Health, environmental concerns front and center at Saugus incinerator meeting

SAUGUS, Mass. -- Some North Shore residents are demanding answers from state environmental officials as to why they allowed a landfill to grow, despite ordering it to be shut down two decades ago.

Now the company that runs it wants to dump even more ash on the site.

A public hearing Thursday night lasted several hours and occasionally grew heated.

It was the first time in 20 years that state officials allowed the public to speak on the landfill’s proposed expansion and residents had plenty to say.

“I’m highly concerned, I think it’s crazy if you aren’t,” Saugus resident Ryan Duggan said.

>>PREVIOUS: North Shore incinerator, landfill continues to operate despite order to be shut down 

The site collects municipal waste from ten surrounding towns and cities - and burns it in an incinerator, burying the resulting ash that contains chemicals like lead, cadmium and arsenic.

State Rep. Rosalee Vincent has been fighting the owner of the landfill, Wheelabrator Technologies, for years.

“That’s unacceptable, unconscionable and I’ll do whatever I can to make sure that doesn’t happen,” she said.

Ryan Duggan asked officials from the Department of Environmental Protection why they weren’t testing soil or groundwater near the site for contamination.

Other residents called for further health studies, citing concerns about neighbors stricken with cancer.

>>PREVIOUS: Saugus residents concerned about health impacts of incinerator, landfill

But others expressed support for the proposal saying Wheelabrator has been a valuable community member.

Wheelabrator officials declined an interview before the hearing, but the plant’s manager Peter Kendrigan said they’re working hard to be responsible environmental stewards

“We have a great pride in our role we play in the regions environmental infrastructure, by safely managing solid waste, reducing the need for land filling and generating clean renewable energy,” he said.

DEP says it will take the comments into account and issue a decision sometime in 2018.

The current proposal says even if Wheelabrator extends the capacity, it will be capped and closed by 2027.

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