| Flood plain
dioxin meeting mild |
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| Kathie Marchlewski , The Midland Daily News | 11/12/2003 |
| The sky is not
falling, said Timothy Lynch, a Saginaw lawyer who owns property along the Tittabawassee
River flood plain. "I think you let a sleeping dog lie." The Dow Chemical Co. was greeted with those comments and similar ones at Tuesday’s neighborhood meeting at Horizons Conference Center for residents of the dioxin contaminated Tittabawassee River flood plain. Unlike the emotional and angry outbursts that have become common at past public meetings addressing the dioxin issue, the smaller, invitation-only gatherings were filled with simple questions: Is there really dioxin on my property ... where exactly is the "flood plain?" Lynch and others told Dow officials they just want more information and said they don’t blame the chemical company for the dilemma. "I’m not alarmed by this," Lynch said. There were concerns about health and exposure, but the handful of attendees said their health is fine, their children’s health is fine. What they do want to know is how much exposure it would take to cause health effects. And, if they want to sell their property, what will happen to its value? Dow officials explained that scientific studies on health vary widely and some have conflicting answers. The company is working with the state on testing that could solidify answers in the future. It may also do a study of home sale transactions to see if property values have been negatively affected by dioxin contamination. Dow has scheduled several community outreach meetings over the next week in an effort to communicate with those who live on the flood plain and are not party to the pending potential class action dioxin lawsuit. It wants an informal setting at which property owners can offer input on how the contamination can be handled and needs permission to sample their soil along the riverside. Those who attended the Tuesday meeting said they preferred the intimate setting to the larger sessions like those recently conducted in Saginaw and Midland counties. At those meetings, some attendees said, property owners wanting to gather information felt overpowered by environmentalists, including members of the Lone Tree Council, who had strong accusations and sensationalized the issue. "There are agitators – third parties out there who don’t even live near the river – that are posturing the situation for litigation," Lynch said. "Anybody who does not live near the river should shut up and get out of the way." |
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| İMidland
Daily News 2003 Reader Opinions |
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| Name: Pat Weatherbee | |
Date:
Nov, 12 2003 As taxpayers and residents of Saginaw County and the state of Michigan, we all have a vested interest in the well being of our Great Lakes and tributaries. Dow's dioxin contamination, while a more urgent issue for river residents, is surely an issue for everyone who swims, recreates,hunts, hikes and lives in this watershed. Dow didn't just contaminate the Tittabawassee River, dioxin is in the fish, birds and Saginaw Bay. I can appreciate people wanting to get more information but you might be careful who you're getting it from. Do you think Dow would lie? Remember the headlines early last year. Dow said it wasn't their dioxin................ |
Name: kathy henry |
Date:
Nov, 12 2003 How sad to see there are still a few people on the river who are ill-informed. The fact is, we are living on a toxic waste facility, and how this can be acceptable to anyone, including Mr. Lynch just blows my mind.For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawasse River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.