For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) has rejected Elcon’s application to build a hazardous waste treatment facility in Falls Twp., due to its being “administratively incomplete.” The PADEP’s letter highlighted six ways that their application was administratively incomplete including not addressing several issues with land use and planning as well as missing an analysis of how the plant would affect the underground environment. Elcon is applying to build a 70,000 square foot toxic waste treatment facility in the Keystone Industrial Park, Falls Township, PA on the Delaware River. The facility would turn industrial liquid waste from chemical and pharmaceutical companies into clean water. Elcon would bring in almost 600 dangerous chemicals that could pollute our air and water. It would put the entire water supply for 6 million people at risk of contamination.
“This is a big victory against this dangerous and polluting project that would be built right on the Delaware. Elcon’s hazardous waste facility is a big threat to the entire the region and it’s important that the PA DEP has rejected their application as being incomplete. We believe that putting a hazardous waste facility that treats over 600 chemicals on the Delaware River is a dangerous and irresponsible idea. Not only will the facility itself be located close to the River, but each day trucks carrying toxins will be going in and out of it. If there is a spill or a leak, the water supply intakes in both Trenton and Delran would be impacted, threatening the water supply for millions of people in Pennsylvania and New Jersey,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We must keep working to make sure that this dangerous and unneeded project is stopped for good!”
There is only one other facility similar to this one proposed in Falls Twp. That facility is also owned by Elcon Recycling and is located in Haifa Bay, Israel. Elcon has consistently exceeded limits on various toxic pollutants in its discharged water and air emissions from that facility. We are concerned that a facility here would face the same issues and end up polluting the Delaware River and our region’s air.
“It’s important that the PA DEP did the right thing, especially because this facility affects New Jersey as well. This facility may be proposed across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania but it will have devastating effects on our side in New Jersey as well. The Delaware River provides drinking water for millions of people in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Our water supply will be at risk if there is an accident or spill, or if there is a leak at the tanks on site it could go into the River. Tides could push chemicals right into Trenton’s water supply intake threatening the public’s drinking water. Our rivers belong to all of us. Across the country we are opening up our riverfronts for people and instead this toxic incinerator could push away not only people, but residential and commercial development,” said Tittel. “This is nothing but a con; it’s a dangerous hazardous waste facility that puts people around the Delaware River at risk. We need to work together to stop this hazardous Elcon proposal no matter which side of the River we live on.”
The transportation and storage of hazardous materials with the chance of an accident or spill is enough to deny this application. Trucks will be moving in or out of the site, 17-25 a day, bringing in toxic chemicals to be burnt or toxic ash to be sent to a land fill. If just one of them were to spill it could have a disastrous impact on the neighborhood and water resources in the area. The Philadelphia Water Co. said that any spill would be “catastrophic.”
“We would be playing Russian Roulette with the thousands of trucks, close to 7,500 a year, going in and out of the facility each year. They would be carrying millions of gallons of toxic waste into the facility and then carrying toxic sludge out of it along our roads and putting our citizens in danger if they overturn or leak. If one of those trucks falls into the Delaware it will close down water supply intakes for weeks,” said Jeff Tittel. “The prevailing winds would send toxic chemicals through the air into New Jersey, having a bigger impact to our air than in Pennsylvania. The waste from this facility will end up as vapor that we breathe in. When you burn hazardous waste like nail polish removers, pesticides and other toxic chemicals, you don’t get rid of it. Instead it is just changing forms releasing pollution and some toxins into the air polluting our environment.”
The contamination from storage of chemicals in West Virginia last year shows the threats to storing chemicals above water supply intakes. Toxic ash and dangerous particles from the thousands of pounds of waste to be burnt every day at this proposed facility could threaten communities’ air quality and public health. The application lists almost 600 chemicals including lead, cadmium, and mercury.
“This is a major set-back for Elcon’s dangerous plan. Communities on both sides of the River have been speaking out against this proposal and we need to keep that momentum going. Elcon delayed their application to begin with because they know people don’t want to deal with the safety and environmental concerns of this plant. A toxic facility like the one Elcon is proposing would present severe environmental risk for communities along the Delaware River,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “We need to keep fighting together against this facility so that we can stop this application process for good and prevent a toxic nightmare on the Delaware River.”