Elcon; The Worst Nightmare
Champion: Sharon Furlong
Elcon is an Israeli company that specializes, sort of, in processing hazardous waste. They have applied for permits to build a hazardous waste facility in the Keystone Industrial Port Complex in Falls Township, approximately one half mile from the Delaware River.
If that isnt crazy enough, check out these facts about this facility and all that it would entail: This project is planning on boiling hazardous materials, over 596 of the 600 nationally listed toxic chemicals, along with heavy metals and pharmaceutical waste coming from 10 states in the Eastern Seaboard area. This material Iifsuccessfully processed in this manner, would be producing toxic sludge and salts....materials not deemed appropriate to dump in landfills.
The area of the site of the proposed facility is hydraulically connected to the Delaware River, which is the primary source of drinking water for 17 million people, and home to several endangered species of fish, such as the Atlantic Sturgeon and the American Shad, both of who are finally showing signs of modest recovery after years and millions of dollars spent in cleaning up and insuring adequate water flow in the Delaware River. Any spill would contaminate the River and numerous underground and above ground waterways, possibly forever since this project's depth and scope has never been attempted before by this or any other company in the world.
The project would most likely affect air quality in the surrounding 30 square miles, since the plans as submitted plan on importing approximately 210,000 tons of hazardous waste a year and burn more than a million pounds of toxic waste each and every day. Bucks County already has the third worst air quality in Pennsylvania, making this an environmental injustice project. Why? Because the thinking of companies and some government personnel and agencies is that the area is already sacrificed to polluting industries and projects so it is a perfect dumping ground for more. And by the way, the people in the townships in New Jersey that are on the downwind side of this project....they number in the thousands and have already come out against this project. But our government in Bucks County has not???
Between 17 and 25 truckloads of hazardous waste is projected to be occurring each and ever day from places as far flung as Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. All those highways involved.....all those streets....especially the streets in lower Bucks County.....all those trucks...all that possibility of an accident. And this area of Bucks has thousands of kids, thousands of families....
Elcon tells everyone they are able to handle any potential problem. But they have never done this before....the only other facility done in Israel is way smaller and handles less materials, both in quantity and scope. And they have not given any specific details of what they would do in any problematic situation at all. So we are to take them at their word? Would you?
And finally, especially with the most recent developments against the PADEP: they were underfunded and understaffed before....now they are even more underfunded and understaffed and the political landscape is dire for them, to say the very least. In fact, the latest budget not only slashes them but also hampers their ability to protect the environment from any and all industries applying for permits to do anything. Anything. There would be NO supervision of this nightmare of a project.
Do we want to place the Delaware River in such a risky situation? Do we want to experiment with our drinking water, our land, our air, our lives? No. No. No.
Several groups have organized some time ago to address this issue. One is the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. Another such hyperfocused group, POWA-BUCKS, is ably run by local people with a dedicated cadre of volunteers who are going to need your help. The permits are in Phase II and are due to be ruled on by the end of August/beginning of September. POWA will need help in attending township meetings, going door to door in Falls, calling the appropriate people to speak out, and getting the word around about this nightmare project. Here are some links:
Delaware River Keeper Network
Bucks POWA
Both have Facebook pages as well. and:
Falls Township Supervisors: admin@fallstwp.org or 215-949-9000
PA. Rep. John Galloway: jgallowa@pahouse.net or 215-943-7206
PA. Sen. Chuck McIlhinney: cmcilhinney@pasen.gov or 215-489-5000
All this incredibly alarming information was provided to us by Lise Baxter of Buck-POWA. Kudos to Lise, her husband George, her aunt and all the amazing and dedicated activists who have already worked super hard to combat what can only be called the most selfish project in the world.