[S-C] Victory! Arizona Incinerator Shut Down!!!
Bradley Angel
bradley@greenaction.org
Wed, 27 Nov 2002 11:01:39 -0700
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For Immediate Release: November 27, 2002
Tribal Members & Greenaction Win Victory!
Stericycle Closes Controversial Waste Incinerator
at Gila River Indian Community reservation in Arizona
For more information contact:
Lori-Thomas Luna/Gila River Alliance for a Clean Environment (602) 279-5001
Bradley Angel/Greenaction and Health Care Without Harm (415) 248-5010
Gila River Indian Community, AZ -- In response to a growing community
outcry against an incinerator that had been burning medical waste and
non-medical wastes from several states, industry giant Stericycle has
permanently closed their controversial incinerator on the Gila River
Indian Community reservation in Arizona. According to tribal
officials, the incinerator ceased burning waste effective November
17th. Stericycle has renegotiated a new lease with the tribe to
allow only an autoclave, a technology that is safer than incineration
and sterilizes medical waste.
Gila River Indian Community tribal members had launched a campaign to
evict the incinerator from tribal lands earlier this year after
learning about the toxic emissions from the facility. Located at the
tribe's Lone Butte Industrial Park on the reservation near Chandler,
Arizona, the incinerator emitted dioxin, mercury and many other toxic
chemicals. Most tribal members had been unaware of the toxic
emissions and the nature of the incinerator's operations until
Greenaction, an environmental health and justice organization,
brought the truth to tribal members.
Tribal members and Greenaction educated the community through
meetings and presentations, and tribal members formed a grassroots
group called Gila River Alliance for a Clean Environment (GRACE) to
campaign against the incinerator and other environmental hazards on
tribal lands.
Tribal members and Greenaction respected the sovereignty of the Gila
River Indian Community during this campaign, working to educate the
tribal community so an informed decision could be made. Greenaction
had been invited by both the tribal government and tribal members to
provide information about the incinerator to the tribal community.
Tribal members and Greenaction targeted the company for polluting
tribal lands and for providing inaccurate information about the
incinerator operations to the tribe. We also targeted the United
States Environmental Protection Agency for their failure to involve
and inform tribal members in permit processes for the incinerator.
"Thanks to Gila River Indian Community members, Greenaction,
Indigenous Environmental Network and Health Care Without Harm we
accomplished the impossible," said Lori Thomas-Luna of the Gila River
Alliance for a Clean Environment. " This victory gave us confidence
to continue our fight against the polluting businesses and industries
on Indian Lands."
"The grassroots people have spoken! " said tribal councilmember
Brenda Robertson. "Community people worked so hard, they are the
people that don't have any jobs, don't have the money, but yet they
came and talked about the environmental issues. We were very
concerned about it; the community never wanted the incinerator. I
just want to thank all the community members for their efforts in
helping, supporting and speaking up about the detrimental pollution
issues."
"This is a great day for the health and environment of the Gila River
Indian Community and surrounding communities," said Teri Johnson,
Greenaction's Arizona Community Organizer.
"This victory shows that when a community gets informed and commits
itself to stopping a pollution threat to their health, we can win
against even giant corporations."
"This victory should be a warning to polluters everywhere that they
can no longer get away with taking advantage of low-income
communities that they think won't find out the truth," said Bradley
Angel, Executive Director of Greenaction and member of Health Care
Without Harm. "We will continue to challenge industry to replace
polluting technologies such as incinerators with safer alternatives
that do not threaten public health or the environment."
This victory against the incinerator in Arizona comes less than one
year after Greenaction and a community coalition closed a similar
incinerator in Oakland, California. These victories not only helped
end air pollution of surrounding communities from the incinerators,
but have contributed to forcing industry to abandon incineration of
medical waste and switch to safer non-incineration technologies.
There are no more commercial medical waste incinerators in
California, Arizona or Nevada.
The Gila River Alliance for a Clean Environment will hold a victory
celebration in January.
