Cement: hazardous to your health?

It sounds implausible: foreign-owned companies burning hazardous waste in the United States, some of it imported, generating millions of dollars while poisoning citizens. And yet, at about 30 sites nationwide, cement is being made by burning hundreds of thousands of tons of liquid hazardous waste per year in unpermitted cement kilns. The waste, which originates from the plastic, petrochemical, pesticide and other industries, can contain arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury and a host of other toxins which, when burned, send heavy metals and dioxins up into the air, down into unlined pits, and even out into bags of cement sold to unsuspecting consumers.

"This is the dirty secret of the American environmental scene," says Jim Schermbeck, coordinator of Texas's Safe Cement Alliance (SCA). But no one seems to know the full story. "I don't know who can give you the most up-to-date data," says Robin Woods, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spokesperson. "It may be that no one can." Woods says that EPA engineers "absolutely insist" that regulations governing cement kiln burns of hazardous waste are "just as tough or even tougher" than for commercial hazardous waste incinerators. And "most" of the hazardous waste comes from the United States, she adds.

However, many cement kilns are currently not operating under EPA permits, thus the tighter regulations don't apply. Woods estimates it will take three years to complete permitting. In fact, until 1992, the burns were entirely unregulated.

Dr. Edward Kleppinger, a former cement kiln operator, has been compiling information on the industry for several years. He estimates that almost 90 percent of our liquid hazardous waste is being incinerated in cement kilns. This brings huge profits to the cement companies, who sometimes do not even bother selling the cement. If they do sell it, however, it is not likely to be labeled "made with hazardous materials."

Perhaps hardest hit from cement kiln emissions is an area near Dallas. Three cement kilns--two foreign owned--have been operating intermittently there for five years, burning about 500,000 tons of liquid hazardous waste annually, more than is produced in all of Texas, according to SCA.

Sue Pope and her family live and farm downwind, within three miles of the nearest plant. Her family and neighbors have contracted serious and unusual ailments. Some of their cattle and horses have died. Yet for years, they had no clue why. "My world was falling apart. I certainly didn't know they were burning hazardous waste there," recalls Pope.

Are the cement kilns causing their ills? "When the wind comes from the southwest, it brings poison," says Pope. "But when the wind shifts away, you feel like a different human being. What's going on right now is criminal." Contact: SCA, 2101 South Edgefield, Dallas, TX 75224/[phone].