Burning Questions

Leonard Bernstein’s article raised questions that need immediate answers (“Court Clears Way to Begin Waste Burns,” June 28). What will it take to persuade the EPA not to let Ogden fire up the incinerator? What is the exact environmental impact of “burning 438 gallons of waste during a maximum of 365 days over the next 3 1/2 years?” What are the exact physiological effects of inhaling smoke generated by burning waste from Stringfellow Acid Pit and the Fullerton McColl waste dump? Why would the City Council approve “steering such projects into agricultural . . . zones” or anywhere else within the confines of this county, for that matter?

Chemistry is such a miraculously inventive science. May I suggest that those who are able use the funds needed to develop products that will not generate toxic wastes in their production and find ways to neutralize the wastes that already exist. If this is impossible, then may I suggest that those who are most able make every effort to develop ways of disposing of such waste by using methods that affect the environment and all its inhabitants in minimally harmful ways. The cost of finding, developing and implementing such solutions is minuscule compared to the potential for loss of (quality of) life.

MARY HOPE WHITEHEAD LEE

San Diego