What a Bypass at One of America’s Last Standing Medical Waste Incinerators Looks Like (Stericycle)

(EnviroNews Utah via Community Watch Blog) – This bypass episode was sent into EnviroNews Utah on July 24, 2013 by Beth Brown, a concerned local citizen who runs Studio 2B Photography.

Stericycle (medical waste incinerator) was recently busted for being out of compliance with their Title V air pollution permit, and for “cooking the books” regarding their dioxin emissions.

Stericycle has also come under high scrutiny as of late, surrounding their acknowledgment of a Utah Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste (DSHW) permit condition that allows them to accept a deadly and highly resilient brain-destroying disease agent know as prions.

Here is how the bypass event went down according to Beth Brown in her own words:

At approximately 12:25 I left a house located near Stericycle on Kent Drive. I noticed BLACK SMOKE coming out of the bypass. I then drove home, and back to Stericyle with my camera. At that point there was WHITE SMOKE coming out of the bypass. I barely caught it on camera as it diminished quickly.

I would like to note 2 things…(1) the air smelled foul like dirty nasty water on the North side of the building. (2) Also, prior to driving to Stericycle I felt fine and NOW I have a MIGRAINE. My head is suddenly pounding.

I think this is significant. I am intrigued by the fact that the smoke was black and turned white then seemingly dissipated…it would appear that they quickly burned something and used the bypass, and intended to close it down when the heat diminishes. THIS OF COURSE is theory. But it is unsettling to me.

It would seem that this type of account is not all that uncommon as at EnviroNews Utah, many in our videojournalists have reported feeling crummy after filming bypass events.

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