Lone Tree Council and TRW
Dioxin Update
November 18th 2006 #78
Happy Anniversary Mid-Michigan residents. This months marks the fifth anniversary of the discovery of Dow's dioxin in the floodplain of the Tittabawassee River and 28 years since the state first warned about dioxin saturated fish in the Tittabawassee River and 25 years since the dioxin contaminated sediments in the City of Midland were first identified.
Indeed it was five long years ago that state toxicologists suggested steps be taken to quickly evaluate the extent of the contamination so that interventions to protect public health could be put in place. Initially it was like pulling to teeth to get any studies for additional sampling, data or information. Now we are inundated with the need for more and more studies and very few interim activities as part of the response to public health protection. If you google dioxin cleanups
From Kathy Henry
This coming week on November 14, 2006, we mark the one year anniversary of when Dow Chemical appealed Saginaw County circuit court Judge Leopold Borrello's decision to grant class action status to the residents of the Tittabawassee River flood plain over Dow's dioxin contamination.
Plaintiffs have yet to hear from the Michigan Court of Appeals as to when they will hear that appeal. No hearing date has still been set. All discovery efforts for the plaintiffs attorneys have been suspended until a decision is made. The only question before the appeals court is whether Judge Borrello was in error in granting class certification based on a set of 5 questions to qualify such cases. Plaintiffs have already satisfied all 5 criteria easily.
Recent testing has shown that Dow's dioxin contamination has contaminated our land, our homes, the wildlife, the fish in the Tittabawassee River, and the blood of floodplain residents at a 28% higher rate than a control group in Jackson/Calhoun counties in lower Michigan.
We are now almost 4 years into this lawsuit, yet the argument is still over whether we should be a class action lawsuit or not.
Saddam Hussein has had a speedier trial in Iraq that we have had here in Michigan. There's something very wrong with that.
Read the detailed account of Court activities in Henry et al vs Dow Chemical in the Midland Daily News http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17463072&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472542&rfi=6
DREDGE SITE DREDGE IT RIGHT
Several new items have been posted on the web site www.DREDGEITRIGHT.org. Apologize for the delay but I think our computer guru "BOB" has the glitches worked out.
Dow's New Vow
TIME MAGAZINE November 6th 2006
CEO ANDREW LIVERIS SAYS HE'S TRADING IN THE COMPANY'S TOXIC PAST FOR A GREENER FUTURE
Dow Chemical has spent billions of dollars defending lawsuits derived from its production of dioxin, Agent Orange and other toxic substances. Now CEO Andrew Liveris is determined to turn the $46 billion conglomerate into a pre-eminent eco-friendly operation.
Snip ( Mr. Liveris CEO)
The legacy issue of dioxin is 80 years old. Eighty years ago, standards were very different than those today. There were no notions of pollution. Smokestacks were everywhere. Look at the steel industry, the car industry. We had to be there to get to here--all of us as a society. There's a framework under which this can be remediated and repaired. We don't need anyone's involvement other than the people who've been trespassed on.
It is good news that Mr. Liveris has acknowledged the existence of a (chemical) trespass onto people’s property after years of denying any responsibility. However, to suggest Dow doesn't need anyone’s involvement other than the those who've been trespassed on suggest he is either in a huge state of denial or his “people” have failed to inform him of the extent of this contamination. Mr Liveris, your companies trespass is into and onto the commons owned by the people of the State of Michigan……….it’s not as simple as you would suggest. Fifty two miles of river, a Great Lake and all the natural resources in the region pretty much requires the involvement of every one in the watershed…………Sir, this a terribly impaired resource. In fact, EPA suggest “this site may potentially be one of the largest corrective action projects in the country” ( EPA Region V scout report 2006 )
Come to your senses Mr. Liveris. You cannot claim to be eco-friendly while ignoring the toxicity of dioxin, the impairments caused by your chemicals, the importance of a timely cleanup or the fact that your Fortune 50 company sits in mid Michigan a state virtually surrounded by 95 % of this nations fresh water. But I suspect you already know that. ………..
http://www.time.com/time/insidebiz/article/0,9171,1552037,00.html
Recent Studies on Dioxin
Exposure to dioxins influences male reproductive system, study of Vietnam veterans concludes
DALLAS – Nov. 16, 2006 – A
The study, published in the November issue of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, indicates that exposure to TCDD, the most toxic dioxin contained in Agent Orange, may disturb the male endocrine and reproductive systems in several ways.
"Until now, we did not have very good evidence whether or not dioxins affect the human reproductive system," said Dr. Amit Gupta, a urologist at UT Southwestern and the study's lead author. "Now we know that there is a link between dioxins and the human prostate leading us to speculate that dioxins might be decreasing the growth of the prostate in humans like they do in animals."
snip
Dioxins are among the most toxic substances known and are thought to be partially responsible for this increase in male reproductive tract disorders. They are formed as byproducts of processes such as incineration, smelting, paper and pulp manufacturing and pesticide and herbicide production.
Humans are exposed to these chemicals primarily through consumption of animal fat and dairy products. Babies are exposed to the highest levels of dioxins through breast milk. Dioxins are eliminated extremely slowly from the body and they tend to stay in the body for several years to several decades after exposure.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-11/usmc-etd111506.php
From Environmental Health Perspectives
November 2006
Molecular Epidemiologic Evidence for Diabetogenic Effects of Dioxin Exposure in U.S. Air Force Veterans of the Vietnam War
Conclusions: These results show that the GLUT4:NFB
ratio is a reliable marker for the diabetogenic action of dioxin,
particularly at very low exposure levels that are not much higher than those
found in the general public, implying a need to address current exposure
levels.
http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2006/9262/abstract.html
From the folks at GLIN
A new website from the Great Lakes Commission -- a Great Lakes Information
Network "Site of the Month"http://www.stopthemudness.net/
talks about the problem of soil erosion and water quality as our number 1
pollution problem. The Grand River, Saginaw River, Kalamazoo River are among
the top ten sediment polluted rivers in the entire Great Lakes region. Along
with the turbidity and suffocation of aquatic life these sediments move and
migrate carrying toxic chemicals with them. Please visit the TRW web site
and view that huge sediment plume from the Saginaw River delivering muddy
dioxin laded sediments to Lake Huron.
Sediment Traps ?
The good news is the Sediment Trap study ( yes I know another study) being conducted by DEQ and Dow to trap or slow down the migration of sediments in the Tittabawassee/Saginaw River system. You can view the studies at the DEQ website: http://www.deq.state.mi.us/documents/deq-whm-hwp-sediment-study-1.pdf
Best Regards,
Michelle Hurd Riddick
Lone Tree Council