Ohio incinerator given the go-ahead

A federal judge has denied a request for an injunction against the startup of the long-stalled Waste Technologies Industries (WTI) commercial hazardous waste incinerator in East Liverpool, OH. The $140-million plant, owned by a US subsidiary of Swiss engineering group Von Roll Ltd. (Zuerich), will go through a startup stage and a seven-day trial burn during the next two months, according to WTI. In testimony in federal court in Huntington, WV, WTI had said it was losing $115,000/day in fixed costs because of the plant's startup delay. The company also said that long-term contracts with Chemical Waste Management (CWM; Oak Brook, IL), Du Pont (Wilmington, DE), and BASF Corp. (Parsippany, NJ) to use plant services could be jeopardized by the delay. WTI is believed to have 10-year service contracts with the three companies and also will use CWM to dispose of the ash from the incinerator