This “Letter To The Editor” was the first I’d heard about an attempt to “tart up” the Camden incinerator, and there isn’t any other public record of thie plan. I thought it must be a joke, but indeed, I guess it is not. when that incinerator is burning trash, you can smell it and see the dust everywhere. It also creates a toxic plume in whichever way the wind is blowing, usually over poor, Black Camden.
This incinerator is located very near the site of the old Welsbach Gas Mantle Factory. You’ll remember Welsbach from their poisoning Camden and Gloucester City with radioactive thorium for years, and their attempts to avoid their ethical, legal, and financial responsibility for poisoning my town for the next few million years.
“$438 Million in Funds Headed for Contaminated Site Cleanups in New Jersey from Major Bankruptcy Court Settlement
Release Date: 02/02/2015
Contact Information: Contact: John Martin, (212) 637-3662, martin.johnj@epa.gov
(New York, N.Y. – Feb. 2, 2015) Money from a historic settlement reached with Anadarko and Kerr-McGee has now been disbursed for cleanups across the country, including $438 million that will go toward paying for past and future cleanup work at two New Jersey Superfund sites. The settlement funds will be used at the Welsbach Superfund site in Camden and Gloucester City, New Jersey and reimburse the federal government for substantial cleanup costs at the Federal Creosote Superfund site in Manville, New Jersey.”
“The Welsbach Company and the General Gas Mantle Company used radioactive material thorium from the late 1890s to 1941 to make the gas lamps manufactured at the facilities glow brighter. It is believed that thorium-contaminated waste from the manufacturing process was used as fill in surrounding areas. As a result, the soil and buildings on the Welsbach and General Gas Mantle properties, as well as surrounding properties, were contaminated. Approximately $222 million will be paid to EPA for cleanup of thorium contamination at the Welsbach Superfund site in Gloucester City, New Jersey. Among ongoing efforts related to the site, EPA has removed more than 200,000 cubic yards of radiologically contaminated soil and building materials from more than 140 properties in the Gloucester City and Camden areas and has investigated more than 900 properties.”
September, 1, 2015
Shut down Camden Incinerator
To the Editor (of the Courier-Post, Camden, NJ);
The planned rooftop bird nests at the Covanta waste-to-energy plant in Camden City are nothing but “green cover” for a dirty incinerator.
The pollution from this incinerator is not healthy for the birds or the people. One of the largest sources of air pollution in Camden is emissions from this facility. This kind of incinerator is inefficient, and poses risks to residents’ health and overall air quality.
This plant releases greenhouse gases and toxic ash, and is a major source of pollution. Incinerators like these raise particulate levels, both from plant itself and from the trucks using it.
Most problematic for the birds nesting on Covanta’s roofs are that the metals and mercury released can bio-accumulate in their bodies. This incinerator provides anything but clean energy. To really “go green,” we must end incinerators’ operations, and protect residents’ lungs and the environment.
Instead of incineration, New Jersey must increase recycling efforts to 75 percent recovery. This will not only save us money, but decrease toxic pollution. We can reduce, reuse and repurpose, and eliminate the need for dirty incinerators.
New Jersey must require composting and implement a “bottle bill” to provide a minimum refundable deposit on containers.
Covanta’s incinerators undercut recycling because they need to get enough trash to keep these dinosaur plants running. That’s why we should force them to close. Building a bird nest on top of an incinerator is like putting toxic lipstick on a pig.
Toni Granato
Administrative Assistant
New Jersey Sierra Club”