A waste-to-energy (Incinerator) citizens' concern meeting was held on
Thursday - Sept. 16, 2004
Pittston Area High School, Yatesville, PA
Dr. Paul Connett, Professor of Chemistry at St. Lawrence College in Canton, NY, warned - and presented evidence of - the dangers of incinerators.
Approximately 200 concerned residents of the Pittston Township area turned up to hear internationally recognized expert Dr. Paul Connett, professor of chemistry at St. Lawrence College in Canton, NY, warn about the dangers of the proposed incinerator for Pittston Township, PA.
Dr. Connett stated that an incinerator has NOT been built in the United States in 8 years!
Dr. Connett also stated that he suspected that areas usually targeted for incinerators are where there is an element of desperation. Certainly, with the recent Techneglas closing and now Schott Optical layoffs, our area could qualify as becoming somewhat "desperate".
Dr. Paul Connett spoke for about 3 1/2 hours about the dangers of incinerators. He explained in detail how the waste management industry can skew the results of the annual tests performed on fly ash to make the ash meet the federal standards. He also explained that all the laws intended to protect nearby residents from dioxins, mercury, lead and other toxins which can come from an incinerator can be meaningless because laws are only as good as the enforcement they receive.
Dr.Connett, a professor of chemistry at St. Lawrence University in New York, has been researching and tracking the waste management industry for more than 20 years. He has traveled to 49 states speaking of the dangers of incinerators, and to 47 countries.
"You are being invited to take this county into the waste business," Connett said. "You will get a pitiful profit of what this company makes."
Dr. Connett urged the attendees to visit the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternative Web site at www.no-burn.org. At least one newspaper INCORRECTLY printed the web address as "www.no-burn.COM". It is .ORG and NOT .COM!
In his presentation, which utilized a slide projector, Dr. Connett explained how incineration plants are given a months notice before the fly ash is tested for toxicity, thereby giving them plenty of time to set the stage for a favorable outcome. He also showed a memo in which the management of an incinerator instructed workers, in preparation for the federal testing, to stockpile "safe" trash to be burned prior to testing.
Dr. Connett is a proponent of "Zero Waste for the 21st Century". He told the audience that our country is consuming and producing far more than the rest of the world. We are therefore generating far more garbage than the rest of the world. The United States makes up on 5% of the worlds population, he stated, but we generate about half of the trash. But Dr. Connett does not just present problems. He presents solutions. Dr. Connett recommended that those who want facts on incineration visit: www.No-Burn.org
As part of his talk, Dr. Connett presented a 32 minute film which showed how Canberra, Australia, Nova Scotia, and San Francisco are turning their trash into safe recyclables, and are creating jobs at the same time. He made it clear that he is NOT against big business per se.
"I'm not frightened of profit. What I want is to remove the profit out of making waste. We are exploiting the environment."
According to Dr. Paul Connett's statistics, Luzerne County residents, in total, produce approximately 800 tons of garbage daily. The proposed incinerator, or "waste-to-energy plant", as promotors are dubbing the 3000 ton daily incinerator, for Pittston Township will take in 3000 tons of garbage from New York, New Jersey, and other states on a daily basis, all of it rolling into the area on garbage trucks. (Pennsylvania is already the largest importer of garbage in the entire United States.) The fly ash generated by the 3,000,000 daily pounds of gargage will be incinerated and the result will be approximately 1000 TONS of ash, according to Dr. Connett. That is 200 tons, or 200,000 pounds, more ASH than our entire Luzerne County generates in garbage on a daily basis. We can safely assume that the ash will be sent to local landfills.
Dr. Connett stated he suspects that, if the incinerator goes through, Pittston Township will possibly get trash from all of New York City- or worse- hazardous waste.
PA State Representative James Wanczak, a Democrat from the Taylor area, cautioned the crowd that they should not allow their heads to be turned by the offer of money from Antonello Boldrini, the Pittston Township businessman proposing the construction of the facility.
"Do you think we're going to attract the best companies to that industrial park? Big garbage trucks will be coming from New York and New Jersey. They'll be coming every five minutes. Yeah, we may get some jobs, but it's going to cost us thousands of jobs. I'm not saying incinerators are the worst in the world, but they're not the best in the world; not in an industrial park next to residences."
"With money comes consequences," Wanczak said. "What is your property worth? What is your quality of life and health worth?"
Rep. Wanczak was referring to incinerator promotor Antonio Boldrini's promise of 300 jobs at the "waste-to-energy" plant at $10 per hour, and reduced energy bills for a certain amount of time. Reports indicate that Pittston Township supervisors have been promised $7 million dollars annually if the incinerator goes through. No one has stated where that money would be applied. (At least one Pittston Township Supervisor, Tony Attardo, was at the presentation. He was seen leaving at approximately 10 p.m., about 50 minutes prior to the ending of the meeting.)
If you would like more information on the grassroots effort to stop the proposed incinerator, please visit NEPACREED.com
A recent check of the above web site indicates it has not been updated since the September 16th presentation by Dr. Paul Connett. Please continue to check their web site, and this one, for notification of an update. The flood which occured over the week-end has overshadowed the incinerator concerns for now, but we are sure there will be news forthcoming.
What is really confusing about all this? Well, according to Pittston Township Supervisor Joseph "Murph" Adams, there is an ordinance, passin in 1990, prohibiting the incinerator, or waste-to-energy, plant. So why is it even still considered a possibility? Here is what was said during the July 2004 Board of Supervisors of Pittston Township meeting:
Tony Attardo: "This proposed plant will not only affect people in the Glendale and Suscon area of the township, it will affect people within a 30- to 50-mile radius of the plant site."
And the 1990 ordinance that was cited by Joseph "Murph" Adams, chairman of the board, is Ordinance No. 1, which prohibits the expansion, OPENING or CREATION of any NEW sanitary landfill site, solid and/or liquid waste HANDLING or t reatment facility, or any waste transfer facility.
Pittston Area School Board on Tuesday announced plans to oppose the proposed waste-to-energy incincerator that has been the recent hot topic in Pittston, Dupont and Pittston Township. According to the article in the Times Leader, Superindendent Frank Serino told the public that a letter, expressing opposition to the planned incinerator, went out to the Pittston Area Board of Supervisors recently.
Read the Times Leader story HERE
A group of concerned citizens from the Pittston area has formed a grassroots group committed to protecting the environment in their community.
Northeastern Pennsylvania Citizens for Responsible Environmental and Economic Development, or NEPA CREED, was formed by concerned area residents who oppose a municipal waste incineration plant in Pittston Township. In a news release, the group described themselves as "a grassroots organization dedicated to protecting the quality of life and natural environment in Northeastern Pennsylvania."
Now, NEPA CREED has expanded their mission to the Hazleton area.
Last week officials from West Hazleton-based Micci Energy Corp. presented plans to Hazle Township officials for a municipal solid waste gasification plant there. And NEPA CREED has presented officials from the Micci Energy Corporation with a challenge.
NEPA CREED spokeswoman Tammy Urbanski, listing concerns the group has about the Hazle Township proposal, including "increased health risks, increased truck traffic, economic impact, whether environmental concerns for incineration also apply to plasma gasification facilities and the importing of out-of-state garbage.", according to the Times Leader article, has asked for a public debate between Micci experts touting the safety of the incinerator and experts who disagree.
Read more about this topic by clicking below:
Keywords: Pittston AND incinerator
Times Leader Article by STEVE MOCARSKY, August 16,2004
The July 16 meeting was extremely crowded with both Dupont and Pittston and Pittston Township residents who are opposing the proposed waste-to-energy plant (another name for incinerator). The crowd spilled out into the hallways and into the front of the building.
The television crews were there, as was the Citizens Voice. Times Leader writer, Casey Jones, wrote an interesting article supporting the opposition to the incinerator in the July 22nd edition of the daily.
