John K. Brown said he and fellow Riverside Drive residents are anxious to put the Dow Chemical Co. dioxin fiasco to rest.
They may get their wish after Dow officials met with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, agreeing to negotiate cleanup of 10 properties along the Tittabawassee River just east of Green Point Nature Center.
Recent soil samples from Riverside indicated average dioxin levels more than two times the 1,000-parts-per-trillion state threshold making cleanup necessary, classifying the area as contaminated.
"We've been dealing with (environmental officials and scientists) coming in here for so long, it's just been ridiculous," said Brown, a 47-year-old wholesale representative for Munro & Co., a Hot Springs, Ark.-based shoe company.
Dow Chemical completed spot work in 2005-06 at several homes on Riverside and other houses in the Tittabawassee River floodplain, including carpet cleaning, furnace duct work and grass and sod replacement, said company spokesman John Musser.
Riverside residents met Tuesday with officials from the EPA, the state Department of Environmental Quality, the Michigan Department of Community Health and the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in Saginaw to discuss dioxin findings in the region.
Ralph Dollhopf, associate director of the Superfund Division with EPA Region 5, said although he was not present Tuesday, he heard residents were cooperative with each of the agencies and departments.
"We've communicated with them throughout the process and we're going to keep them posted on what's going to happen," he said.
The homes on Riverside are 10 to 20 yards from the river and have flooded four times in the past decade, said Brown, who moved into his home in 1996.
Dollhopf said it is too early to determine what cleaning is needed at Riverside, when it will start or if residents will have to vacate their homes during cleanup work.
"We're hopeful that we can work constructively with Dow in the coming days and weeks to plan some response activities in that neighborhood," he said. "It's our hope that there can be some initial work within the next few weeks.
"It's a situation that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Potential exposure to residents in that neighborhood must be reduced."
Dollhopf also said EPA had initial discussions with Dow and the state about preventing recontamination of Riverside properties after the cleaning is done, including how to prevent future flooding.
Scientists have linked dioxin to some forms of cancer, reproductive problems and weakened immune systems in laboratory animals.
Brown said he has not seen an indication of sickness among Riverside residents and that they are not contemplating moving away.
"I don't think anybody wants to leave here," he said. "This is a beautiful place to live. We just want somebody to resolve the problems."
Brian Manzullo is a staff writer for The Saginaw News. You may reach him at 776-9724.
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