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Supervisors Back Away From Plan for Medical Waste Written by JOHN HOLLAND Stanislaus County officials on Tuesday likely will stamp out the idea of burning medical waste from around the state. All five members of the Board of Supervisors, faced with intense opposition to the proposal, said they plan to vote against moving forward with it. "You pick your fights," Supervisor Ray Simon said. "This is not a fight to pick with the public." County officials have considered accepting up to 15,000 tons of medical waste a year at the garbage-to-energy plant near Crows Landing. The proposal came from Integrated Environmental Systems, the state's only large-scale burner of the waste, which has faced controversy over its plant in Oakland. Proponents have said the Stanislaus County operation would be safe, with waste from hospitals and doctors' offices sealed in plastic bags and burned at the power plant with minimal emissions. Integrated Environmental Systems would pay an estimated $1.5 million a year for the burning, and that money could reduce garbage bills for county residents. "However, people aren't willing to take a buck or two off their garbage bills to have all these health risks," said John Mataka of the Grayson Neighborhood Council, one of several groups fighting the idea. Critics fear burning the waste could pollute the air with mercury, dioxins and other health threats. Tuesday's board agenda includes an item to launch the environmental study that would be needed for the medical-waste proposal to move forward. "I'm leaning against doing it," Supervisor Tom Mayfield said. "I think at first it was a good idea. It would bring some income in to retire (the power plant) debt, but we have enough other things to deal with right now." Supervisors Paul Caruso, Nick Blom and Pat Paul also are opposed. "Originally, when someone said it would bring in money, I thought, 'At what price?'" Paul said. "You would really have to prove to me that it is not toxic or hazardous." Burning medical waste is one of several proposals for improving the financial performance of the plant, which generates income through the sale of electricity. The medical-waste income would be small compared with the other proposals, including accepting general trash from other counties and trying to make more through power sales. The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the basement chambers at Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St., Modesto. |