Many residents could not get into the meeting, due to overcrowding. However, the sentiment was clear by not only the size of the crowd, but the opinions expressed: residents of Pittston Township and nearby communities are OPPOSED to this proposed incinerator.
The testimony from the residents opposed to the proposed incinerator rang through the hallways. One resident in particular was very well-spoken. She told the supervisors that she hopes they decide not to allow the incinerator. She asked the Pittston Township supervisors to remember that throughout history we have been told that things were safe - when they were not. This resident cited arsenic, asbestos, tobacco and many other hazardous and toxic substances which research showed, many years and many victims later, to be very bad for our health.
In a story which appeared in the July 14, 2004 Times Leader, it was revealed that the Dupont Council voted anonymously to send a letter to Pittston Township officials stating a stance in opposition to the proposed incinerator in Pittston Township.
Read the Times Leader article of July 14th, 2004 here:Dupont Residents Against Waste-To-Energy Plant in Pittston Township
One resident expressed concern that trash trucks will be passing within 2 miles of a kindergarten center.
Perhaps if Dupont and Pittston Township residents had known that the Verizon cell phone tower and building was going to be put in Pittston Township (it's near Redner's and Borino's) back in the spring and summer of 2002, they would have protested in a similar fashion. "Over 100 physicians and scientists at Harvard and Boston University Schools of Public Health have called cellular towers a radiation hazard. Over 100 physicians and scientists at Harvard and Boston University Schools of Public Health have called cellular towers a radiation hazard. And, 33 delegate physicians from 7 countries have declared cell phone towers a "public health emergency".
The cell phone tower in Pittston Township is in close proximity (far less than a mile) to the new Pittston Area Primary Center, which is located almost directly across the highway in Hughestown.
Many - if not most - of the Pittston area residents did not even know what was going to be put where the tower - and Verizon building - now stand. The land was cleared of a huge mountain of dirt (it was hauled to Market Street in Pittston Township, and dumped behind homes across from the cemetary) and the building and mobile phone tower went up - very quickly. Some people STILL don't know, if you stop and ask them, what the nature of that cell phone tower and Verizon Communications building are up there in Pittston Township next to the Pittston Plaza.
If you would like to see more about the possible risks related to cell phone towers, visit a research page linked from here: Cell Phone and Mobile Phone Towers - Electromagnetic Frequency - Radiation
Here's another article which points out an alarming fact: The Telecommunications Act of 1996 prohibits the banning of cell phone towers outright. However, that does NOT mean that community officials don't have a say on where the cell phone towers go...
Cell-Phone Towers and Communities: The Struggle for Local Control by B. Blake Levitt
JUNE 21st, 2004
Proposed Incinerator was publicly discussed for the first time
Reaction against it is strong
Many residents showed up for this meeting to propose the incinerator or, as it is alternately called, a "waste-to-energy plant".
Businessman Antonello Boldrini plans to hold a public meeting to see if any Pittston Township residents feel differently than the protestors. But, according to the reaction to the planned incineator at June's meeting, and May's as well, the Pittston township residents are not interested. Many are downright fearful.
Among the concerns: dangerous levels of dioxin, mercury and other emissions form waste-to-energy incinerators.
Here are some previous newspaper articles on the subject:
Opposition Strong Against Waste-to-Energy Plant in Pittston Twsp. (incinerator)
Pittston Township Supervisor - Incinerator - Money Matters
If you would like to contact any of your State Senators or Representatives about waste disposal in Pennsylvania and how they have voted on such issues - and all other issues, go here:
Want to see who contributes money to which politician? Go here:
Other interesting links:
FOLLOW THE MONEY.org
Waste Importation by State for the entire U.S.
You just might be SHOCKED to see how much trash - hazardous, asbestos, and otherwise, that PA legislators, House of Representatives and Senate, have allowed to come into our state.
PA is the KING of trash importation. Why are our lawmakers allowing this?
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