For more information about the victory against the IES incinerators
in California, visit the Greenaction website
For more information about the campaign for responsible health care,
visit Health Care Without Harm's website at www.noharm.org
--
---------------------------------------------
Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice
http://www.greenaction.org
PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW CONTACT INFORMATION:
phone (415) 248-5010
fax (415) 248-5011
One Hallidie Plaza, Suite 760
San Francisco, CA 94102
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--></style><title>Victory! Arizona Incinerator Shut
Down!!!</title></head><body>
<div><font face="Times New Roman" size="+2" color="#000000">For
Immediate Release: November 27, 2002<br>
<br>
</font><font face="Times New Roman" size="+4"
color="#000000"><b> Tribal Members & Greenaction Win
Victory!<br>
Stericycle Closes Controversial Waste Incinerator<br>
at Gila River Indian Community reservation in Arizona<br>
<br>
</b></font><font face="Times New Roman" size="+2" color="#000000">For
more information contact:<br>
Lori-Thomas Luna/Gila River Alliance for a Clean Environment (602)
279-5001<br>
Bradley Angel/Greenaction and Health Care Without Harm (415)
248-5010<br>
<br>
Gila River Indian Community, AZ -- In response to a growing community
outcry against an incinerator that had been burning medical waste and
non-medical wastes from several states, industry giant Stericycle has
permanently closed their controversial incinerator on the Gila River
Indian Community reservation in Arizona. According to tribal
officials, the incinerator ceased burning waste effective November
17th. Stericycle has renegotiated a new lease with the tribe to
allow only an autoclave, a technology that is safer than incineration
and sterilizes medical waste. <br>
<br>
Gila River Indian Community tribal members had launched a campaign to
evict the incinerator from tribal lands earlier this year after
learning about the toxic emissions from the facility. Located at
the tribe's Lone Butte Industrial Park on the reservation near
Chandler, Arizona, the incinerator emitted dioxin, mercury and many
other toxic chemicals. Most tribal members had been unaware of
the toxic emissions and the nature of the incinerator's operations
until Greenaction, an environmental health and justice organization,
brought the truth to tribal members.<br>
<br>
Tribal members and Greenaction educated the community through meetings
and presentations, and tribal members formed a grassroots group called
Gila River Alliance for a Clean Environment (GRACE) to campaign
against the incinerator and other environmental hazards on tribal
lands.<br>
<br>
Tribal members and Greenaction respected the sovereignty of the Gila
River Indian Community during this campaign, working to educate the
tribal community so an informed decision could be made. Greenaction
had been invited by both the tribal government and tribal members to
provide information about the incinerator to the tribal community.
Tribal members and Greenaction targeted the company for polluting
tribal lands and for providing inaccurate information about the
incinerator operations to the tribe. We also targeted the United
States Environmental Protection Agency for their failure to involve
and inform tribal members in permit processes for the incinerator.<br>
<br>
"Thanks to Gila River Indian Community members, Greenaction,
Indigenous Environmental Network and Health Care Without Harm we
accomplished the impossible," said Lori Thomas-Luna of the Gila
River Alliance for a Clean Environment. " This victory gave
us confidence to continue our fight against the polluting businesses
and industries on Indian Lands."<br>
<br>
"The grassroots people have spoken! " said tribal
councilmember Brenda Robertson. "Community people worked so hard,
they are the people that don't have any jobs, don't have the money,
but yet they came and talked about the environmental issues. We
were very concerned about it; the community never wanted the
incinerator. I just want to thank all the community members for their
efforts in helping, supporting and speaking up about the detrimental
pollution issues."<br>
<br>
"This is a great day for the health and environment of the Gila
River Indian Community and surrounding communities," said Teri
Johnson, Greenaction's Arizona Community Organizer.<br>
"This victory shows that when a community gets informed and
commits itself to stopping a pollution threat to their health, we can
win against even giant corporations."<br>
<br>
</font><font color="#000000">"<font face="Times New Roman"
size="+2">This victory should be a warning to polluters everywhere
that they can no longer get away with taking advantage of low-income
communities that they think won't find out the truth," said
Bradley Angel, Executive Director of Greenaction and member of Health
Care Without Harm. "We will continue to challenge industry
to replace polluting technologies such as incinerators with safer
alternatives that do not threaten public health or the
environment."</font></font></div>
<div><font face="Times New Roman" size="+2" color="#000000"><br>
This victory against the incinerator in Arizona comes less than one
year after Greenaction and a community coalition closed a similar
incinerator in Oakland, California. These victories not only
helped end air pollution of surrounding communities from the
incinerators, but have contributed to forcing industry to abandon
incineration of medical waste and switch to safer non-incineration
technologies. There are no more commercial medical waste
incinerators in California, Arizona or Nevada.<br>
<br>
The Gila River Alliance for a Clean Environment will hold a victory
celebration in January.<br>
<br>
For more information about the victory against the IES incinerators in
California, visit the Greenaction website<br>
<br>
For more information about the campaign for responsible health care,
visit Health Care Without Harm's website at
www.noharm.org</font><font face="Times" size="+4"
color="#000000"><b> </b></font><br>
</div>
<div><br></div>
<div><br></div>
<x-sigsep><pre>--
</pre></x-sigsep>
<div>---------------------------------------------<br>
Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice<br>
http://www.greenaction.org<br>
<br>
PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW CONTACT INFORMATION:<br>
phone (415) 248-5010<br>
fax (415) 248-5011<br>
<br>
One Hallidie Plaza, Suite 760<br>
San Francisco, CA 94102<br>
</div>
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