November 12, 2002

The Honorable Michael Kaplowitz
The Honorable Andrea Stewart-Cousins
800 Michaelian Building
148 Martine Avenue
White Plains New York 10601

Re: Apartment building incinerators

Dear Legislators Michael Kaplowitz and Andrea Stewart-Cousins:

Federated Conservationists of Westchester County Inc. is writing to urge you to adopt the resolution referred by the county executive with respect to apartment building incinerators (referral number 103 on the Environment and Health Committee list). In the course of our work on the urban environment last year, we were surprised to find that Westchester is the only county in DEC Region 3 which still has apartment building incinerators. New York City banned them with much fanfare with a local law passed in 1989. The same should be recommended by the county legislature to our municipalities in Westchester.

Apartment building incinerators are often not operated in accordance with the regulations that govern their use by virtue of not achieving the required temperature, being left unattended or burning inappropriate materials. This causes the emission of many air polluting materials including fine particulates, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide into the surrounding neighborhood with consequent negative impacts on the health and quality of life of the residents. The effect this can have on people, and especially children, is exemplified in the enclosed article which we published in the November/ December issue of our newspaper Westchester Environment. While hundreds of incinerators in Westchester were shut done in the last decade, those that remain pose a continuing threat to the health of the population and should be addressed.

We urge the county legislature to look into this issue and take steps to move Westchester towards conformity with the surrounding communities.

Respectfully submitted,

Edna Sussman
Executive Director