Toxic burn : the grassroots struggle against the WTI incinerator / Thomas Shevory.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shevory, Thomas C.

Contributor:

Edward Potts Cheyney Memorial Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

WTI Incinerator (East Liverpool, Ohio).

United States. Environmental Protection Agency.

Environmental protection--Citizen participation.

Environmental protection.

Hazardous wastes--Incineration--Government policy--Ohio--East Liverpool.

Hazardous wastes.

United States. Environmental Protection Agency--Public relations.

United States.

Hazardous wastes--Incineration.

Government policy.

Ohio.

Ohio--East Liverpool.

Physical Description:

x, 280 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, [2007]

Summary:

Debates Over Global Warming and fossil fuel dependence dominate public discussions of the environment. For many of us, these debates are abstract because environmental problems do not yet disrupt our daily lives. But in communities throughout the United States and around the globe, environmental activism is not a matter of choice, it is a necessity. East Liverpool, Ohio, is one of those places. Since 1993, the eastern Ohio River Valley has been home to a massive hazardous waste incinerator. The WTI incinerator in East Liverpool burns 60,000 tons of hazardous waste each year, has experienced dozens of accidents, and is located within 100 yards of an elementary school. Yet it continues to operate.

Toxic Burn is a gripping account of the activist movement against the imposing WTI incinerator in this struggling rust belt town. Drawing on personal interviews with key participants as well as official documents, Thomas Shevory tells the story of building, maintaining, and resisting the incinerator. By analyzing the obstacles faced by the WTI incinerator's opponents, as well as their victories, Toxic Burn shows that the actions of decent and determined citizens are powerful and essential to developing new environmental models and ultimately saving the health and lives of those in the path of potential disaster.

Contents:

Introduction: East Liverpool and the Politics of Power 1

1 Past as Prelude: History and Hazardous Waste 31

2 Be Careful What You Ask For: The Genesis of WTI 55

3 The Center of the Onion: Property and Ownership 81

4 Don't Give Up the Fight: Rhetorics of Resistance 109

5 Risky Business: Counting the Costs of Incineration 145

Conclusion: Where Do We Go from Here? 197

Appendix WTI Ownership Patterns 217|41 Notes 229.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 229-267) and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Edward Potts Cheyney Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

9780816648528

0816648522

9780816648535

0816648530

OCLC:

76871443