By Fred Knapp, Stars and Stripes

Fred Knapp / Stars and Stripes The incinerator in the foreground is to be disassembed so it will no longer affect the air breathed by residents of buildings like those at Atsugi Naval Air Facility, in the background.

From the Pentagon to Japan, U.S. officials are praising the Japanese government’s decision to buy and shut down a controversial incinerator outside Atsugi Naval Air Facility.

"This is very good news," said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Terry Sutherland. "It’s something we’ve wanted for a long time. Overall, we’re very pleased."

"We’re very happy this is taking place," added Navy spokesman Lt. Doug Spencer, also at the Pentagon. "It is something the United States has been appealing to Japan to do for a long time: to investigate the health issues."

Closer to the scene, Rear Adm. Robert C. Chaplin, commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan, also was pleased.

"We are gratified by the action taken by the government of Japan to end the pollution threat to those Japanese and American personnel who live and work at Naval Air Station Atsugi and in Ayase City," Chaplin said. The action solves serious and long-standing problems with the Enviro-Tech incinerator, which had spewed dioxin into the air, he said.

Navy officials have been pressing for action against the incinerator formerly known as Jinkampo for more than a decade. The facility’s three burners are about 300 yards from high-rise buildings at Atsugi. Because the plant is in a low-lying area, emissions from its smokestack billow toward the residential buildings when wind conditions are right.

The plan to shut down the plant by the end of the month was "particularly welcome," Chaplin said, since winds shift toward the base in springtime. The commander praised the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Defense Facilities Administration Agency and Ayase City for their help.

Sandra Jontz contributed to this report.