Cleaner Air Coming to Detroit
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June/July 2000
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Features
Cleaner Air Coming to Detroit
Henry Ford Hospital to Close Incinerator
by Mary Beth Doyle
Selling Their Future Short?
Engler Panel Ignores Doctors' Advice
by Dave Dempsey
Recycling Land
Brownfield Redevelopment is a Balancing Act of Priorities
by Mike Tolinski
Dumbing Down the Children
Michigan, Other States Ignore Federal Lead Testing Law
by Peter Montague
Columns
Tiny Township Turns Down GM
Rural Milan Residents Reject Rail-Car Yard, by Aretta Schills
Diet, Health, and the Environment
An Interview with John Robbins, by Rachel Shaw
Healthy Home and Garden
Energy Star Products Save Cash and Power, by Kristi Jacques
Huron Valley News
Webster Township Holds Sprawl Forum, by Ernie Becker
Science for the People
Pesticides Linked to Decreased Fertility, by Mary Beth Doyle
Henry Ford Hospital to Close Incinerator
By Mary Beth Doyle
On February 4, Henry Ford Health Systems announced that it will shut down the incinerator at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. A coalition of community and environmental justice groups, including the Ecology Center, congratulated Henry Ford for their decision, but plan to press for a definitive and expeditious timeline to achieve the shutdown. The coalition has been advocating for to close the incinerator for more then two years.
"Clean air is our priority," said Anna Holden, of the Sierra Club Southeast Michigan group. "We congratulate Henry Ford for responding to community health concerns and making the decision to shut down the incinerator."
Community pressure was a key factor in the decision, as Henry Ford Health System officials themselves admit. Yard signs were prominently placed in neighborhood lawns around the facility. The signs boldly stated in red "Shut it down, Henry Ford." The message was reiterated by hundreds of phone calls and post cards from concerned individuals to Hospital executives, asking that they switch to a less polluting waste disposal method.
The coalition organized a series of rallies in front of the hospital. At the November rally, held on the same day as the Great American Smoke-Out, activists raised a banner at the Sweet Home Baptist Church across the street, asking Henry Ford to "stop smoking." This banner remained hanging across the street from the hospital for over two months.
The Wayne County Board of Commissioners weighed in on the matter, passing a resolution in December asking Henry Ford Hospital to limit the waste they incinerate to pathological and chemotherapy waste alone.
"I became involved in response to a constituency outcry," said the resolution's author, Wayne County Commissioner Jewel Ware.
"I commend Henry Ford Hospital for their efforts to work with the community, however, we still await a phase-out plan. It is essential to move quickly to reduce air pollution in the community."
Henry Ford Hospital joins the University of Michigan Health System and other hospitals around the state who have made the commitment to stop incinerating waste, and to switch to safer waste disposal alternatives.
"The community will breathe easier when this incinerator is shut down," said James Williams, member of the Virginia Park District Council and a neighborhood resident.
The coalition raised environmental justice considerations about the facility. Henry Ford Health System had stopped incinerating at its suburban hospitals, but continued to burn at its Detroit facility, which is located in a community of color which already suffers very high asthma levels.
"Henry Ford's commitment to shut down the incinerator is a great step towards achieving environmental justice in the city of Detroit," said Donele Wilkins, executive director of Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice. "We hope this will serve as an example to other companies in the city, including the commercial medical waste incinerator in Hamtramck."
Alternatives to incineration have been shown to be cost-effective and less polluting. Other major hospitals have made the transition from on-site incineration to alternative technologies in a matter of months. The coalition believes that Henry Ford Hospital will be able to do the same.
Coalition members include Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, Sierra Club Southeast Michigan Chapter, Sierra Club Mackinac Chapter, Ecology Center, National Lawyers Guild/Sugar Law Center, ACCESS, Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition, National Wildlife Federation, the Virginia Park District Council, and Jewel Ware, Wayne County Commissioner.
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