Spokesman Claims Recycling Plant Never Burned Aborted Babies for Electricity

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Apr 30, 2014   |   3:43PM   |   Salem, OR

A spokesman for the facility found to be burning aborted babies for energy says the recycling plant never burned aborted babies and claims multiple reports of that happening in Oregon are false.

Local officials in Oregon are upset that an energy plant is reportedly burning aborted babies from Canada to generate electricity. As LifeNews reported, they launched an investigation into how and why aborted babies were included along with medical waste shipped from Canada to Oregon to be incinerated for energy at a recycling plant.

burningwaste4But now, Jill Stueck, vice president of marketing and communications for Covanta Energy Corporation, the company that owns and operates the plant in Brooks, Oregon, tells a newspaper that the reports are false.

From the story:

“It’s not just inaccurate; it’s completely false,” she said.

Stueck said “fetal tissue” refers to other biological material associated with birth, such as umbilical cords and placentas — not fetuses. Fetuses would be classified as “human remains” and are in a different category.

“This is a mixing-together of terms that mean completely different things,” she said. “We’re not burning babies.”

Stueck said she was as shocked as anyone when she saw the news last week.

“It’s a horrifying, horrible concept,” she said. “I was like, ‘If this is true, I’m alarmed. This is my company, and this is not something I would support.’”

So she made contact with Stericycle, the third-party contractor that delivers the biomedical waste to Brooks. The waste arrives in sealed containers, which employees are not permitted to open, but Stericycle representatives guaranteed that the bins do not contain aborted babies, Stueck said.

“They assured me there are no fetuses in this waste stream,” she said.

But that contradicts claims from a former plant worker at the facility who said in an interview with local media that the practice of burning babies victimized by abortions had been going on for years.

KOIN interviewed Bud Waterman, a former temp worker at Covanta Marion, Inc., who told the television station that he saw 53-foot tractor trailers carrying biohazardous material dropping off loads at the facility at least two to three times a week. He said plant officials had to know that aborted babies were part of the medical waste and had been for years.

On more than one occasion, Waterman said the contents of the truck spilled out of their containers.

“It would make you sick, especially if you had to clean it up or have to pull a box off the trailer,” said Waterman.

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Waterman said he believes certified contractors have been carrying fetuses from British Columbia to Oregon, where state statutes allow fetuses to be disposed.

“I don’t know that you can know just like I should have known, but I didn’t,” said Brentano. “I’m sorry I didn’t know that this included fetal tissue, but now that I do know, believe me things change.”

Waterman said he believes fetuses have been incinerated at the Marion County facility for years and used for energy, a practice that the Canadian government will not do.

“They knew it, they had to. I don’t see how they could not know it,” said Waterman.

Either way, local commissioners are reportedly dealing with the issue today and will adopt a resolution ensuring that aborted babies are never incinerated at the plant.