Anti-Pollution Protesters Say Curtis Bay Incinerator Is Spewing Dirty Air

CURTIS BAY, MD — Protesters on Friday demanded that a Curtis Bay medical waste incinerator be held accountable for potential pollution.

WBAL reported that demonstrators marched to the front gate of Curtis Bay Medical Waste Services, formerly known as Curtis Bay Energy. The group called up to open windows using a megaphone asking why the alleged steam coming from their stack appeared to be black smoke, WBAL said.

The incinerator, located in Baltimore City at 3200 Hawkins Point Road, lies about a quarter mile from the Anne Arundel County line.

"It is directly impacting Curtis Bay. It is directly impacting Anne Arundel County. But air travels. There is no border in the air," said Shashawnda Campbell with the South Baltimore Community Land Trust, according to WBAL.

One protester carried a sign reading "2023 guilty of 40 criminal counts."

Last year, Curtis Bay Energy pleaded guilty to 40 criminal counts related to insufficiently incinerated medical waste. This occurred with the knowledge and at times endorsement of management, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said.

The company was ordered to pay a $1 million fine to the Maryland Clean Water Fund and a $750,000 fine to the Chesapeake Bay Trust.

The Clean Air Baltimore Coalition said the incinerator is the city's 13th-largest polluter.

The group reported that there were over 6,000 medical waste incinerators nationwide in 1988, but that dropped to 33 by 2013 as hospitals turned to no-burn disposal alternatives. The two burners at Curtis Bay Medical Waste Services account for a third of the nation's medical waste burning capacity, the Clean Air Baltimore Coalition said.

Patch contacted the incinerator's parent company, Sharps Medical Waste Services, for a comment. Sharps hasn't replied. We will update this story if we get a response.

To see protest footage and learn how the incinerator's waste comes from Canada and other states, visit WBAL's story.