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By ARLIE PORTER, Of The Post and Courier staff

The Post and Courier reported Saturday that the Oakridge landfill near St. George was willing to accept about 2,000 tons of incinerator ash from Philadelphia dumped 10 years ago on a beach in Haiti.

The ash is being dug up in Haiti and preparations were under way to ship it to the Oakridge facility off U.S. Highway 78.

But on Tuesday, Oakridge sales manager Wray Mattice said the landfill will not take the waste - and it should be sent from Haiti back to Philadelphia.

"After examining it, we realized it was not popular and if we had an out, we were going to take it," Mattice said. "It came down to good economic sense. We have a good reputation in this area, and we didn't want to damage that."

Mattice said the landfill was swamped over the weekend with phone calls from people and politicians objecting to out-of-state incinerator waste going to Dorchester County.

Among them was Clara "Kit" Woodcock, a 76-year-old retired mental health counselor from Summerville who said she enlisted the support of everyone she could think of to fight the shipment.

"There was a great hue and cry," Woodcock said of her concern that the ash could find its way into groundwater. "It probably will never have an impact on my life, but we all have people following us. What about their lives?"

Mattice said the ash is not hazardous and is a small amount compared to the approximately 60,000 tons of incinerator ash that Oakridge accepts annually from Charleston County.

As long as the chemical composition of the ash in Haiti met the permit requirements of the landfill, it would be accepted, he said last week.

Oakridge has not signed a contract to take the ash and has told those handling it that the landfill is no longer willing to accept it, Mattice said.

Dorchester County Council Chairman Richard Rosebrock, who opposed the ash being shipped to the county, said Tuesday he is pleased with Oakridge's decision.

"They heard the citizens complain about it and decided not to take it and I really appreciate it," said Rosebrock, who had talked to Oakridge manager Sandra Rudy.

The landfill wants to be a good corporate citizen and has the best interests of Dorchester County residents at heart, Rosebrock said.

"We don't need to set a precedent of big cities bringing garbage to Dorchester County. They ought to bury their own garbage," he said.

Ten years ago, the cargo ship Khian Sea plied the ocean for 18 months in search of a site to dump the controversial ash. Seven countries turned the ship away before the ash was dumped in Haiti.

Philadelphia doesn't want the ash and it's unclear where it will be taken, Mattice said.

--Arlie Porter covers Charleston County. Contact him at 937-5548 or at porter@postandcourier.com.