|
| ||
|
Oakland Tribune June 14th, 2001 
For more information, contact:
|
State Orders Incinerator To Clean Up By Michele R.
Marcucci State officials have temporarily stopped a beleaguered East Oakland medical waste incinerator from accepting new waste, saying it let materials that should have been burned pile up for as long as three weeks. Under the Department of Health Services' suspension, Integrated Environmental Services -- the state's only commercial medical waste incinerator -- will not be allowed to process medical waste for 30 days, or until the company is back in compliance with the state's Medical Waste Management Act. This is only the second time in the 10-year history of this waste management law that the department has issued such a suspension, said Jack McGurk, chief of the department's environmental management branch. "If the backlog is not cleaned up, if they haven't taken care of the problems, we will consider revoking their permit," McGurk said. The company, which is permitted to process 22.8 tons of waste per day under its current permit, had allowed waste which should have been stored at freezing temperatures or burned in seven days to sit for as long as 21 days, he said. The company was supposed to give state officials a plan to handle the situation by May 29 and had promised to fix the situation by June 4, McGurk said. But officials who inspected the facility on June 5 found the problems hadn't been fixed. IES spokesman Jay Silverberg blamed the backlog on several factors, including an incinerator that was shut down for routine maintenance, a larger than expected load of waste received by the company after a holiday weekend and the company's compliance with state officials' requests to use less electricity during the ongoing power crisis. He also acknowledged management problems at the facility. "It was a management decision, a management situation that allowed the situation to get to this point," he said. But Silverberg said that the problems were no excuse for the backlog and the company is working with regulators to fix them. "Integrated Environmental Systems has taken full responsibility for the situation and is fully cooperating with the Department of Health Services to put into place management resources, plans and procedures to respond to the situation," he said. Silverberg said the company has processed all the waste that was being stored. Both Silverberg and McGurk said the problems would not impose a danger to the community. McGurk said the waste is stored inside the IES facility in sealed containers. And while the company cannot process additional waste, it can continue to accept waste for processing elsewhere, McGurk said. Silverberg said the company plans to do just that, sending its customers' waste to licensed plants in Texas, Arizona and a company treatment facility in Wilmington that is not affected by the order. The suspension falls on the heels of a Monday announcement by state job safety regulators that they are investigating the facility, the fourth such investigation of IES in the past decade. Community and environmental activists have also fought an air quality permit for the facility, saying it spews dioxin and other toxics. But a company spokesperson said that traffic on nearby Interstate 880 causes far more pollution than the incinerators.
|