arc2009

1. DEQ dioxin meeting May 6 2009

A fairly comprehensive PowerPoint presentation by MDEQ detailed the progress on the upper Tittabawassee River. The presentation also detailed a veritable cesspool of chemicals Dow Chemical vented to the river via outfall pipes. Dow Chemical declined to participate in the meeting, talk, discuss or share any of their disagreements or plans at the meeting. Even when asked a question they sat in silence--- The Power Point/PDF is up on the DEQ website at the following link.

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/deq-whm-hwp-Dow-Community-Meeting-presentation-Rev-5-6-2009_277906_7.pdf

Information shared at the meeting or in the Power Point. (Pg numbers refer to the link above)

1. Final plans from Dow for the Tittabawassee River are due June 1

2. Dow is refusing to pay for the enhanced fish advisory signs and will no longer pay for the stenographer so the meetings are transcribed and made available to the public.

3. Dow is not doing any work on the Saginaw River. Work that is being done is being conducted by the agencies and paid for by the financially strapped taxpayers

4. There are 30 plus historic out falls (pg. 21): Literal sewers where Dow released hundreds of chemicals to the river besides dioxins and furans (pg 13). These areas are a priority and progress is being made.

5. Detailed pictures of highly contaminated anode material used by Dow to shore up the banks near Founders Park. (Pg 9-10) This material has been an ongoing source of contamination to the river. This chlor-alkali material is in the river sediments as well as on the banks of the river.

6. Miles of eroding and highly contaminated banks remain an ongoing source of contamination to the river (pg 26)

7. Remediation at Reach D near the Dow plant site suffered significant scouring, releasing a number of chemicals from the sediment. The site was not fully characterized for contaminants and EPA jumped the gun a bit too quick in issuing their removal order in 2007.

8. Interim Response Decision Tree (pg 57) detailing a game plan to deal with various levels of contamination. This is important information for property owners and for contaminated river banks and sediments in the river.

9. Detailed graphic showing highly contaminated residential properties. ( pg 58)

10. Limited sampling (after all these years in the City of Midland). Most numbers are below a 1,000 ppt but greater than 200 ppt over large areas of residential properties. (Pg 60)

11. Response activities are underway by Dow at West Michigan Park and Riverside(*one admonition see below)

2. Eat Smart Fish Smart

EPA came through (APPLUASE, APPLUASE ) with a $75,000 for MDCH to target at risk populations eating contaminated fish from our local chemically impacted waters.

§Women of childbearing age, pregnant women, mothers nursing babies

§Children under the age of 15 years old

§Shore-line fishers

§People who fish and eat those fish for sustenance

Key Partners with MDC and EPA are Saginaw and Bay County Health Departments, First Ward Community Center and the Friends of Bay City State Park Recreation Area. Non federal matching funds in kind total $77,000 (More Applause)

3. University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Investigation

Statistician John Kern, hired by the Department of Environmental Quality to review the UM dioxin exposure investigation recently advised regulators not to use the Dow-funded University of Michigan study as a basis for decisions about dealing with the dioxin contamination-at least until problems identified were fixed. You can link to the report on the TRW home page.

It was pointed out that out of 900 + residents whose blood was sampled only 14 lived on properties where concentrations exceeded 1,000 ppt of dioxin.

MDEQ stated when all the data had been evaluated the agency would then decide on the appropriate use of the UMEI.

4. EPA and the Superfund Alternative Site

Region V EPA representative stated they (Region V) were awaiting direction from headquarters on how the federal government would proceed with Dow Chemical. However, Dow remains legally obligated under their operating permit (RCRA a federal regulation) to advance categorization, sample, provide work plans and take response action.

