Editorial Tire Derived Fuel Threatens Addison County's Environmental Health

Author: [no author name found]

Tire-Derived Fuel Threatens Addison County's Environmental Health



The International Paper Company's Ticonderoga, N.Y., mill hopes to incinerate up to 73 tons of tires each day to generate power for its boilers. Plant officials cite rising energy costs as the driving force behind their decision to investigate tire-derived fuel (TDF).

Their proposed "test burn" raises serious concerns for Addison County, which lies directly downwind from the mill. International Paper may be bound by New York state regulations, but the wind doesn't discriminate. Each gust carts toxins across the ribbon-like strip of Lake Champlain and deposits them across central Vermont.

TDF must therefore be viewed as a regional concern that renders state boundaries of secondary importance. Vermont's strong record of environmental protection must not be compromised, nor must New York succumb to the whim of industry at the expense of the environment and human health.

New York and Vermont have effectively collaborated on cleaning up Lake Champlain, which straddles their respective borders. This progress stands to be considerably undone if the test burn becomes routine. Government officials and local residents alike should be alarmed at the prospect of contaminating the air simply because International Paper has chosen to adopt a nickel-and-dime approach to energy costs.

It's no secret that tire incineration is hazardous. The combustion process emits a handful of heavy metals that include mercury, lead and arsenic. It also unleashes dioxin, which the Environmental Protection Agency has labeled a potent carcinogen that may build up in meat and dairy products.

Given the laundry list of environmental threats posed by TDF, International Paper must look beyond its balance sheet. Hard economic decisions may balance the company's books over the short term, but only sustainable - and neighborly - practices will pay dividends over the long term.

That means taking account of the regional economy and the potentially detrimental impact tire burning may have on its inhabitants.

Addison County residents, including members of the Middlebury College community, should reject International Paper's TDF proposal wholesale.

Given the College's strong traditional of environmental consciousness, it should contribute to the resistance movement that has been spawned by the mill's troubling scheme. We can contribute to the mounting scientific evidence that demonstrates the dangers of tire combustion. We can also contribute valuable manpower to the awareness-raising campaign.

It's our backyard, too.

International Paper, tucked on the opposite side of Lake Champlain, shouldn't be able to recklessly soil it.