TRUMBULL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL Incinerator noise burns up neighbors

The hospital says noise occurs only during the day; residents say it's all the time.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Lewis and Catherine Mines' northeast side neighborhood always used to be quiet.
But for more than a year, an incinerator at Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital has been producing a loud, grating sound at regular intervals, disturbing some neighbors.
"It lasts for about 30 seconds and happens about every 41/2 minutes," said Mines, who has lived in his Grant Street home since 1939.
Marla Sferra, hospital spokeswoman, said the incinerator runs only during the day.
Neighbors disagree
But Mines and some of his neighbors insist the noise is audible daily, around the clock.
"There's no time off for good behavior or holidays or weekends or anything," Mines said.
At first the hospital told them it was a problem with a part and would be fixed, he said. The noise did subside for a few weeks, but it came back.
"It's just annoying, especially because my wife is a light sleeper and it wakes her up," said Mike Ronzi, Mines' son-in-law, who also lives on Grant.
It also sometimes keeps Sandy Limber, Mines' next-door neighbor, awake at night.
Sferra said the hospital runs the incinerator in accordance with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency rules.
"With EPA regulations and ecological issues, the hospital feels this is the safest thing for the community and for the environmental even with the noise issue," Sferra said.
Residents complain
A handful of neighborhood residents attended a city council meeting in July complaining of the noise, and Mines returned to last week's council meeting.
Although it's a nuisance all year, it's especially bothersome during the summer months, when people want to sit outside or open doors and windows to catch a breeze, Ronzi said.
"When the wind blows just right it sounds like it's right on your doorstep," Mines said.
Sferra said hospital officials have a meeting set next week with Mayor Michael J. O'Brien.
denise_dick@vindy.com