Saturday, April 21, 2001

By Fred Knapp, Zama bureau chief

ATSUGI NAVAL AIR FACILITY, Japan — The controversial Atsugi incinerator will be shut down by the end of the month, the Japanese government announced Friday.

The Japanese government said it would pay about $40 million to close the dioxin-producing incinerator outside the base.

U.S. military officials reacted with optimism but had few details about the reports.

"It is happening, and I think it’s a welcome thing," said Master Sgt. Eudith Rodney, spokeswoman for U.S. Forces Japan. Rodney referred additional questions to the Japanese government.

Japanese officials said the decision to close Enviro-Tech was made Friday because it was an important health issue for U.S. military personnel, family members, civilians and Japanese living nearby.

According to news reports, about $7 million would be spent dismantling the incinerator. Operations at the company will stop by the end of the month, reports indicated.

As of press time, Atsugi base officials had not received notification of the agreement from the Japanese government, said base spokesman Yoshihiro Shimizu.

"Our [commanding officer] does not have any comment at this point," Shimizu said.

U.S. officials have harshly criticized Enviro-Tech in the past, saying emissions from its smokestacks exceeded dioxin levels permitted under Japanese law. They have also criticized the government of Japan for failing to follow through on an earlier agreement to build a higher smokestack to carry emissions away from the base. That agreement foundered over questions of whether the company or the government of Japan would own the stack.

Last year, U.S. officials also sued in Japanese court attempting to shut down the incinerator.

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