The Incineration Corporation

By Lucy Corlett

Covanta Energy Corporation was born out of the ever-evolving Ogden Corporation, a public utility holding company turned investment company turned manufacturing company. In 2001, the company began focusing on its “energy operations,” and adopted the name Covanta. Soon after, in 2001, Covanta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and was subsequently acquired by Danielson Holding Corporation in 2004.  

Covanta currently owns and operates 45 incineration facilities in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Covanta draws a strict distinction between other incinerators and what they call their “Energy-from-Waste” facilities, the most important difference being that their facilities incinerate waste using “some of the most sophisticated air pollution control equipment available today.” In the Energy-from-Waste (EfW) process, also known as Waste-to-Energy (WtE), energy is recovered from the incineration of solid waste in the form of steam, which is converted into electricity using turbines and sold to local power companies.

Incineration has always been somewhat controversial. According to “A historical context of municipal solid waste management in the United States” by Garrick E. Lewis, in 1917, the New York state governor had to intervene after a proposed incinerator on Staten Island received an outpouring of community pushback. This response was not uncommon at the time, as early incineration facilities produced terrible “noxious odors.” Staten Island would later become home to Fresh Kills, which was “the world’s largest landfill while it was active.” In the 1960s, incinerators in apartment complexes became more common, though “clouds of soot billowed from incinerator smokestacks, and neighbours living downwind complained bitterly of smoke and odours.” 

Since the start of the 21st century, Covanta facilities have caused countless environmental and public health threats. The company constantly faces lawsuits and pays exorbitant fines for violating regulations. According to the Covanta employees I spoke with at both the Camden and Plymouth Meeting facilities, EPA and state air quality regulations are strict, and immense efforts are made by Covanta to comply. But the incineration of solid waste is inherently toxic. As Pat, a veteran of the chemical industry and director of environmental compliance at Covanta Camden, said: “Absolutely everything that exists has chemicals in it. Those chemicals are usually harmful to something in some way.” 

The most concerning airborne pollutants emitted by Covanta incinerators are nitrogen oxide (NOx), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg). Energy Justice Network provides descriptions of the impacts of some of these toxic pollutants: 

Nitrogen oxide: NOx pollution primarily contributes to eye, nose, throat and lung irritation and respiratory problems like shortness of breath that can trigger asthma. 

Carbon monoxide: Both NOx (directly) and CO (indirectly) contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone pollution, aggravating asthma. 

Sulfur dioxide (SO2): famous as a cause of acid rain – is also bad for lungs, with even short exposures to ambient levels causing “bronchoconstriction and increased asthma symptoms.”

Due to the environmental and health threats posed by the industry’s toxic emissions,  even the smallest error in an incinerator’s pollution control system or safety protocol can result in a hefty fine. Despite these weighty consequences, Covanta has had quite a few mishaps over the years: 

• In 2006, the Hawaii Department of Health fined the company $6,200 for exceeded emissions limits for dioxin/furan.

• Incineration is a popular waste management strategy in places like Hawaii (or Europe) where space for landfills is scarce

• The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection fined Covanta $45,600 in 2008 for the excessive toxic nickel and related compounds emission in 2006 at Chester.
• In 2007, the United States Department of Labor cited Covanta for the lack of employee safety in West Wareham, and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection cited them for excessive emissions at the facility in Wallingford. 
• In 2008, the Florida DEP fined the company $11,100 for excessive emissions at their facility in Okahumpka.
• The New Jersey DEP fined $14,025 for emissions at Newark between 2006 and 2008 
• The Pennsylvania DEP fined a total of $131,800 in 2009 for excessive emissions of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride, and nitrogen oxide from 2004 to 2008 at Lancaster 
• The Massachusetts DEP cited Covanta for exceeding the allowable emissions rate by nearly 350% and fined them $7,653 for other violations. 
• According to a press release issued on July 15, 2011, by The Connecticut Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), the company paid $400,000 in fines for a 2010 air emission violation (250% beyond safety limits) at its Wallingford, CT facility. 
• On June 8, 2017, eleven people were hospitalized after an "uncontrolled release" of lime inside the flue gas treatment area inside the Poolbeg Incinerator plant in Dublin, a facility operated by Covanta. Covanta was ordered to temporarily cease the incineration process by the Health and Safety Authority until the incident could be investigated.