https://socialistaction.org/2019/05/02/pa-toxic-waste-plant-defeated-for-now/
Pa. toxic waste plant defeated ??? for now
/ 14 hours ago
May 2019 Toxic wasteBy JOHN LESLIE
On the evening of April 30, a contentious meeting of the Falls Township
Board of Supervisors denied the site plan application for the
Israeli-based Elcon Recycling to build a 32-acre toxic waste ???treatment???
plant in lower Bucks County, Pa.
Hundreds of area residents turned out to oppose construction of the
toxic facility. Dozens spoke against the plant during the public comment
period, citing cancer risks, the danger posed to area drinking water,
the dangers of transporting toxic waste by truck on local roads, and air
pollution. Lower Bucks a ready has an F air quality rating. The plant???s
emissions, which would include lead, carbon and particulate matter would
only worsen the situation. A small contingent of Building Trades workers
with signs demanding construction of the plant and the creation of jobs
left before the public comment period.
It???s not over, of course. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) is still considering the technical application
submitted by Elcon. If the DEP decides in Elcon???s favor, the company
could submit a new proposal to the Township or appeal the Township???s
decision in court. Township Supervisors cited critical errors of fact in
the site plan proposal as the reasons for the vote to deny.
The proposed facility would boil toxic chemical and pharmaceutical waste
to remove the water from it, reducing the materials to a toxic sludge.
The resulting waste, which could contain elements such as lead, cadmium,
and mercury, would be disposed of or stored elsewhere. An estimated 20
trucks per day would transport liquid waste to the facility daily. Elcon
has promised not to transport toxic waste by barge or rail, despite the
fact that a rail spur comes to the property and the location of the
plant near the Delaware River. The company projected that as much as
210,000 tons of waste would be processed annually.
As we reported in a previous article ???Ten percent of the U.S. population
lives within 100 miles of this plant. Proximity of the proposed facility
to the river is a concern because 17 million people get their drinking
water from the Delaware. If a spill were to occur, water supplies could
be threatened for weeks. Any release of hazardous materials into the
river would threaten recreational boating and fishing.???
The fight against toxic capitalism is part of the broader struggle to
combat climate change. Saving life on this planet will require a mass
movement of workers and oppressed people standing up to big corporations
and their political acolytes in both capitalist parties. It???s clear that
powerful corporate and political interests want the Elcon facility
built. After all, under capitalism profits come before the interests of
people and planet. If Elcon makes another try, and we expect that they
will, defeating them will require going beyond lobbying and court
battles and into the streets.
Photo: Samantha Sciarrotta / communitynews.org
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May 2, 2019 in Environment, Philadelphia, Uncategorized.
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David Hume
??? In our reasonings concerning matter of fact, there are all imaginable
degrees of assurance, from the highest certainty to the lowest species of moral
evidence. A wise man, therefore, proportions his belief to the evidence. ???
??? David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding
