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Covance, a contract animal-testing company, is building a huge animal-experimentation facility in Chandler. Experimentation facilities like the one that Covance intends for Chandler may affect the entire community. Read the Covance timeline. Take action now.
Common Incinerator Toxic Substances |
Covance Incinerator in Chandler: Public Health and Environmental ConcernsA report by the Physicians Committee for
Responsible Medicine Executive Summary Covance Laboratories Inc. has indicated its intent to build an incinerator as part of its animal-testing facility proposed for construction in Chandler, Ariz. Incineration as a means of waste disposal is highly controversial due to the potential for emission of numerous toxic substances that can result in an array of negative environmental and public health effects. Incinerators of all kinds, including modern incinerators, release particulate matter, gases such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and carbon monoxide, heavy metals such as mercury, lead, and cadmium, and organic compounds such as dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Studies of human populations living near incinerators and of compounds released indicate that incinerators are associated with numerous health problems, especially in children and other vulnerable populations. These health problems include nerve damage, delayed development, birth defects, brain damage, respiratory and cardiovascular ailments, and cancers. Currently, there are no incinerators in Chandler. While there are multiple crematories in Maricopa County, none include incineration of medical wastes. A Covance incinerator in Chandler will be the first, and will likely differ from other Maricopa County incinerators in two important ways. First, it is expected to burn much larger volumes of animal carcasses than the existing crematories, perhaps in addition to other associated medical wastes. By some estimates, Covance is expected to house at least 240,000 animals each year in the proposed Chandler laboratory. Because the large-scale burning of animal carcasses from laboratories is a relatively recent phenomenon, there are few studies on these types of incinerators. However, existing studies suggest that there are hazards unique to animal carcass incinerators. They may be more likely to emit PAHs and certain heavy metals such as lead, zinc, and iron than other types of incinerators. Covance’s incinerator in Madison, Wis., which burns many animal carcasses, was found to be a significant source of numerous toxic substances, including heavy metals such as cadmium and one of the most toxic man-made chemicals, a dioxin named 2,3,7,8- Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin. Second, a Covance incinerator will likely burn animal carcasses containing concentrated levels of industrial chemicals, insecticides, pesticides, and experimental drugs. The impact of incineration of such chemically laden carcasses is largely unexplored. However, it is doubtless that at least some of these chemicals will be emitted into the atmosphere over Chandler, with unpredictable consequences. |
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