Elcon

Elcon - A Threat No More

As of August 17, 2020, Elcon Recycling Services have formally withdrawn their application in Falls Township. See their letter of withdrawal here. Thanks to everyone that supported the resistance movement and the call to look closely at the science of what could happen at this proposed facility. Following is info about the Elcon project that was almost a reality. 

What was being proposed? A hazardous wastewater processing facility, to process up to 210,000 tons of chemical liquid waste annually, with upto 20 trucks entering the facility each day. Their unique process would remove and dry out solids and salts from hazardous waste. During this drying out process, volatile organic compounds would be turned into gases and released in the air. The remaining dried sludge, deemed very toxic, was to be dumped into an adjacent landfill. 

This proposed project in Falls Township, Bucks County was planned to be built in a 500 year floodplain, a half mile from the banks of the Delaware River, which is the prime drinking water source for over 17 million citizens, and just a few feet from a marsh connected underground to the artery system that feeds the Delaware River, and less than a half mile, more like feet, near the banks of a stream (Biles Creek) that is a direct feeder into that River also.

There are approximately 3+ million people within 50 miles of this site. Between 17 and 24 trucks per day would be hauling these poisons on small roads designed for buggies and small cars, through neighborhoods packed with people. Elcon had no plan on file in case of a trucking accident; indeed, there aren't any experts about what to do if there is a trucking accident because this has NEVER been done before and these proposed oxidation processes have never been tested before, let alone the trucks to be used to haul the stuff. And Elcon's record in its only plant in Israel has been cited for illegal air and liquid discharges....so their record is already faulty.

Facts & Stats

  • Elcon itself indicates that it wants permission to emit 25 Tons of Nitrogen Oxides into the air into an area that has been consistently failing the Clean Air Standards for over 10 years.

  • The sludge left over from this untried process, even if successful, would make it so hazardous that it would trigger laws regarding hazardous waste disposal procedures. The sludge would include the following: Toxic Salts, Chromium, Copper Cadmium, Lead, Mercury, Chlorobenzene and Trichloroethane, and this is just a start. Also, Elcon wants the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to override these rules for them and them alone, in order to allow Elcon to dump the stuff in a regular landfill that happens to be nearby.

  • The site would be placed within a 500 year floodplain, where critical facilities should never be constructed, say the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), the City of Philadelphia and other entities. As an additional note, this particular 500 year floodplain has been flooded fairly frequently in recent years, making the designation of "500 years" somewhat questionable.

  • Already existing scrubber technology used in incineration facilities do not transfer to this kind of project. 

  • Ditto for containment technology.

Resources
Local Organizing

Thanks to these organization that helped stand up to Elcon and kept the pressure on the DEP and elected officials to pay attention to this potentially catostrophic proposal:

  • BUCKS-POWA - This are the local group started by residents and concerned non-residents...Lise and George Baxter, couple extraordinaire, lead this group with wonderful associates, all from Bucks County. 
  • Delaware Riverkeeper Network - Fred Stine is the lead. 
  • Clean Air Council - Russ Zerbo is the lead. See their StopElcon page for more info.