Petition Seeks Review of Company
By Mike Argento, York Daily Record, Pa.
Sep. 16–Local environmentalist Michael Helfrich has asked the federal government to conduct a public health review to determine whether a West Manchester Township company that recycles ash from trash incinerators is hazardous to the area’s health.
Helfrich last week filed a petition with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry asking the agency to review the environmental impact of the company, American Ash Recycling.
The company has long maintained that its product, used as construction fill, is safe and is well within government environmental standards. The company is in the process of asking the state Department of Environmental Protection for a new 10-year permit to continue operating its facility.
Helfrich said his petition is intended to spark a federal investigation of American Ash. The review, he said, could also provide information that may have an impact on the state DEP’s decision whether to renew the company’s permit.
It’s a big step,” Helfrich said. “No one has done this.”
Specifically, Helfrich is asking the federal government to conduct a full public health assessment of the possible health risks from the material stored at American Ash and used on construction sites. In his petition, he wrote that he and others are concerned that the state’s study of health effects was inadequate and that it neglected to consider the effects of all of the chemicals and compounds that could be in the fill.
“In summation, we have not been able to find any other community that allows such disposal practices for incinerator ash and we are very concerned for our health, environment and property values,” Helfrich wrote.
Lora Werner, senior regional representative for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, said the agency has received the petition and that it will be reviewed.
The agency, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, was created by the legislation that created the Superfund to clean up environmental messes. Anyone can petition the agency to look into a possible environmental problem, she said. The request goes to a committee, which determines whether a review is necessary. If it is, the agency then conducts a review of the site.
Werner could not say how long such a review would take, if it is ordered.
Meanwhile, the state DEP’s review of American Ash’s request to renew its permit, which expires in December, is under way. York City Council and others, including Helfrich, have asked the DEP to conduct a public hearing on the renewal, but the DEP hasn’t yet announced whether it will do so.
Daniel Mueller, president of American Ash, has said in the past that the company meets all environmental standards and that state testing has not uncovered any ill health effects from the company’s products.
Of Helfrich’s request for a federal review of health data, Mueller said he believed Helfrich was seeking more information to present to the state DEP in its review process.
“He has the right to do that,” Mueller said.
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