r I
I·
Oommunlt roup ioin
suing to hlbcl the City of
DetrQit's plans for constructing­
a trash -incinerator.
. The organizations filing the
stu charge that the incinerator
as planned could spread t�·.
substances into the air for wid
areas, ma ing people mor
suceptible to diseases such as
cancer and weakening their ini­
munity.
Mark Richardson, attorney
for the first three organizations,
charges that in its plans for the
incinerator the city violated
J
SHOULD COURTS
SAY' 0' TO
INCINERATOR?
state environmental laws by (I)
failing to plan necessary
safeguards within the in­
cinerator itself and (2) failing to
dequately consider alternatives
to incineration, such as recy­
cling.
Representatives of the
Mayor's office in Detroit were
not available for comment.
The suit is being tried by
Federal District Court Judge
Barbarah Hackett, Ricbardson '
notes that the city has asked the
judge to dismiss the suit. but
ByRon�e I .
The North Cass Com­
munity Union, an organization
representing community resi­
dents near 'Detroit's Wayne
State University, is joining with
famous environmentalist groups
like the Detroit Audebeon
Society, the. Sierra Club and the
Environmental Defence Fund in
A. Roberson, Chief Ju of the Recorders Court for the City of
,....· ......... Ies at Frank
HIgb School In Detroit
Fair Houal Cente, nd
February 7 13, 1988, Mlchlpa Citizen
3
adds that if she does the or­
ganizations will appeal.
Chuck Roy, who chairs the
North Cass Community Union,
declares that whatever happens
to �heir case, they will have won
a victory. . I
"By taking the city to court,
we will have set.a precedent for
other communities to do the
same," he states, noting that the
suit has "brought to light" the
dangers of such incine ators to
state officials and to' community
organizations throughout 1 the
country, "giving them the con­
fadence to stop it."
Discussing articles by well
known biologist and environ­
ment 1 activist Barry Com­
moner, Roy co tends that even .
with the environmental
safe ards the suit seeks, the in­
ciner t woul not be truly
safe, less dangerous.
Supporters of the suit' do
feel that present methods of
buryiDg garbage in the soil must
be changed because these allow
toxic material, such as cancer­
causing solvents, oil based paint
spray, batte es and plastics to
contaminate the soil, food, and
drinking water.
Burning such materials in ant
incinerator, they contend would
only spread th�m through the air
over wide areas, and one fifth of
, the material could not be burned .
in the incinerator, but would
have to be buried m I fifth of
the landspace pres used .
Richardson st s that a�er
facing the incinerat process, it
is possible that su wastes.
could get dioxins an rans,
which might make it more
dangerous than befpre.
Roy contends society must
SWItch directions" by arranging
to send itS garbage to recycling
\ \ .-:
citizen
Dem's' senior
. I \ . . I.
8J introduced previously, but are Frederick Dillingham. R-
CapitIIl News �erviu stalled in Senate committee _ Fowlerville.
LANSING - A 35-biD senior said Katen Kent, adminjstr� "They still haven't sent us a
citizen p aage designetl to aide to Rep. Thomas Mathieu, package on that," Scott · d. '1 .
send a trong m to the -Grand Rapids, who spon- have not seen any official com-
Sen te ia in danger of being sored bills pertaining to verifice- munication." I
picked part by pecial-interest tio of Medicaid eligibility and I FIVe of the House bills are in
groups. . finan· help for prescription the Senate committee, however
The House Demcratic . drugs. � Scott said four are not
c ucu unveiled Jan. 13 the "What we're hoping is that" scheduled for discussion for
"Senior Action Plan," for the with the ew attention we will be another three months.
. fastest growing segment of the able to spark some inteJleSt in One of those in the Senate
population. The bills are the Senate," Kent said. committee is Mathieu's bill re-
designed to aid seniors in health Quiring insurance companies of-
insurance, nursing home care WAITING FO ferina Medicaid supplemental
and independent Iiving_ INFORMATION policies to first confirm that the
The U.S. Censu Bureau But that could be a little hard policy holder is eligible for
predicts that by the year 2000, co' �ringthe Senate Commit- Medicaid.
there will be about 6 million tee on Human Resources and "1'hc concept has been in ex-
senior citizens in the United Senior Citizens has not received isteDce for �a1 years," Kent
States, more than doubling 1980 info�tion on the package, ac- . said. "A aimilar bill paucd'
figures of 26 aiillion. cording to Tma. Scott, commit- ear· aDd sat in the Senate for
Many of the bills hPe been tee clerk for chairman Sen. two yean. This is an aD-out, COD-
1
t reate
. I
centra"ted effort by the adopted a federal tandard for
Democratic caucus to bring all states," H on said. "In our
some of these issues to the light." opinion this sUPfrscdes this bill.
But special-interest groups That bill is usel." .
are saying these conflicts are . Harmon said he also had
n� new and some ar -not series reservations about a bill
willing to support such a di rse that would forf.e health care
J:l8ckage of measures. facilities to �t patients ona
I first-come, fir t-serve basis,
regardles of in urance
coverage.
'We have a real philosophical
problem with that one," he said.
"The real problem is t at if we're
forced to take Medicaid
patients, we can't hire the
people we want on what
Medicaid pays per patient. The
nursing homes just can't do it.
� But even with some of the
problem bills, Harmon is very
aware that many health agencies
C 17
ONE BILL 'OBSOLETE'
A bill requiri.D8 additional
'training for nursing aides in
nursing homes has been
rendered obsolete by recently
adopted federal regulatio ,
said Charles Harmon, executive
director of Health Care As-
ociation of Michigan, which
repr:esents some 270 long erm
.hea1th care facilities.
"What's happened sin
introduced (in the Le
ture) is that Congress has
cen ers, wbere it can be made
into other products and reused.
Roy also c lIs for taxes on
products that cannot be
recycled, such plastics, hich
would discourage their use.
J an Katz, a supporter of the
suit, states that some engineers
are urging lleagues designing .
ne produ 0 consider in ad­
v ce whethe disposing of them
might be d gerous to other
people and to the environment.
Richardson states that
recycling can be done "using
today's technology" and other
states, such as New Jersey, Con­
necticut, and Pennsylvania have
undertaken "major recycling
programs." Katz notes major.
recycling efforts in' our country
during World rwar II.
Richardson adds recycling
could put p ople to work in
Michiga� stating;" The in­
cinerator will mploy only twen­
ty people. ecycling would
employ many more, how many
would depend on how large the
recycling effort is." &
Roy states this is not only
a local but a "world wide issue. .
"If .the ole world turns to in­
cineration, we're in big trouble."
He feels the suit represents .
"our country's system of govern­
ment at its fines , people fighting
for what is right."
The J oint Center for Political
Studies has iss ed a report
showing that minority groups
nationwide ar most impacted
by environmental pollution. In
most cases it is because of
proximity to t . c waste sites of
major concentrations of
minority populations.