A publication of Work On Waste USA, Inc., 82 Judson, Canton, NY 13617 315-379-9200 Dec. 1993 to Jan. 1994


A Review, by State, of Operating Municipal Solid Waste Incinerators.
# 19: NEW YORK Notes to Dayton, OHIO

The 19th of our 24-part series continues the review of waste-to-energy MSW incinerators, including references to Waste Not issues. Vendor/Operator from GAA’s 1993 edition. Type: M=Mass Burn; R=RDF. Tons-Per-Day is incinerator design capacity. APC = Air Pollution Controls: 1-ESP. 2-Baghouse. 3-Dry Scrubber. 4-NOx Control. 5-Wet Scrubber.

INCINERATOR V = VENDOR Year TONS-PER-DAY

LOCATION O = OPERATOR Type APC On-Line 1988 1991 1993

NC - Charlotte84 V: M.K. Ferguson Co. M 1 1989 - 235 235

O: M.K. Environmental

New Hanover85 V: N.A. O: County M 1,3,4 1984 200 100 450

OH - Akron86 V: N.A. O: wTe Corp./City R 1 1979 1000 1000 1000

Columbus - - SEE WASTE NOT # 270 Dayton88 V N.A. O: County M 1 1988 900 900 900

NEW YORK NOTES:

(A): RE: MEDICAL WASTE. Bob McCarty, NY State DEC (Albany), informed us that NY incinerators can accept untreated and treated medical wastes at MSW Mass Burn/RDF/or pyrolysis facilities. The regulations appear in the latest 6 NYCRR PART 360, Solid Waste Management Facility Regulations, effective October 9, 1993, 360-3.3 (J) (2). McCarty noted that prior to any MSW incinerator accepting untreated or treated medical waste, a request for approval to the DEC has to be made. He said that currently only Babylon (a 750 tpd MSW incinerator operated by Ogden Martin) is accepting treated medical waste and that Dutchess County (a 500 tpd MSW incinerator operated by Westinghouse) was considering accepting medical waste. McCarty also stated that 60-75% of NY’s medical waste is exported out of state. BFI runs a commercial 96 tpd autoclave operation in western NY and there is an autoclave facility on L.I. for sharps only. (In August 1989, the NY Dept. of Health published a report that emphasized the use of MSW incinerators for medical waste disposal.a) For information on radioactive materials in medical waste showing up at solid waste landfills, incinerators and autoclaves in NY State contact Diane Heminway, Citizens Environmental Coalition, 11149 Dunlop Road, Medina, NY 14103. Tel: 716-798-0111. Also see Sept 1992 report Managing Medical Waste, Fact Sheet#6, available for $3 from Citizens Environmental Coalition -address below

(B): Eastman Kodak owns and operates two incinerators in Rochester. A 150 tpd RDF incinerator, listed by GAA as a merchant incinerator utilizing ESPs for pollution control. “Old plant constantly being refined. 80% of wastes from manufacturing process (e.g. plastic film & woodwaste); 20% is MSW. Currently undergoing gas conversion...Have had problems with explosions and operations.”-- GAA 1993*, pp 449-450. Frank Graybar at the NY DEC office in Avon (tel: 716-226-2466) told us on Jan 11, 1994, that Kodak burns “film, cardboard, paper and cafeteria waste from the [Rochester] plant and scrap film and cardboard from other [Kodak] plants throughout the country.” Kodak has also been operating a hazardous waste incinerator on-site for years. NY DEC Frank Graybar told us Kodak is in the process of getting a RCRA permit for its haz. waste incinerator and that the Albany DEC office is handling the permit. He told us the incinerator is a rotary kiln and operates with a venturi scrubber. We have put in a FOIA request for more information. In the interim, we refer you to an article in the February 24, 1988, Waste-To-Energy Report (page 6), Kodak Sees No Need for More EPA Regs to Govern Hazwaste Incinerators. This article is illuminating as it describes Kodak’s two test burn experiments for dioxin destruction. For the record: Eastman Kodak Rochester’s plant is the largest industrial facility in the N.E. and from 1988 to 1992 was NY’s biggest polluter according to EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory. The TRI list Kodak’s toxic emissions: 14.2 million pounds in 1992; 14 million pounds in 1991; 13.3 million pounds in 1990; 20 million pounds in 1989; 21.6 million pounds in 1988. In 1987 Kodak came in second with 23 million pounds. Ciba-Geigy in Glens Falls was the NY’s 1987 worst polluter with more than 33 million toxic pounds released. (The Hudson Falls incinerator is close the Ciba-Geigy plant in Glens Falls.) Ciba-Geigy no longer leads the poison pack because it shut down its Glens Falls operations.

(C) STATE-WIDE GROUPS:

1. New York Public Interest Group together with the Albany-based Environmental Planning Lobby (see below), were the first in the U.S. [1985] to call for a moratorium on the building of MSW incinerators. NYPIRG is an excellent source for information and reports on incinerator and toxic issues. NYPIRG staff are the most effective incinerator fighters in the state:

** Larry Shapiro, Arthur Kell, Steve Romalewski, Laurie Valeriano, NYPIRG, 9 Murray St, NY, NY 10007, # 212-349-6460.

** Judy Enck, NYPIRG, 146 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12210-2203. Tel: 518-436-0876.

2. Ann Rabe, Citizens Environmental Coalition (CEC), 33 Central Avenue, Albany, NY 12210. Tel: 518-462-5527.

CEC published a good report in Sept 1992, The Hazards of Burning Garbage, Fact Sheet #4. Available for $3.