Here is the link to the EPA Region V website dealing with Dow’s mess: http://www.epa.gov/region5/sites/dowchemical/index.htm

Here is the link to EPA Administrator’s letter to Lone Tree Council responding to our request and the request of river residents and state wide environmental orgs to evaluate the Superfund Alternative process initiated during the Bush Administration. To that end EPA has suspended the negotiation process. Administrator Jackson will make a decision on how to proceed.

http://www.epa.gov/region5/sites/dowchemical/pdfs/admin-jackson-letter-200903.pdf

Comments and perspective

The sheer magnitude of this site is enormous in terms of complexity, toxicity and geographic size. And Dow digging in their heels and dictating the terms of engagement with state is destructive and disservice to the community and the resource. Bottom line Dow does not want to deal with 1. MDEQ/RCRA 2. Saginaw River 3. Saginaw Bay ----- hence the company’s request for superfund alternative process which would give EPA the lead and not MDEQ.

Will expound with greater detail in the next update but to demonstrate the impact of Dow’s refusal to address Saginaw River issues? Dredging has started on the Saginaw River, which has minimal sampling to date. EPA and MDEQ both acknowledge this process will re suspend contaminated sediments in the water column advancing migration to the already sediment impaired Saginaw Bay. BUT DOW DUG IN THEIR HEELS AND REFUSES TO DEAL WITH THE SAGINAW RIVER OR INSTALL SEDIMENTS TRAPS. Instead Dow took the cash strapped taxpayers represented by MDEQ to court (filed in Midland circuit court) knowing the state has no money to take on any legal battles.

Based on new data MDCH has determined that enhanced fish consumption advisories are in order, which require amending warning signs along the river system. Anticipating future needs the signs were designed to be updated by placing a laminate with the new information over existing signs. This is a low cost item, which Dow is refusing to pay for even though it is required by law as an interim response. Again taking advantage of cash- strapped taxpayers; Dow knows the state cannot afford the signs or a legal challenge.

In summary Dow’s commitment to the community and resource is fickle:

Doesn’t want to deal with MDEQ unless on company terms

Suing the state

Looking for a new “path forward” with EPA behind closed doors

Refusing to place sediment traps

Refusing to pay for enhanced signs

Refusing to pay for a stenographer to create a public record

Refusing to answer question at a public meeting when asked (May 6 2009)

Refusing to do work on the Saginaw River required by their federal (RCRA) operating license which states:

At the end of the four year period beginning on the date this license is issued, the licensee shall continue or commence the corrective action process for any of the off-site areas that are identified in Condition XI.B.6.

Identified in Condition x1.B.6 is the Saginaw River, its floodplain and Saginaw Bay. Fours years from license issue (June 12 2003) is June 2007.

Dow acknowledged that commitment when Dow’s Sue Carrington signed on the dotted line in 2003 sealing a contract with the people of this region and this state to address their contamination. In early 2004 Dow began push back with MDEQ and have done so since then. Now they want the EPA to take over. Likely to set up a re-match of the 1980’s feud when Dow dominated push back with EPA and sent them running. EPA turned it over to MDEQ in the mid 90’s. Now EPA is entertaining getting back on the merry go round. Frankly it’s a nauseating 30 year old ride that has got to stop.

*Let’s look at Riverside and W. Michigan Park. Dow’s work being done on Riverside and West Michigan Park is being done under orders from the federal government. Failure to do so would result in EPA doing the work and applying treble damages: Treble damages, in law, is a term that indicates that a statute permits a court to triple the amount of the actual damages to be awarded to a prevailing plaintiff, in this case EPA, generally in order to punish the losing party for willful conduct. Not to say what Dow is doing is not important, because it is, but let’s not hoist the red diamond and salute them for being good corporate neighbors-- they are doing it with a gun to their head.

Everyone appreciates what Dow’s philanthropy in these tough economic times. But they are also taking advantage of these most unfortunate times--- Dow is revealing a greater commitment to its public persona and PR then to real substance and commitment to GREAT LAKES BAY REGION. ---Michigan largest watershed.

More soon on the, SAS, dredge project (www.dredgeitright.org) Saginaw Bay and some old EPA documents.

Best Regards,
Michelle Hurd Riddick
Lone Tree Council

The ATSDR and MDCH Health Consultation Pilot Exposure Investigation performed back in 2005 spent approximately $40,000 and used samples from 11 actual floodplain residents. The Dow/Garabrant cost $15,000,000 study and uses 14? Evidently the extra $14,960,000 Dow spent bought a study designed to obscure the facts.

