Explosion at Von Roll WTI Hazardous Waste Incinerator, East Liverpool OH

[ohio_liberal]

This story is local to me. This hazardous waste incinerator is located 1100 feet from an elementary school and 300 ft from a predominantly minority neighborhood. It's 400 ft. smokestack is nearly level with the school. It's been cited by the EPA upteen times, has had several deaths, and still manages to pump mercury in the air on a daily basis.



I've added some links below the news articles.


Article by KDKA Pittsburgh.
http://kdka.com/local/local_story_223151409.html

An explosion at the Waste Technologies Industries (WTI) plant in East Liverpool, Ohio this afternoon has sent a worker to a hospital here in Pittsburgh.

WTI is a commercial hazardous waste incinerator.

According to WTI spokesperson Raymond Wayne, a single drum exploded as workers put it into an incinerator after 1pm -- blowing a hole through the wall of the building.

The blast actually blew siding, insulation and other debris outside the plant, injuring injured a worker who was outside at the time.

Authorities have not released the worker's name or condition at this time; but they say he has been flown via medical hospital to a Pittsburgh hospital.

Blast image here:
http://images.viacomlocalnetworks.com/images_sizedimage_223161840/xl



Article found via WTOV9.com, Steubenville OH:
http://www.wtov9.com/news/4840515/detail.html

An explosion Thursday at the hazardous waste incinerator in East Liverpool had emergency crews from around the area rushing to the scene. The explosion happened shortly after one oclock in the afternoon. A spokesperson for the Von Roll WTI plant says the explosion happened on the south side of the facility. A spokesperson for the company says the explosion happened where the hazardous chemicals are moved from the drum to the kiln. The explosion blew part of the building wall off which hit and injured an employee. Emergency officials say the employee suffered a cut on his leg and burns to his body. The victim was taken by helicopter to Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh. Emergency officials say the employee did not have life threatening injuries. The spokesman for the company says two more employees were taken to East Liverpool Hospital for evaluation. Both emergency personnel and the company say at no point were people who live near the plant in danger. The chemicals involved with todays explosion are chemicals that are used in the manufacturing of plastic. What caused the chemicals to ignite is still under investigation.


Read about http://www.mtholyoke.edu/proj/cel/ref/women/swearingen.shtml">Terri Swearingen, who went on a one-woman crusade to prevent, and now shut down, the WTI Incinerator.

http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/mcormick.html

Caveat:
This lady is very pissed at Al Gore and George Voinovich.

[MountainLaurel]

1. I remember the fight

Over putting this in there -- was living in north central WV at the time. Didn't Martin Sheen come to some of the protests to show his support?