A spill at the proposed plant near Bordentown and Trenton would still be present more than three days after the incident and affect a nearby water treatment plant.
FALLS TWP., Pennsylvania -- A computer simulation conducted by the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) found that a chemical spill at a proposed hazardous waste treatment plant would affect the drinking water of thousands, including South Jersey residents.
Red paper reading "hazardous waste" with a circle and line struck through the middle were handed out by environmental group members present at a December hearing in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. (Times of Trenton file photo) Using the Early Warning System (EWS) Tidal Spill Model, the water department analysis found that a chemical spill at Elcon Recycling Services' possible Falls Township plant located opposite Burlington County would be "catastrophic," according to the Delaware River Keeper Network.
"The water department's computer simulation makes it clear - chemical leaks, a spill or an accident so close to the Delaware River could threaten the drinking water for millions of people in Philadelphia and South Jersey" Fred Stine, citizen action coordinator for the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, said in a press release.
Elcon has an office in West Windsor, but is based in Israel. The proposed 22-acre plant on what is presently a brownfields site would turn industrial liquid waste into clean water.
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"Elcon will bring 175,000 tons of hazardous waste every year by train cars and trucks to a site that has a direct pathway to the Delaware River and directly connected to our water supply," Stine continued, adding that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protect "must deny" Elcon's application.
The PWD is requesting that the Pennsylvania DEP deny Elcon's Phase I siting permit over the risk of multiple-day contamination of the region's drinking water supply.
Earlier this year, the PADEP shot down Elcon's application for the facility located near Bordentown and Trenton. However, the denial meant the company to re-submit an application with additional information, according to previous reports.
"It will be a completely sealed system to the point there are no odors coming out," Elcon advisor Rengarajan Ramesh said at the time.
"You're not going to find any other technology to do this ... You can make us go away, but the problem doesn't. The problem still exists," Ramesh said earlier this year.
According to the riverkeeper network, a spill at the plant would still be present more than three days after the incident and affect a nearby water treatment plant.
"Where are those hazardous chemicals in the river in four days? Wilmington (Delaware)? Salem, New Jersey?" said Betty Tatham, vice president of Issues and Action with the League of Women Voters of PA. "That cannot be acceptable to PADEP. They must act now and deny Elcon's permit to protect the millions of people in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware that depend on the Delaware River for their drinking water, jobs and recreation."
Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