05/3/09 Communities asks Obama to release the long delayed EPA Dioxin Reassessment

A letter was sent 4/28/09 to EPA Administrator Jackson and President Obama today encouraging the EPA to cancel the unnecessary Dioxin Science Advisory Board process and release the long-delayed Dioxin Reassessment. We wish to thank the Center for Health, Environment, & Justice for organizing a united front on this issue.

The letter is signed by dozens of organizations from across the country representing communities impacted by Dioxin including:

·         Community-based and environmental justice organizations;

·         Indigenous groups;

·         Health-impacted groups; and

·         Organizations concerned about Agent Orange.

Following the letter contains quotes from many of the dioxin impacted communities explaining why this issue matters to you.

We urge the EPA to cancel the Science Advisory Board’s review of EPA’s Dioxin Reassessment, release this long awaited report, and move ahead in setting dioxin policies that will protect the health of the our communities and the American people.

------------------------------------------

President Barack Obama

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500

Lisa Jackson

EPA Administrator

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Ariel Rios Building

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20460

April 28, 2009

Dear President Obama and EPA Administrator Jackson,

As community members living in dioxin-impacted neighborhoods, indigenous groups, Vietnam Vets concerned about Agent Orange, and health-affected groups concerned about endometriosis, breast cancer, reproductive health, and learning and developmental disabilities, we are writing to implore you to cancel the Science Advisory Board’s review of EPA’s Dioxin Reassessment, release this long awaited report, and move ahead in setting dioxin policies that will protect the health of our communities and the American people.

A municipal incinerator in Connecticut . . .a Dow chemical plant in Michigan . . . a medical waste incinerator in Florida. These are some of the ways dioxin, the most toxic man-made substance on earth, is produced and released into our communities. Every day, we continue to live with dioxin contamination in our neighborhoods, food, and bodies, while the EPA’s Dioxin Reassessment study has been delayed for almost twenty years. As a result, we have been left to argue with our state agencies over how much cleanup is needed and what’s a safe level of exposure.

Now, the EPA is proposing to form yet another scientific panel to review the dioxin report which will only delay the release of the report once again. According to the EPA’s website, this next review will take until 2012 to complete. Enough is enough.

Dioxin is a byproduct of the manufacture and burning of products that contain chlorine. Plastics made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are a major culprit. So is paper that is bleached with chlorine or chlorine compounds. Incinerators across the country belch out this toxic substance every single day. Airborne, dioxin falls on farms, settles on plants and works its way up the food chain. Dioxin also gets into water from industrial discharges. Dioxin is now pervasive in fish, beef, milk, poultry, pork and eggs. Infants are even exposed to dioxin in breast milk.

Dioxin has been ranked among the most dangerous of chemicals, a "known human carcinogen," by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Dioxin has been linked to liver, lung, stomach, soft and connective tissue cancers as well as Non‑Hodgkins lymphoma.

Learning disabilities, birth defects, male and female infertility, endometriosis and diabetes have all been linked to dioxin exposure. Dioxin weakens the human immune system and decreases the level of the male hormone testosterone. It can disrupt the proper function of hormones ‑- chemical messengers that the body uses for growth and regulation.

The EPA was poised to warn Americans about dioxin in 1994. But under industry pressure, the agency postponed their report. Now, fifteen years later, under pressure from the chemical industry, that study has still not been released and our communities suffer as a result.

We have a right to air, water, soil and food free of dioxin. We the undersigned believe the public has a right to know about the health consequences of exposure to dioxin.

