Marion County's commissioners have ordered a municipal waste plant to stop taking medical waste, including fetuses, as part of a disposal program that generates $4 million a year for the county.

This infographic from Covanta Energy shows how their plant converts waste into energy.

Commissioners Janet Carlson and Sam Brentano decided in a meeting on Thursday that they will revise all contracts related to the waste management program to ensure that no fetal tissue is burned with other municipal trash.

"We've halted acceptance of any medical waste -- effective immediately," Carlson said. "Now we have to have a process to figure out how we can accept legitimate medical waste."

But accepting fetuses is out of the question, she said. "It's inappropriate to put them in the trash," she said.

A Mormon, Carlson and Brentano, who is Catholic, are against abortion. They said they were both horrified to learn that British Columbia had been shipping fetuses to Oregon to be burned with other garbage at

, a company that incinerates 550 tons a of municipal waste a day.

Its plant in Brooks was built in 1987 to solve Marion County's landfill problem. The plant burns waste at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, generating 13 megawatts of electricity a day. The electricity is sold to Portland General Electric, generating about $4 million a year for the county. The waste is turned to ash, which is then disposed of in a landfill in Woodburn after ferrous and nonferrous metals have been removed.

It's been a win-win for the county, until the commissioners discovered that the medical waste from British Columbia included fetal material.

Carlson said the plant has also burned medical waste from Washington state and that it, too, could have contained fetuses.

"This is not just about Canada," Carlson said. "It could be from other places."

A spokeswoman for Covanta also expressed dismay.

"We're horrified by the implication of it," said Jill Stueck, Covanta's vice president of communications.

She said the waste could have contained fetal tissue, including umbillical cords or placentas, but did not include whole fetuses.

"There were no baby fetuses in the waste stream," Stueck said.

The commissioners will pass an order at their meeting next Wednesday outlining their plans, which will include revised contracts with all of the suppliers and Covanta and a revised ordinance. Incinerating medical waste, which includes human tissue, is legal in Oregon.

Carlson said under the contracts, suppliers will have to guarantee that they are not handling fetal material. Checks will be put in place and if any company violates the terms of the contract, it will be terminated, Carlson said.

Stericycle, a company specializing in the disposal of medical waste, has currently supplied the Brooks facility with waste from Washington state and British Columbia. No one answered the phone at its offices in Portland.

Stueck of Covanta said the company will work with the county on a revised contract. "We are absoutely on their side," Stueck said.

-- Lynne Terry