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Covanta’s Chester, PA Trash Incinerator Lacks Basic Pollution Controls
Covanta operates the largest trash incinerator in the U.S. in Chester, PA. That plant uses the fewest pollution control devices of any incinerator in Pennsylvania and the fewest of any in their fleet of 39 incinerators. They lack the controls that remove nitrogen oxides from the air, which cause asthma, and lack the carbon injection devices common to many incinerators, which remove additional toxic metals and dioxins from the air.
In March 2009, when an EPA inspector (Ms. Horgan) asked Covanta’s Gene Bonner why they don’t have the pollution controls that their other plants have, Covanta responded that “it costs a lot of money” and would create “operational issues.” See this quote from page 11 in the full inspection report:
Out of 80 commercial trash incinerators in the U.S. operating as of 2014, 59 use carbon injection and 55 use some form of NOx controls:
| Acronym | Air Pollution Control Device | Controls | # in Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| CI | Activated Carbon Injection | Mercury, dioxins and other trace organic compounds | 59 |
| COHPAC | Compact Hybrid Particulate Collector | Particulate matter | 1 |
| CYC | Cyclone Separator | Particulate matter | 9 |
| DSI | Duct Sorbent (dry) Injection | Sulfur dioxide (SO2) | 9 |
| ESP | Electrostatic Precipitator | Particulate matter | 14 |
| FF | Fabric Filter (baghouse) | Particulate matter | 70 |
| FGR | Flue Gas Recirculation | Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) | 6 |
| FSI | Furnace Sorbent (dry) Injection | Sulfur dioxide (SO2) | 3 |
| GSA | Gas Suspension Absorber | Sulfur dioxide (SO2) | 2 |
| SCR | Select Catalytic Reduction | Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) | 0 |
| SDA | Spray Dryer Absorber (scrubber) | Acid gases, heavy metals, and organic pollutants | 71 |
| SNCR | Select Non-Catalytic Reduction | Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) | 49 |
Pennsylvania Incinerators:
| State | City | Facility Name | Tons/Day | # of Controls | Air Pollution Control Systems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PA | Bainbridge | Lancaster County Resource Recovery Facility | 1,200 | 5 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI; FSI |
| PA | Morrisville | Wheelabrator Falls Inc. | 1,500 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| PA | Conshohocken | Covanta Plymouth Renewable Energy | 1,216 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| PA | Harrisburg | Harrisburg Resource Recovery Facility | 800 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| PA | York | York Resource Recovery Center/Montenay York | 1,344 | 3 | SDA; FF, CI |
| PA | Chester | Delaware Valley Resource Recovery Facility | 3,510 | 2 | SDA; FF |
Covanta Incinerators:
| State | City | Facility Name | Tons/Day | # of Controls | Air Pollution Control Systems |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NJ | Newark | Essex County Resource Recovery Facility | 2,800 | 6 | SDA; FF; ESP; SNCR; CI; CYC |
| OR | Brooks | Marion County Solid Waste-to-Energy Facility | 550 | 6 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI; CYC; DSI |
| MA | West Wareham | SEMASS Resource Recovery Facility | 2,700 | 5 | SDA; ESP; COHPAC (Units 1 & 2) SDA; FF; SNCR (Unit 3) |
| NY | Niagara Falls | Niagara Falls Resource Recovery Facility | 2,250 | 5 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI; ESP |
| FL | Fort Myers | Lee County Resource Recovery Facility | 1,836 | 5 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI; FGR |
| MD | Dickerson | Montgomery County Resource Recovery Facility | 1,800 | 5 | FSI; SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| PA | Bainbridge | Lancaster County Resource Recovery Facility | 1,200 | 5 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI; FSI |
| OK | Tulsa | Walter B. Hall Resource Recovery Facility | 1,125 | 5 | CI; CYC; FF; SNCR; SDA |
| MA | Agawam | Pioneer Valley Resource Recovery Facility | 408 | 5 | FGR; DSI; FF; CI, CYC |
| VA | Lorton | I-95 Energy-Resource Recovery Facility (Fairfax) | 3,000 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| NY | Westbury | Hempstead Resource Recovery Facility | 2,671 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CYC |
| FL | Miami | Miami-Dade County Resource Recovery Facility | 2,592 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| IN | Indianapolis | Indianapolis Resource Recovery Facility | 2,175 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| FL | Tampa | Hillsborough County Resource Recovery Facility | 1,800 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| MA | Haverhill | Haverhill Resource Recovery Facility | 1,650 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| NJ | Rahway | Union County Resource Recovery Facility | 1,500 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| PA | Conshohocken | Covanta Plymouth Renewable Energy | 1,216 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| FL | Spring Hill | Pasco County Resource Recovery Facility | 1,050 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| NY | Jamesville | Onondaga County Resource Recovery Facility | 990 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| VA | Alexandria | Alexandria/Arlington Resource Recovery Facility | 975 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| CA | Crows Landing | Stanislaus County Resource Recovery Facility | 800 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| PA | Harrisburg | Harrisburg Resource Recovery Facility | 800 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| NY | Babylon | Babylon Resource Recovery Facility | 750 | 4 | SDA; FF; CI; CYC |
| NY | East Northport | Huntington Resource Recovery Facility | 750 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| AL | Huntsville | Huntsville Solid Waste-to-Energy Facility | 690 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| CT | Preston | Southeastern Connecticut Resource Recovery Facility | 689 | 4 | SDA; FF; CI; SNCR |
| CT | Bristol | Bristol Resource Recovery Facility | 650 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| MI | Grand Rapids | Kent County Waste-to-Energy Facility | 625 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| FL | Okahumpka | Lake County Resource Recovery Facility | 528 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| NJ | Oxford Township | Warren Energy Resource Company | 448 | 4 | SDA; FF; SNCR; CI |
| MA | Pittsfield | Pittsfield Resource Recovery Facility | 360 | 4 | FGR; ESP; CI; Packed Tower Scrubber |
| CA | Long Beach | Southeast Resource Recovery Facility (SERRF) | 1,380 | 3 | SDA; FF; SNCR; |
| PA | York | York Resource Recovery Center/Montenay York | 1,344 | 3 | SDA; FF, CI |
| NJ | Camden | Camden Resource Recovery Facility | 1,050 | 3 | SDA; ESP; CI |
| MN | Minneapolis | Hennepin Energy Resource Co. | 1,000 | 3 | SDA; FF; CI |
| CT | Wallingford | Wallingford Resource Recovery Facility | 420 | 2 | SDA; FF |
| NY | Ronkonkoma | MacArthur Waste-to-Energy Facility | 486 | 2 | SDA; FF |
| HI | Honolulu | Honolulu Resource Recovery Venture—HPOWER | 3,000 | 2 | SDA; FF |
| PA | Chester | Delaware Valley Resource Recovery Facility | 3,510 | 2 | SDA; FF |
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