MATTHEWS, N.C. -- The toxic chemicals emitted by a medical waste incinerator in Matthews are an old problem for concerned neighbors, but this year, they are convinced Mecklenburg County has a new opportunity to improve it.
The facility is renewing its air quality permit with the county, as it is required to do every 5 years.
The medical waste incinerator on Campus Ridge Road accepts waste from hospitals, labs, and doctor offices from 12 states. It is operated by Healthcare Waste Solutions, a national company with facilities all over the East Coast. The incinerator is heavily regulated because of the chemical emissions from the burning that goes on there.
This year, several environmental groups and neighbors are asking the county to impose new, stricter Environmental Protection Agency standards on the facility. They would require Healthcare Waste Solutions quickly lower levels of several kinds of toxic chemicals, including dioxins and mercury--an endeavor that HWS says would cost $2 million.
The EPA has given companies until 2014 to comply with the new rules.
"Mecklenburg County has an opportunity here to do the right thing," one speaker at a public hearing on the permit Thursday said. "What you are asking us to do is to wait until the end of 2014 and continue to breathe those chemicals? Why?"
Though there is no proven link between the incinerator and illness in the community, several neighbors spoke of worrisome cases of cancer and other diseases they've observed in their neighborhoods. Many of the chemicals emitted are known carcinogens, in high levels.
Kim Frizzell's daughter Kalen died of childhood cancer at age 14. Kim began counting the incidence of cancer--especially among children-- in the neighborhood when her daughter first got sick. She's searched for environmental factors since then, and only recently stumbled on the proximity of the incinerator to her Matthews home.
"It doesn't seem like a rare issue to me," she told NewsChannel 36. "The one thing that always thought was that I couldn’t control the air that she breathed...I’ve come out here tonight because I do realize maybe there is something I can do to help control the air that the children breathe."
Healthcare Waste Solutions director of operations Richard Geiser said, "There is a need for what we do. Incineration is a viable disposable alternative for certain parts of the medical waste stream."
He said the company will comply with the new EPA guidelines by 2014, but called it "nearly impossible" to find the money to significantly speed up the timetable. "We’re committed to be here, to stay here, to put in the necessary technology to meet those limits."
The Matthews facility has had a history of problems with and complaints from the community since it opened in 1985. The incinerator was closed in 2000 for non-compliance. It passed the latest inspection in 2009.
Don Willard, Mecklenburg County Air Quality director, says those complaints have slowed significantly in recent years. He said the facility seems to be operating better.
Willard said the county attorney suggests it is not possible to enforce the EPA new standards ahead of schedule. Instead, he said, the county would be forced to create new rules. That process would likely be lengthy.
The period of public comment on the incinerator permit renewal continues through Feb. 18.
