Contact: DKC News, MomsCleanAirForce@dkcnews.com
WASHINGTON, DC– The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has decided to approve the air permit for W.R. Grace’s planned chemical recycling facility. In response, Moms Clean Air Force Project Manager for DC Events and Policy Sam Schmitz released the following statement:
“Moms Clean Air Force stands beside community members in their outrage at the Maryland Department of the Environment’s decision to grant W.R. Grace corporation an air pollution permit for its chemical recycling plant in Columbia, Maryland. This plastics-burning incinerator is located just 70 meters from nearby homes. The Maryland Department of the Environment is allowing the former asbestos manufacturer to sidestep Clean Air Act rules in its operation of the new incinerator.
“So-called ‘chemical recycling’ incinerators heat plastic waste and transform it into synthetic gas and pyrolysis oils, used to make heavily contaminated fuels. The process generates large volumes of hazardous waste and releases hazardous air pollutants such as dioxins, benzene, and heavy metals.
“Over one thousand residents alongside dozens of advocates, scientists, and lawyers formally expressed their opposition to this dangerous chemical facility, including dozens of children who showed up to public hearings, rallies, and events on school nights to beg for the right to a safe and healthy future. The Maryland Department of the Environment has failed them.
“The implications of this decision extend far beyond the Cedar Creek neighborhood as MDE has effectively signaled to the chemical industry that they can freely expand into residential areas across the state. Choosing to protect the plastics industry over people sets a dangerous precedent for the health and wellbeing of all Marylanders.”