heavy metals. It is expected to emit 4.5 tons of lead per year, and this less than 400 yards from an elementary school and residential area.

Foremost, issues of environmental justice have been avoided by regulatory officials through this struggle, although it has been observed that East Liverpool and the surrounding communities are predominantly low-income and minority neighborhoods. These neighborhoods have already incurred adverse environmental effects from existing local industry. Government response during the reauthorization process for WTI as well as towards these concerns has been conspicuously slow.

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http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/mcormick.html#Key%20Actors