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Attention all Ketchikan Physicians and
the Ketchikan Scientific Community
By Van & Linda Abbott

 

November 11, 2010
Thursday AM


A large regional garbage and trash incinerator may be built at Ward Cove.  This project creates a facility that will process garbage and trash from all communities in South East Alaska.  We believe that garbage and trash will be accepted at Ward Cove from any municipality willing to send us their garbage which may represent a much greater volume of garbage then what South East Alaska has to offer.  In short, this project could morph in to a giant incineration facility. 

Garbage and trash will be barged to Ward Cove on many garbage scows that will be in plain site of not only our residents but our tourists and cruise ships.

On November 1, 2010, the Borough Assembly voted to sell the publicly owned Ward Cove Pulp Mill property to a developer who has proposed this incineration project (renamed to Waste to Energy (WTE), thus beginning the process.

The Assembly took this action without apparently having any formal research undertaken on the proposed use of the land and feasibility of the project being presented by Ken Hopen and Assoc. There was no actual evaluation of the significant issues surrounding such a monumental decision; A decision we may have to live with for the rest of our lives.  (The re-run of the dismal Hopen presentation can be seen on KPU CommVision)

If there was one issue important enough to seek scientific input and voter approval it was certainly this one.

We urge the medical and scientific community here in Ketchikan to read the attached, recent August 2010 study done by the Canadians for a similar WTE project in Vancouver B.C.  Vancouver has a similar environment to Ketchikan.  You can also find this study at the following web link:
http://www.airqualitymatters.ca/wp-content/uploads/Ministry-Package.pdf

Please provide Mayor Kiffer and the Assembly Members with your thoughts about the safety of this project.

Thank you.

Van & Linda Abbott
Ketchikan, AK

Received November 10, 2010 - Published November 11, 2010

 

 

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