Urging The Department Of Health To Ensure The Safe Management Of Ash From Waste Incineration Facilities.
Impact
The resolution highlights that while other nations regulate incinerator ash as hazardous waste, the EPA currently allows it to be categorized as non-hazardous in the U.S. This discrepancy raises serious concerns about the safety protocols in place for handling and transporting incinerator ash. By urging the Department of Health to enforce existing laws more strictly, SCR77 seeks to mitigate the hazards associated with incinerator ash management, protecting workers and the surrounding community from potential harm.
Summary
SCR77 urges the Department of Health in Hawaii to ensure the safe management of ash produced from waste incineration facilities, specifically focusing on the H-Power incinerator in Campbell Industrial Park, Oahu. This facility processes a significant amount of waste, resulting in a large quantity of ash that is currently stored in the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill. The resolution emphasizes the concerns surrounding the hazardous nature of the ash, citing that dangerous metals can leach from it, posing risks to both environmental and public health.
Contention
One notable point of contention within the resolution is the development of an ash recycling facility that the City and County of Honolulu is working on with Covanta. Critics argue that this initiative could violate state laws regarding public health and safety by increasing the community's exposure to hazardous materials. The resolution calls for a halt to such recycling efforts, emphasizing that the safe management of ash should prioritize containment and proper landfill practices rather than reusing toxic materials in construction.
Urging The Department Of Health And Encouraging The County Of Maui, United States Army Corps Of Engineers, And Federal Emergency Management Agency To Take Certain Measures To Ensure The Safest Possible Management Of Ash And Debris From The August 2023 Maui Wildfires.
Urging The Department Of Health And Encouraging The County Of Maui, United States Army Corps Of Engineers, And Federal Emergency Management Agency To Take Certain Measures To Ensure The Safest Possible Management Of Ash And Debris From The August 2023 Maui Wildfires.
Urging The Director Of Health To Require Operators Of Waste Combustion Facilities To Implement Continuous Monitoring And Sampling Technologies That Have Been Tested And Verified By The United States Environmental Protection Agency To Ensure That The Operators Continuously Monitor, Sample, And Report The Emissions Of Contaminants.
To amend Section 22-27-2 of the Code of Alabama 1975, the Solid Waste and Recyclable Materials Management Act; to amend the definitions under the act; to define "advanced recycling" and to specify that advanced recycling would not be considered as solid waste disposal, solid waste processing, solid waste management, or incineration; and to define "mill scale and slag" and include the term in the definition of solid waste.