San Francisco Examiner

Wednesday, August 8, 2001

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Bradley Angel Greenaction

(415) 248-5010

Protesters Block Waste Operation

By Janine DeFao

3 arrested at medical incinerator

Activists stepped up their protests at an East Oakland medical waste incinerator yesterday, blocking access to the facility until they were escorted or carried away by police.

Oakland police arrested and jailed three protesters for blocking the path of a truck and detained and later released at least three others, but did not cite the majority of people they moved away from the incinerators gate.

A coalition of environmentalists and community activists has been protesting for months at Integrated Environmental Systems, the state's only commercial medical waste incinerator, claiming it emits cancer-causing dioxin and other hazardous chemicals into the air. Incinerator officials deny their operations pose a health risk to the community, saying their emissions are well below state and federal standards.

Yesterday was the first time protesters attempted to disrupt incinerator operations by keeping trucks carrying waste from entering or leaving the facility, just off Interstate 880 on High Street. The group, which numbered about 70 people before dwindling to fewer than 40, did allow a few trucks to pass through, but said there were far fewer than normal.

"Today is the beginning of the end of incineration," said Bradley Angel of Greenaction in San Francisco, one of the protest leaders. "If the government won't do it, the people will."

A spokesman for IES said company officials were blindsided by yesterday's protest because they believed they were still in negotiations with the activists' coalition.

"This was a surprise today, and a great disappointment," said Jay Silverberg. "We thought we were making progress."

Jack McGurk, chief of the environmental management branch of the California Department of Health Services, said he mediated talks last month between activists and IES. He said both sides agreed that the amount of waste burned could be reduced by using alternative treatment technologies such as microwaving and steam sterilization. McGurk said IES representatives agreed after the meeting to cut in half the amount they incinerate over the next six months.

But Angel said the activists want the company to agree to completely eliminate the incinerators and switch to the other technologies.

Several protesters said they live within a mile of the plant and fear for their health.

"It is kind of scary. To tell the truth, I want to move as soon as I can afford it," said Alice Burkner, 36. "But a lot of people can't afford to move."

Silverberg said yesterday's protest disrupted business "on a minimum level, but not greatly."

McGurk said IES has not been burning waste for weeks while they do maintenance on the incinerators, though they have been using a microwave unit at the site.

In June, the state health department suspended IES's operating permit for one month after investigators found hundreds of barrels of untreated waste on the property.

State law requires that medical waste - which includes tissue samples, syringes, bloody gauze and the like - be treated within one week. The state allowed IES to process the backlog but accept no new waste. The suspension was lifted after a month, and McGurk said IES has made improvements.