Washington DC, Dec. 16, 2002 -- The closure of two polluting medical waste incinerators owned by Stericycle, Inc. is a major victory for community activists and public health, Health Care Without Harm announced.
On Nov. 26, Stericycle announced it would close its embattled incinerator in St. Louis, Missouri. The closure was announced right after the Board of Aldermen passed a bill to limit medical waste incineration in the city. Local activists sought the legislation because of the Stericycle incinerator, which burned hospital wastes from the county and surrounding states. See the St. Louis press release.
On Nov. 27, tribal members of the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona announced the closure of a Stericycle incinerator that had been burning waste from several states. According to tribal officials, Stericycle renegotiated a new lease with the tribe to allow only an autoclave, a technology used to sterilize medical waste that is safer than incineration.
Incineration is a leading source of dioxin, a known human carcinogen that has also been linked to birth defects, immune system disorders and other harmful health effects. See the Greenaction/Gila River Alliance for a Clean Environment press release.
"These victories are an inspiration to people who are living in areas that are still being polluted by medical waste incinerators to step up the fight to close those incinerators," said Monica Rohde, co-leader of the Medical Waste Working Group of Health Care Without Harm. "People working together really can protect the health of their communities."
Stericycle is the largest medical waste disposal company in the United States. Health Care Without Harm has been working to get Stericycle to replace incinerators with safer non-burn alternatives, which create and release fewer toxic substances.
Stericycle still operates nine incinerators in the United States -- including incinerators in Haw River, North Carolina, and Salt Lake City, Utah, that community members are actively working to close.
For more information about the Gila River and St. Louis incinerator closures and quotes from community members, please see www.noharm.org.
