Oakland Group Fighting Against Giant Crematorium

A neighborhood group called Communities for a Better Environment is suing Oakland and its Planning Commission in order to prevent Stewart Enterprises from building “one of the largest crematoriums on the West Coast.”

The Oakland Planning Commission granted Stewart Enterprises a building permit for the East Oakland crematorium, which would burn up to 3,600 bodies per year.  Communities for a Better Environment claim this will emit pollutants such as arsenic, hexavalent chromium, lead, and mercury into a low-income community of color.

See Elizabeth Warmerdam, Oakland Group Fights Giant Crematorium, Courthouse News Service, Dec. 12, 2013.