Demolition of Detroit Incinerator set to begin next month
Demolition of the Detroit Incinerator, which was a source of air pollution and health concerns for nearby residents for 30 years, is slated to begin next month and finish by the end of the year.
On Tuesday, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced that the “long-despised” incinerator would soon be cleared from the city’s skyline.
“The presence of this incinerator has been a real pain point for this community because it was another example of a health hazard being placed in a lower-income community of colour,” Duggan said in a news release. “We worked hard behind the scenes to get the incinerator shut down, and now residents of this neighbourhood will finally be able to say goodbye to it forever.”
The facility, near the Interstate 75 and I-94 interchange, burned up to 5,000 tonnes of trash per day for 30 years before its closure in 2019.
The incinerator faced heavy criticism since it opened in 1989 at a cost of around $500 million until its closure, due to pollution and health concerns generated by the facility.
Officials said during the last five years of its operation, the incinerator reportedly exceeded pollution emissions more than 750 times, according to state environmental records.
Along with impacting surrounding neighbourhoods in Detroit, the incinerator affected some Windsor areas as odour and emissions were carried across the river by the prevailing wind.
Local environmentalists are breathing easier knowing the facility is being torn down.
“When it stopped operation we celebrated and hoped it would never open again,” said Derek Coronado, research and policy coordinator with the Citizens' Environment Alliance.
“Given the wind patterns, it impacted Windsor neighbourhoods, not to mention affected water quality of the Great Lakes.”
Coronado said environmentalists were surprised the incinerator was allowed to open and operate at a time when environmental consciousness was growing, adding it ran for three decades in violation of environmental regulations.
“It was constructed without effective environmental emission control measures, it did not have an advanced system, and was ordered to retrofit,” he said.
He believes the retrofit was costly and one of the reasons Detroit fell into bankruptcy.
Duggan said the demolition will start with the trash processing portion of the complex, and lead to the implosion of the smokestack later this year.
The demolition process is expected to be completed within six months of getting started.
- With files from CTV Windsor's John Lewis
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.