incinerator plans has won a prized "genius grant''.

Dr. Ellen Silbergeld, of the Washington-based Environmental Defence Fund, has been given $290,000 by Chicago's McArthur Foundation.

The foundation regularly distributes cash to candidates picked for their originality and dedication to "creative pursuits''.

Dr. Silbergeld, 47, is chief toxics scientist at the EDF and a researcher at the University of Maryland medical school. She lives in Baltimore.

In the controversy leading up to approval of the Tynes Bay incinerator, she produced a hard-hitting report for the National Trust.

The grant amount is determined by a recipient's age and can be used for any purpose. Since 1981, the organisation, whose founder made his fortune in the insurance industry, has given out more than $120 million in awards to 414 fellows.