We urge you to cancel the Science Advisory Board’s review of EPA’s Dioxin Reassessment, release this long awaited report, and move ahead in setting dioxin policies that will protect the health of the our communities and the American people.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Monique Harden and Nathalie Walker, Attorneys and Co-Directors

Advocates for Environmental Human Rights

New Orleans, LA

Pam Miller, Executive Director

Alaska Community Action on Toxics

Anchorage, AK

Laura Abulafia, MHS, Director, Environmental Health Initiative

American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Formerly AAMR)

Washington, DC

Betty Mekdeci, Executive Director

Birth Defect Research for Children

Celebration FL

David Mickey

Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League

Glendale Springs, North Carolina

Joyce Bichler, ACSW, Deputy Director

Breast Cancer Action

San Francisco, CA

Jeanne Rizzo, R.N., President and CEO

The Breast Cancer Fund

San Francisco, CA

Teresa Mills, Director

Buckeye Environmental Network

Columbus, OH

Bruce Wood, President

BURNT

Nashville, Tennessee

Steve Zeltzer, Chair

California Coalition For Workers Memorial Day

San Francisco, CA

Jane Williams, Executive Director
California Communities Against Toxics
Rosamond, CA

Lois Gibbs, Executive Director

Center for Health, Environment and Justice

Falls Church, VA

Barbara Warren, Executive Director

Citizens' Environmental Coalition

Albany, NY

Laurence Tunsill

Citizens Organized For Environmental Justice Inc.

Caroline Snyder Ph.D.

Citizens for Sludge-Free Land

North Sandwich NH

Linda L. Young, Director

Clean Water Network of FL

Tallahassee, FL 32303

Jackie Elliott

C.L.E.A.R.

Claremont, NH

Tamara= Maschino

Clean Air Clean Lake

TX

Sharyle Patton, Director, Biomonitoring Resource Center

Commonweal

Bolinas, CA

Jana Chicoine, Spokesperson

Concerned Citizens of Russell

Russell MA

Mark A. Mitchell M.D., MPH, President

Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice

Hartford, CT

Becky Bornhorst

Downwinders at Risk

Dalas-Ft. Worth, Texas

Patricia Wiitanen, Executive Assistant

Endometriosis Association

Milwaukee, WI

Endometriosis Research Center
Delray Beach, FL

Paul and Ellen Connett

Fluoride Action Network

Canton, NY

Monica Wilson, International Co-Coordinator
GAIA: Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives/ Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance

Berkeley, CA

Bill Owens, President

Glynn Environmental Coalition

Brunswick, GA

Bradley Angel, Executive Director

Green Action

San Francisco, CA

Laura Weinberg, President

Great Neck Breast Cancer Coalition

Great Neck, NY

Tracy Frisch

Greenwich Citizens Committee, Inc.

Greenwich, NY

Alan Muller, Executive Director
Green Delaware
Port Penn, DE

Brent Baeslack

Haverhill Environmental League

Haverhill, MA

Debra Hall, Founder

Hopewell Junction Citizens for Clean Water
Hopewell Junction, NY

Tom Goldtooth, Executive Director

Indigenous Environmental Network

Bemidji, MN

Ana Baptista

Ironbound Community Corporation

Newark, NJ

Sheila Buckley, Executive Director
Learning Disabilities Association of America
Pittsburgh, PA

Michelle Hurd Riddick
Lone Tree Council
Saginaw, MI

Terry Miller

Lone Tree Council

Bay City, MI

Mr. Edgar Mouton, President

Mossville Environmental Action Now

Westlake, LA

Nick Bennett, Staff Scientist

Natural Resources Council of Maine

Augusta, ME

Nancy Hone, Founder and Coordinator

Neighbors Against the Burner

St. Paul, MN

Rick Engler, Director

NJ Work Environment Council

Lawrenceville, NJ

Florence T. Robinson

North Baton Rouge Environmental Assn.

Baton Rouge, LA

Diane D’Arrigo, Radioactive Waste Project Director

Nuclear Information and Resource Service

Takoma Park, MD

Vivian Stockman, Project Coordinator

Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition

Huntington, WV

Darlene Schanfald

The Olympic Environmental Council

Sequim, WA

Jane Harris, Executive Director

Oregon Center for Environmental Health

Portland, Oregon

Eden Brightspirit Hendrix, President

P.E.A.C.H.-People for Environmental Action & Community Health

Fresh Abundance LOCAL & Organic Foods

Spokane, WA

E.M.T. O'Nan, Director

Protect All Children's Environment

Marion, NC

Shawna Larson

Resisting Environmental Destruction on Indigenous Lands (REDOIL)

Anchorage, AK

Judy Braiman

RAMP (Rochesterians Against the Misuse of Pesticides)

