A waste-to-energy facility in Marion County, Oregon, recently confirmed that it is receiving “biomedical waste” from British Columbia, Canada. What executives at the energy plant claim they did not know until this week was that the waste included aborted babies.
In operation since 1987, the facility has been a source of considerable controversy. A 2007 article tragically titled, “Burn, Baby, Burn,” noted that “800 tons of medical waste per year” were incinerated at the facility. Many local residents were deeply concerned then about the lack of testing for health and safety standards. But in recent days officials at the British Columbia Health Ministry admitted that the biomedical waste included “surgically removed cancerous tissue, amputated limbs, and fetal tissue.”
The burning of fetal tissue to power area homes has infuriated Marion County officials, who have called an emergency meeting today. County Commissioner Janet Carlson told a local TV station, “We are outraged and disgusted that this material could be included in medical waste received at the facility.”
Sam Brentano, chairman of the Marion County board of commissioners, said yesterday, “We thought our ordinance excluded this type of material at the waste-to-energy facility. We will take immediate action to ensure a process is developed to prohibit human tissue from future deliveries.”
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