space Press Releases, News Stories

A SLOW BURN: KHIAN SEA ASH HURTS HAITI AND CITY'S REPUTATION; FIND A RESPONSIBLE WAY TO CLEAN UP THE MESS

PHILADELPHIA INQUIER Editorial, April 6, 1998

There's America's mayor, Ed Rendell, lampooned in an Internet cartoon: His pockets stuffed with millions from the city's surplus, he's nonetheless pleading poverty to a Caribbean islander looking for help in removing the tons of Philadelphia incinerator ash dumped at a Haitian port a decade ago.

It's not a pretty picture, and Mr. Rendell hardly deserves to be depicted as the Ugly American. But the cartoon shows how the incinerator ash remains a smudge on the city's good name.

While Philadelphia had nothing to do with dumping the ash that wandered the oceans in the Khian Sea cargo ship between 1986 and 1988, it has a moral, if not legal, duty to help provide the ash a final, environmentally safe resting place.

In January, the environmental group Greenpeace announced what seemed to be a promising deal to return the ash to a Pennsylvania landfill. It stemmed from a New York waste commission coaxing a commitment of $100,000 toward the cost from a Mount Laurel company, whose CEO was a former officer of the Joseph Paolino & Sons firm that loaded the ash aboard the Khian Sea under a city disposal contract.

There was at least one major flaw: Philadelphia was to pay the lion's share -- and that amount proved to be a moving target. First it was estimated at $50,000. Now it's bandied about as $100,000 to $250,000.

And while the numbers fluctuate, there are serious questions as to whether the ash should even leave the island. The best science -- in the form of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommendation -- may be on the side of creating a safe containment structure on Haiti.

So the city has refused to take out its checkbook, even while describing the ash's removal to a safe site an "environmentally worthy cause." Says a Rendell aide, "We're not going to go anywhere near this boondoggle until we see a [ plan ] , and I'm not saying we'd do anything then."

Is it a stalling tactic, or just sensibly guarding the public purse? It could be both, and so the proponents of this deal -- with the Haitian government taking the lead -- need to come up with that plan.

As that effort proceeds, the New Jersey hauler, Eastern Environmental Services Inc., should show its good faith by extending indefinitely its $100,000 commitment (and the promise of free space in its Chambersburg landfill).

Philadelphia could afford to participate in a genuine cooperative effort to secure the Khian Sea's leavings. The mayor boasts in his latest budget plans of a $51 million savings on trash-disposal costs over the next five years. The city can play a role in this, if it's handled responsibly.

FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The Basel Action Network is making this article available in our efforts to advance understanding of ecological sustainability and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a `fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond `fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
More News