Rochester, NY

Alonzo Spencer

Save Our County Inc

East Liverpool, OH

Maureen Headington, President

Stand Up/Save Lives Campaign

Burr Ridge, Illinois

Joe Parrish

US Environmental Watch

Elizabeth, NJ, and New York, NY

Merle E. Ratner, Co-Coordinator
Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign
New York, NY

Michael Eckstein, Chairman, Agent Orange/Dioxin Committee

New Jersey State Council, Inc., Vietnam Veterans of America

Stanhope, New Jersey

Robert Gronko and Joe Miller
Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Chicago, IL

Ogonnaya Dotson-Newman, Environmental Health and Community-Based Research Coordinator

WE ACT for Environmental Justice, Inc. (WE ACT)

New York, New York

Alexandra Scranton, Director of Science and Research

Women's Voices for the Earth

Missoula, MT

John Taylor

Saginaw, MI

John Caulfield

Santa Barbara, CA

CC: Nancy Sutley, Chair, the White House Council on Environmental Quality

Enclosure: Quotes from Dioxin-Impacted Communities

Quotes From Dioxin-Impacted Communities

“In Connecticut, our two largest and poorest cities, Hartford and Bridgeport, have the fifth and eleventh largest trash incinerators in the U.S. More than 300 trucks per day from over 80 suburban towns bring their garbage to these two cities to incinerate. We believe that our residents suffer from high rates of asthma, allergies, cancer, endometriosis, and diabetes from these facilities. We must remove dioxins and other toxins from the waste stream,” said Mark Mitchell, President of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice.

"People are sick and dying in our community because of the high levels of dioxins found in our blood,” said Mr. Edgar Mouton of Mossville Environmental Action Now.

“Dow's dioxin is a major and significant public health threat and environmental black eye for Michigan's largest watershed. Failure to release the dioxin reassessment has been instrumental in allowing Dow to manufacture uncertainty about the toxicity of dioxin and manipulate the science of dioxin. Failure to release the dioxin reassessment has allowed the polluter to prevail as the authority on dioxin--- delaying public health protection and a time= ly cleanup. The next generation of children are growing up on this contaminated floodplain. Enough already,” said Michelle Hurd Riddick of the Lone Tree Council.

“ As Arctic Indigenous Peoples we are living in the frontlines of a toxic chemical assault. Dioxin is found in our traditional foods, our breast milk and our children. The United States has a Government-to-Government legal trust responsibility to the Federally Recognized Tribes and the EPA must stop the delay of getting this important information out. This information could be used to protect the health and environment of Indigenous Peoples. Why would the EPA want to delay protecting the health of our children and our Peoples?,” said Shawna Larson from the Chickaloon Tribe in Alaska.

“The Learning Disabilities Association of America, with affiliates in 43 states advocating for children and adults with learning disabilities, joins the call for EPA to take long-overdue action on dioxin. Dioxin poses a major threat to healthy fetal development, and can particularly interfere with thyroid hormones, which are essential to healthy brain development. Scientific studies have linked low levels of dioxin to lasting immune system and neurodevelopment effects such as learning deficits and lowered IQ scores. Moreover, this highly toxic chemical persists for an extraordinarily long time in the environment,” said Maureen Swanson of the Learning Disabilities Association of America.

"The Ironbound community is the home of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site, one of the largest sites of dioxin contamination in the world, the place where Agent Orange was produced for many decades. Dioxin has poisoned our Passaic River and contaminated our land and our air also through the incinerator in our backyard,” said Ana Baptista of the Ironbound Community Corporation.

"California has many dioxin sources, despite years of community activity to stop the construction and re-licensing of dioxin-spewing industrial activities such as incinerators, chemical manufacturing plants, cement plants, and refineries. Communities have a right to know the truth about the toxicity of dioxin,” said Jane Williams, Executive Director of California Communities Against Toxics.

