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FORT LAWN, S.C. -
Potential neighbors of a planned waste-to-energy incinerator are lining up to oppose the project amid fears of health problems, foul odors and long-term pollution.
The company that wants to build the incinerator on 100 acres off S.C. 9 near Fort Lawn says the fears are unfounded.
The Chester County Council agrees, already having given two votes of approval for a rezoning to allow the project to move forward with a final vote scheduled next month.
But concerns persist.
Though the company, New Jersey-based Covanta Energy, touts itself as environmentally friendly, it has faced hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines during the past five years for air quality violations in states where it operates similar incinerators, according to government records.
Covanta says the violations are merely blips in an otherwise nearly flawless environmental record. The company emphasizes that its plants are not like old-fashioned incinerators that belched thick, black smoke.
That has done little to sway some neighbors who say the incinerator would be nothing but trouble.
"They're not looking at the community, at the value of the homes in the community. They're not looking at the health of the people," said Krista Bradshaw, 32, who lives 2 miles from the proposed site.
A health threat?
Among Bradshaw's chief concerns is that the plant would harm the health of residents, such as her 2-month-old daughter. Bradshaw and other opponents worry about excessive emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, lead and other pollutants associated with waste-to-energy incinerators.
Though federal laws limit a plant's emissions, opponents say the levels of pollutants that are considered safe still can be unhealthy over time.
Bradshaw points to a 27-year study conducted in the United Kingdom and cited by the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League that found cancer and leukemia rates were higher in children living near incinerators. The risks doubled for children living within three miles of an incinerator, according to the study.
The proposed Covanta plant would be within a few miles of Lewisville elementary, middle and high schools.
John Phillips, vice president of business development for Covanta, said such studies are irrelevant because they're based on older incinerators that operated before the current emissions guidelines and pollution controls. Phillips said the industry has been studied exhaustively by independent groups and that there is no link between waste-to-energy plants and cancer among nearby residents.
"These are absolutely unfounded concerns," he said. "There is no data that supports these claims."
The Health Protection Agency, an independent government organization in the U.K., released a study in September that backs up Phillips' assertion.
The agency concluded that "while it is not possible to rule out adverse health effects completely, any potential damage from modern, well-run and regulated incinerators is likely to be so small that it would be undetectable."
"The evidence suggests that air pollution from incinerators makes up a fraction of 1 percent of the country's particulate emissions," the agency said in a news release. "Industry and traffic account for more than 50 percent."
Further, Phillips says emissions at Covanta's waste-to-energy plants have been reduced by 90 percent since 1990. The company's emissions usually are 60 percent to 80 percent below permit limits, he said.
There have been instances of excessive emissions, for which Covanta has faced fines, but Phillips likens those to an individual receiving a speeding ticket. He said the company is compliant "99.9 percent" of the time.
"We strive for 100 percent compliance. You have to strive for excellence, and you have to strive for perfection," he said. "(But) We're not perfect."
Jimmy Bruce, 43, who lives 3 miles from the site, has heard claims of Covanta's environmental friendliness but still worries about pollution. He says community awareness about the project is lacking.
The $600 million investment the plant would represent -- and the 50 permanent jobs it would bring -- aren't worth the potential health risks, he said.
"It's not a good trade-off," he said.
Frank Hawkins, 69, who lives a 5-mile drive from the site, worries about the smell of burning trash.
"On a nice, placid day, it might not be a problem," he said.
"But on a windy day ... all of a sudden, we're inundated."
Phillips says the plants emit no smell because odors are destroyed in the combustion process.
"It's nothing, nothing like what some of the opponents are trying to represent it to be," he said.
'We know the truth'
Chester County Supervisor Carlisle Roddey said county leaders have studied the idea for more than a year and have visited other Covanta waste-to-energy plants. They're certain that county residents will have nothing to worry about.
"There's somebody going around spreading stuff that's not true. We've done due diligence on this thing for over a year. We know the truth," Roddey said. "Why would I bring something here, or even think about bringing something here, that would harm anybody?"
Karlisa Parker, the county's economic development director, was among the local leaders who visited four other Covanta sites around the country and interviewed neighbors and lawmakers about the company's record as a corporate citizen.
"We were astounded at the responses we got," she said. "The facilities are clean; they're vibrant. The communities around them are growing."
The plants were located near condominiums, subway stations, restaurants and other industrial businesses, Parker said.
"If this is something that was billowing out black smoke, I don't know that anyone would want to be next to it," she said. "We certainly are not going to put something out there that's going to be churning out black toxic smoke and ash that colors everything dark brown."
Environmental groups oppose waste-to-energy plants because they contend the facilities aren't as green as advertised.
Lou Zeller, science director for the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, said he's done preliminary research on Covanta's Chester County proposal and that the emissions still would pose health and environmental risks, even while meeting federal guidelines.
Zeller said the 1,600 tons of waste the plant would process each day would emit large amounts of nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and other compounds that contribute to climate change, acid rain and respiratory ailments.
The effects of these emissions might go unseen to most people, he argues, but they still are present.
"When you go to tour these facilities, it might be a sunny day, and it looks like a little white puff coming out of the stack. ... Those pollutants are not harmless. They have an impact," Zeller said. "When they go to these plants and don't smell anything ... it doesn't mean that people are not getting sick and dying."
Zeller said he's working with opponents of the Chester County proposal to educate county leaders about the potential pitfalls of waste-to-energy incinerators.
"I don't think they've gotten the full story," he said. "We think the council would do the right thing if they knew what we know."
Fines 'not uncommon'Federal records show clean-air violations have occurred over the past five years at Covanta-operated facilities. For example, one plant in Chester, Pa., was fined more than $45,000 last year for emitting excessive levels of nickel. It was cited again as recently as March for excessive emissions in one of its stacks. The problem has since been fixed, according to the EPA.
Overall, EPA records show, Covanta's current plants have been fined more than $600,000 for clean-air violations in the past five years. However, the plant with the most fines, the Chester, Pa., facility -- which has faced more than $300,000 in fines since 2004 -- wasn't owned by Covanta until mid-2005.
The largest single fine for that plant, more than $231,000, came under the previous owner, American Ref-Fuel.
Phillips said that when one considers the tens of thousands of work hours at Covanta's 43 plants, the number of violations is relatively small.
The EPA said such citations actually are a sign that the enforcement system is working.
"It is not uncommon for facilities to have violations. That's why they keep testing," said Bonnie Smith, an EPA spokeswoman. "The important part is that the companies come back into compliance. ... That's why we set rules, that's why we set permit limits."
Phillips said Covanta has issued an open invitation for anyone in Chester County to visit its plants to see and experience the operation in person. Some residents already have done so, he said.
"It's important for people to be knowledgeable," Phillips said.
These assurances don't mean much to opponents, who plan to keep fighting the proposal.
"Anytime a politician says, 'Don't worry about it'" Bruce said, "I need to be worried."
The Chester County Council will take its final vote on the rezoning Dec. 7.
Covanta would need approval from the state Department of Health and Environmental Control before construction could begin.
About waste-to-energy plants
In a waste-to-energy plant, municipal solid waste -- including common household trash -- is transferred into combustion chambers, where it is reduced to 10 percent of its original volume, according to the Covanta Web site. The process heats up water in steel tubes that is then turned into steam and sent through a turbine that continuously generates electricity.
The plants are touted as an environmentally friendly way to dispose of solid waste because they reduce the production of greenhouse gases while generating more electricity.
Should the Chester County plant get state approval, the county plans to negotiate a "tipping fee" for when other communities want to use the facility. For example, if another city or county wanted to send its garbage to the plant, Covanta would pay Chester County a host fee.
