Alert #48
Philpower Incinerator Threatens Health of Bear Communities: Port Penn, DE. January 19, 2000. Philpower Corporation of North Carolina has tried again and again to find a site for its waste incinerator in Delaware. Today we learned of another possible site at 1190 Porter Rd. in Bear, DE. Within 1 1/2 miles of the proposed waste burner are more than 28 communities, including:
The new May B. Leasure Elementary School building is within about 1/4 mile of the proposed incinerator. o The burner would run day and night, putting out up to 10,000 pounds a day of health-threatening air pollutants. ãTotal Trace Metal Emission,ä including cancer causing chromium, arsenic, lead, cadmium and nickel, would be up to 625 pounds per day (over a quarter of a million pounds per year). o Philpower would also put out dioxin, possibly the mot toxic substance known. o ã... the emissions from incinerator processes are extremely toxic. Some of the emissions are carcinogenic. We know scientifically that there is no safe threshold below which one can allow such emissions. We must use every reasonable instrument to eliminate them altogether...ä United Kingdom Environment Secretary Michael Meacher, Testimony to the House of Lords, March, 1999. o Dozens of big trucks each day would haul in 500 million pounds a year of ãconstruction and demolition debrisä and other wastes from surrounding states, to be ground up in giant ãhammer millsä and stored in piles to be burned. o Philpower has hired a lobbyist, Robert Maxwell, who also works for the American Cancer Society and the League of Local Governments and the Association of Counties. With Maxwellâs help, Philpower is offering money to Delaware officeholders and candidates. o We think the real answer to constant incinerator threats is legislation banning incinerators within 2 miles of a residence, and 3 miles of a school, community center, park, senior center, or any sort of medical care facility. Green Delaware is drafting such a bill. WHAT YOU CAN DO: o Come to the community meeting. o Get your church, civic association, and other organizations involved. o Call New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon (office: 395-5102, home: 239-9019), say (1) you are holding the county responsible to keep out Philpower, o Call County Councilman Chris Robertsöitâs his district--(office: 571-7526, home: 378-7644) with the same message. o Call Governor Thomas Carper (office 577-321, home: 764-7478) Tell him (1) you want Philpower kept out of Delaware, and o Call Representative Vince Lofink--itâs his district--(office:577-9723, home: 834-4444) with the same message. o Call Philpower Corp. President Wayne Coverdale, (office 910.392.7690, home: 910.792.5619, car phone: 704.904.9796). Tell him to keep his incinerator out of Delaware. (Green Delaware will pay for long distance calls about the incinerator.) o Call the American Cancer Society (302.324.4227, pscarbor@cancer.org) and say YOU WILL NOT SUPPORT the Cancer Society as long as it uses lobbyists who promote CANCER CAUSING INCINERATORS. o Call Howard Cosgrove, CEO of Conectiv ö one of Delawareâs worst polluters (Office 302.429.3204, Home 302.427.8619). Tell him not to buy Philpower electricity from Philpower. For More Information Contact: Green Delaware, 834-3466, greendel@dca.net, http://members.dca.net/greendel/ or the Civic Health Alliance, 656-8513. Look for more details in upcoming Green Delaware News. (C) Alan Muller
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