3. Lee Wasserman, Environmental Planning Lobby, 33 Central Avenue, Albany, NY 12210. Tel: 518-462-5526.

(D) Some References:

Ash Residue Characterization Project, March 1992, published by Division of Solid Waste, Bureau of Resource Recovery, NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation, 50 Wolf Road, Albany, NY 12233-4010. Tel: 518-474-2121.

Burn, Baby, Burn: How to Dispose of Garbage by Polluting Land, Sea and Air at Enormous Cost, Holtzman, E., January 1992, City of New York, Office of the Comptroller.

Review of the Environmental Impacts of Solid Waste Incinerators proposed for Long Island and New York City, November 1987, commissioned by Newsday and prepared by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, 6935 Laurel Avenue, Takoma Park, Maryland 20912. Tel: 301-270-5500.

Rush to Burn, Island Press, 1989. This is a good review of the Long Island situation in the 1980s.

NORTH CAROLINA

84. Charlotte, North Carolina. Steam sold to University of N.C. at Charlotte, electricity to Duke Power.

85. New Hanover, North Carolina: GAA’s 1988 edition noted Clark Kenith as the vendor; GAA’s 1991 edition noted that the incinerator was undergoing major retrofit -only one boiler operating. The 1993 edition noted that a new 250 tpd boiler was added. “Commercial operations resumed June 1991.” Ref GAA 1993*, p 464.

OHIO

86. Akron, Ohio: The latest round of emissions tests on this RDF incinerator, called Recycle Energy Systems, was reported in the Beacon Journal, Feb 21, 1993: 10,400 pounds Arsenic; 621 pounds Beryllium; 480 pounds Cadmium; 173 pounds Chromium; 8,200 pounds Lead; 899 pounds Nickel; 25,600 pounds Selenium; 15,600 pounds Zinc; 2,334,000 pounds Hydrogen Chloride; 1,782,000 pounds Sulfur Dioxide; 1,728,000 pounds Nitrogen Oxide; 296 pounds Carbon Monoxide. No tests done for dioxins/furans/PCBs. Mercury was not detected which drew the following comment from Dr. Barry Commoner: “To not find mercury in an old plant like yours is just absolutely amazing. In fact, it’s beyond belief.” The same article quoted Ohio EPA spokesman Paul Koval: “Only a ‘miniscule fraction’ of the chemicals coming from the RES stacks ever reached the general public because of dispersion in the air, and that creates only a minimal health risk.” On Dec 20, 1984, three workers were killed at the Akron incinerator and seven others were injured. Cause of the accident: toxic-contaminated sawdust in the garbage was ignited by the heat of the boilers. According to Rush to Burn (Island Press,1989): The federal EPA gave a $19.7 million grant for a 1982 modification at the incinerator. After the explosion, the city-owned incinerator received another $13 million federal grant. A Canadian firm, Tricil Resources Inc. ran the plant when the 1984 explosion occurred. For more information see WN#s 22,47,73,245.

87. Columbus, Ohio. Please see report in Waste Not # 270.

88. Dayton, Ohio: There are two MSW incinerators in the Dayton, Montgomery County, area, that burn a total of 1,800 tpd. The 900 tpd incinerator in Vandalla, known as the North incinerator, went on line in Dec 1969. The second incinerator, also a 900 tpd, is in Moraine, went on line in March 1970 and is known as the South incinerator. Both were built by International Incinerator, who at the time had the Volund license. According to a May 27, 1993, Dayton Daily News article: “A review of regulator files shows a history of repeated violations of environmental laws since the late 1980s. Those violations, which include operating without valid permits since 1988...Regional Air Pollution Control Agency files show hundreds of air-pollution violations....thicker smoke than allowed 21 times between 1988 and 1993. The county repeatedly failed to report malfunctions of anti-pollution equipment, and failed to present plans for preventing breakdowns...Records show that for 533 days between May 1989 and December 1992 the unit at the north plant that generates electricity was loaded with too much garbage. In live pollution tests from 1982 to 1993, the north plant emitted more sulfur dioxide than allowed. In a 1993 test, the south plant emitted more sulfur dioxide than allowed. Both incinerators repeatedly have failed to inject 250 pounds of limestone an hour, required to cut sulfur dioxide emissions...In May, four workers at the county’s ash management operation near the north incinerator were indicted on sex-and drug-related charges. Three employees were charged with drug trafficking, a fourth with multiple counts of rape...” Trouble at the burners, front page. GAA* only lists the Vandalla north incinerator: “600 TPD incinerator built in 1969; still operating without energy recovery. In 1988, added 300 TPD unit with energy recovery.” Ref GAA 1993*, p 470. WN spoke with John Norton, the County’s engineer for solid waste management, who has the most knowledge on Dayton’s incinerators. He told us that they used the incinerator ash to make two buildings at the ash site; the first was built in August 1991 to house equipment, storage and lockers rooms for staff; the second was completed in March 1992.

*1993-1994 Resource Recovery Yearbook, Directory & Guide, by Eileen Berenyi, Ph.D. and Robert N. Gould, 718 pages, published by Governmental Advisory Associates, Inc. (a private consulting/research group), 177 East 87th Street, NY,NY 10128.

a. A Statewide Plan for Treatment and Disposal of Regulated Medical Waste, published August 1989 by the NY State Dept. of Health, The Records Access Office, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12237. -- See review of report in Waste Not # 71.


WASTE NOT # 269. A publication of Work on Waste USA, published 48 times a year. Annual rates are: Groups & Non-Profits $50; Students & Seniors $35; Individual $40; Consultants & For-Profits $125; Canadian $US50; Overseas $65. Editors: Ellen & Paul Connett, 82 Judson Street, Canton, NY 13617. Tel: 315-379-9200. Fax: 315-379-0448.