ARCHIVED ALERT
***
ACTION ALERT ***
IMPORTANT PUBLIC HEARING
Public comment
deadline was Oct. 15, 2010.
 Stericycle has two medical waste incinerator units owned by Stericycle, Inc., located in Graham, NC, Alamance County 4 years is too long to wait for cleaner air!
New rules for
medical waste incinerators in North Carolina
There will be an important public hearing
held by the NC Environmental Management Commission (EMC)
on September 7th at 7 p.m. at the University of North
Carolina, Greensboro. Of most importance is our request
that the EMC require the two medical waste incinerators
in NC to comply with the new and more protective EPA
rules by 2012 instead of 2014. Releasing these toxic air
pollutants at the current unsafe levels for another 4
years is unacceptable!
HEARING
LOCATION:
September 7, 2010
- 7 p.m.
University of North Carolina Greensboro Campus
Moore Humanities & Research Administration
Spring Garden Street, Bldg. 246, Rm. #1215
Greensboro, NC 27412
Please come
early to sign up to speak. Members of
the public are encouraged to attend in person to show the
level of public concern re: this issue. You will be given
3 minutes to speak. Please bring a copy of your comments
to give to the hearing officer. There is free parking
behind the Weatherspoon Art Museum (Cone Building), Bldg.
99, Spring Garden St., Greensboro.
YOUR COMMENTS COUNT!
The public comment period is currently open and ends on
October 15, 2010. If you cannot attend then please
consider sending your written comments (by email or mail)
no later than Oct. 15, 2010, to:
Joelle Burleson
Division of Air Quality
1641 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1641
(919) 733-1474
Additional Info!
• To see a fact sheet, “8 Important
Points to Consider in Your Comments” see: http://www.bredl.org/pdf2/TalkingPoints-medwaste_incinerators.pdf
 BMWNC medical waste incinerator, owned by Healthcare Waste Solutions, located in Matthews, Mecklenburg County, NC The two medical waste
incinerator facilities in NC are releasing several toxics,
including dioxin, mercury, lead, nitrogen oxide and
hydrogen chloride at levels above the new standards for
air toxics deemed safe by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). The Stericycle medical waste incinerators
located in Graham, Alamance County, is currently
releasing mercury 10.6 times the new EPA limits and lead
5.6 times the new EPA limits. Stericycle has two incinerator units, and burns medical waste from 22 states.
The BMWCNC medical waste incinerator located in
Matthews, NC, is currently releasing dioxin/furans
12.6 times the new limits, mercury 3.4
times the new limits, hydrogen chloride 11.5
times the new limits, and nitrogen oxide 110%
above the new limits. BMWNC incinerates
medical waste from 12 states.
What if you can’t attend the hearing?
You can still submit written comments, so please consider
writing your own (see 8 Important Points To Consider in Your Comments) or send the following letter concerning the new rules
for medical waste incinerators in NC. You may type
additional comments into the letter if you wish or send
the letter as is. We HIGHLY recommend that you add a comment or two of your own to personalize the letter since ‘form’ letters are often not counted. When you are
finished just click on the link and your comment will be
sent directly to the hearing officer. Thank you!
Sample Letter that was used:
Joelle Burleson
Division of Air Quality
1641 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1641
Joelle.burleson@ncdenr.gov
Dear Ms. Burleson and Members of the EMC:
I am writing to you to express my concerns about the
state’s adoption of the new EPA rules for medical
waste incinerators in NC.
Four years (2014) is too long for the Stericycle medical
waste incinerator in Graham, NC, and the BMWNC medical
waste incinerator in Matthews, NC to continue to release
levels of mercury, lead, dioxins/furans, nitrogen oxide
and hydrogen chloride into the air and environment at
levels deemed unsafe by the EPA. Mercury and lead are
particularly toxic to children and are contributing to
the contamination of our state’s surface waters, the
majority of which are already impaired. Long-term, low
levels of exposure to dioxins and furans can cause breast
and other types of cancers; impairment of the immune
system, nervous system and endocrine system; birth
defects; altered liver functions; reproductive disorders;
lowered sperm counts; behavioral problems in children;
heart disease; endometriosis; and increased incidence of
diabetes.
In addition to my request for a requirement for both
medical waste incinerators to come into compliance with
the new EPA rules by 2012, I support a state prohibition
on the incineration of plastics, metals, and paper
products which should be recycled instead of burned. When
these materials are incinerated they can result in the
dangerous formation of dioxins.
Swift action needs to be taken by the state to eliminate
the exemption for releases of uncontrolled toxic air
pollutants from by-pass events which occur when air
pollution equipment fails or in the case of a power
outage. Instantaneous backup generation should be
required by the state. Both Stericycle and BMWNC medical
waste incinerators are located in residential areas, and
both are located less than a block from community
colleges (Alamance Community College, and Central
Piedmont Community College, respectively) which operate
day care centers for their faculty’s children. Other
schools and daycare centers are also in close proximity.
These requests are the minimum steps necessary in
protecting public health and the environment from the
many risks associated with incineration of medical waste,
especially when safer and more environmentally-friendly
state-approved alternatives exist to dispose of regulated
medical waste.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
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