"With sources of dioxin present throughout our already over burdened community, we believe it is very important to consistently reevaluate the risk associated with exposures to these persistent organic pollutants. With elevated cancer risk, developmental delays and chronic disease characterizing our community it is important that we take a holistic approach to identifying and evaluating sources of exposure. We cannot stand and watch our community be impacted by the by-products of our unsustainable lifestyle linked to the sources of dioxin in US air. We host a cement kiln, sewage treatment plants, many hospitals with waste incinerators and municipal waste facilities. The time has come for science to meet activism and work for the greater good,” said Ogonnaya Dotson-Newman of WE ACT for Environmental Justice, Inc. (WE ACT).

"Agent Orange/Dioxin contamination still continues to effect Vietnam Veterans from the contamination in the Passaic River and other hot spots within New Jersey,” said Michael Eckstein of New Jersey State Council, Vietnam Veterans of America.

“We have one of, if not the largest, sites of dioxin contamination in our rivers. Over 50 miles of our waterways are contaminated with dioxin as a result of the Dow Chemical Company. We have a very strong interest in the release of this report, and hope it will counter Dow’s misinformation about dioxin,” said Terry Miller of Lone Tree Council.

“Many pulp and paper mills in Maine are still heavily dependent on chorine dioxide to delignify and bleach their pulp. This makes such mills less competitive when compared to mills that use oxygen delignification and ozone bleaching, and Mainer’s still have to limit their consumption of fish from rivers where these mills discharge waste due in part to dioxin contamination,” said Nick Bennett, Staff Scientist of Natural Resources Council of Maine.

“AAIDD's Environmental Health Initiative firmly believes that all people have the right to live, work, play and pray in a safe and healthy environment. AAIDD is especially concerned about chemicals in the environment that are linked with adverse health outcomes such as learning and developmental disabilities. Endocrine disrupting chemicals like dioxin pose a serious threat for both the developing brain and for those already living with disabilities. Precaution should be taken in our communities to protect our most vulnerable populations, such as children and those living with a learning or developmental disability. Regulating harmful chemicals like dioxin is a necessary step in protecting these populations,” said Laura Abulafia of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Formerly AAMR).

“We have a superfund site in the middle of our largest city, Portland, Oregon, that is contaminated with dioxin among other things. This report has been more than 15 years in the making,” said Jane Harris, Executive Director of the Oregon Center for Environmental Health.

“I live on the Tittabawassee River about 12 miles downstream from the Dow Chemical plant and World HQ in Midland MI. It has been 8+ years now since the revelation of the high concentration of dioxin, furans and a host of other highly toxic compounds was made public. 8 years of political corruption at all levels of government, by both major parties and all agencies involved. 8 more years of declining health for my entire family. 8 years of mostly inaction by both agencies, the EPA and the MDEQ to actively start a cleanup process. 8 years of ALL residents in harms way being placed on ignore. The cleanup of an area of this magnitude, two rivers totaling 50+ miles, countless thousands of acres of flood plain and the entire Saginaw Bay is simply mind boggling. The length of the river alone dictates decades of clean-up. Yet, with this knowledge in mind, the EPA continues to barter with Dow and our Governor while considering us a sacrificial lambs,” said John Taylor of Saginaw, MI.

"Our community, Rochester, New York has been impacted by the release of dioxin by the Eastman Kodak Company. We have= extremely high rates of certain cancers which we believe could have been caused by this most toxic of chemicals,” said Judy Braiman of Rochesterians Against Misuse of Pesticides.

"Glynn County, Georgia, is contaminated by dioxin from wood preserving, chemical manufacturing, pulp mill, and chlorine production. For 20 years, the delayed assessment has contributed to keeping our community from being cleaned up and our citizens' health protected. Release the Dioxin Reassessment now,” said Bill Owens, President of Glynn Environmental Coalition.

“The Merrimack Valley communities have survived the Industrial Revolution only to be burdened with a dioxin legacy from trash and sludge incineration, help us move to a more sustainable future by addressing the persistent pollution we have experienced,” said Brent Baeslack of the Haverhill Environmental League.

"EPA must protect our human right to health and immediately establish strict dioxin policies that will protect the health of all communities throughout America,” said Monique Harden of Advocates for Environmental Human Rights.

