Read the full article by Steohanie Ujhelyi (The Review)
“EAST LIVERPOOL — City residents are no closer to answers regarding a hazardous waste incinerator than they were six months ago.
During a 45-minute safety committee meeting of East Liverpool council last week, a local environmental activist group asked that a health study be requested as a result of this resolution and a lack of information about a new material being processed at the plant.
According to Alonzo Spencer of Save Our County, Heritage Thermal Services (HTS) on the city’s east end is now processing PFAS, which is a broad group of perfluroroalkl and polyfluoroalkyl substances contained in items like carpet protectant and non-stick cookware because of their ability to repel water and protect surfaces. However, PFAS also are heat and thermal resistant, which becomes a problem as activists question if the incinerator is properly equipped to break them down in the first place.
Three members of the group, including Spencer, attended the committee meeting, which was scheduled to reveal answers that chairman Jeff Kreefer, also a councilman from the Third Ward, had received in December from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to concerns. However, they attest that Kreefer actually received no answers at all — especially regarding the PFAS.
‘These chemicals are untested, unregulated, potentially very dangerous and they want to bring them into East Liverpool and we are against it,‘ Mike Walton of SOS said, adding they have been proven to cause cancer, cause birth defects and other health problems.
In fact, they are so potentially poisonous that the trio alleged that the military doesn’t want to deal with them.
In July, Defense Secretary Mark Esper created a task for ce to determine the extent of the contamination and potential health risks to military personnel and families posed by the PFAs, according to an article in the Military Times.
The Department of Defense has identified 401 sites on active and former military bases where PFAS potentially were released and are declining to release the number and locations until they have been verified. U.S. officials believe that they may have undercounted…”