“Dioxins are known breast carcinogens and endocrine disruptors. They can be detected in every human being, including newborns. It's time to stop studying dioxins and to start taking action,” said Jeanne Rizzo of the Breast Cancer Fund.

“Dairy products, such as milk, cheese, and ice cream contain high levels of dioxins. One way dioxins get into dairy products is through milk from dairy cows that are legally permitted to graze on pastures that have been treated with municipal sewage sludges and other industrial wastes. These contaminated soil amendments can legally contain high levels of dioxins and dioxin-like compounds that are excreted through lactation,” said Caroline Snyder of Citizens for Sludge Free Land.

"We live on the coast of Texas. We are deeply concerned that people living here aren't being protected with the information they need to keep their families safe,” said Tamara Maschino of Clean Air Clean Lake.

“The cleanup site in Pt Angeles WA is a dioxin laden area -- soils, sediments, marine animals -- from a pulp mill that bleached their pulp. It is a CERCLA site. Also, two of their landfills in neighborhoods are CERCLA listed due to the off site dioxin levels in soils and stream sediments. We have high levels of childhood cancer for a relatively small community. The Strait of Juan de Fuca is cultural, subsistence and commercial fishing grounds for the Lower Elwha Tribe, now dioxin laden along with many other industrial contaminants. People also recreate in these waters, although the State should make it off

limits. Eighty five properties, mostly residential, have just been tested for dioxin. About all contained dioxin; 45 sites at 11.1 ppt and higher, but any amount is too much. These must be cleaned up to levels protective of human health and the environment,” said Darlene Schanfald of the Olympic Environmental Council.

“Scientific evidence shows us that 50 to 70 percent of breast cancer incidence cannot be explained by genetics or personal behaviors and that involuntary environmental exposures to carcinogens play a large role in perpetrating the breast cancer epidemic. Dioxin is one of the most dangerous known carcinogens. BCA urges our environmental agencies to skip convoluted regulatory processes because our people's health cannot be put on hold any longer,” said Joyce Bichler of Breast Cancer Action.

“Every moment that further cleanup of dioxin is delayed, more people are endangered,” said Vivian Stockman of Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition.

“Vietnam veterans and Vietnamese-Americans, and their children and grandchildren suffer from diseases and disabilities as a result of their exposure to dioxin laden Agent Orange. More than three million people in Vietnam, sprayed with Agent Orange during the Vietnam War and now living in toxic dioxin “hot spots,” endure an ongoing public health crisis. The American Public Health Association recognized the urgency of this crisis and called for assistance for all those affected and for cleanup of the “hot spots.” Veterans and others who are suffering deserve no less!,” said Merle Ratner of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign.

“We are very concerned about government making it legal to release powerful, long-lasting man-made poisons and carcinogens into the environment especially with no knowledge about their health effects or of the synergistic effects of multiple, routine exposures to pollutants such as dioxin and radioactivity,” said Diane D’Arrigo of Nuclear Information and Resource Service.

“I was exposed to Dioxin through climbing poles in 1982 at which time I was pregnant with my first child. That child that is now 28 has life long learning difficulties and will never reach her full genetic potential. I believe this was due to my exposure to pentaclorophenol a poll treatment that has a lot of Dioxin in it. The EPA knew in 1982 that lab animals exposed to low levels of Dioxin showed neurological damage the same king of damage I see in my daughter. I am mad as hell that I was exposed and my child was harmed. Stop the madness and release the report,” said Eden Brightspirit Hendrix of People for Environmental Action & Community Health.

“Protect All Children's Environment is a national support organization for individuals injured and or disabled by chemicals, mostly pesticides. All of these injuries were unnecessary and due to the governments failure to protect us from chemicals. Dioxin is yet another dangerous substance that continues to cause harm due to lack of precaution and failure to protect the people. This is due to greed and politics which is clearly shown by the programs that are offered by the EPA and states that educate corporate poison pushers in how to avoid fines and regulation, while offering little or no information to citizens in how to detect poisons and their effects and even less information to physicians on how to diagnose or treat chemical injury. This process amounts to decades of growing government and corporate conspiracy and treason against American citizens resulting in blatant premeditated random homicide,” said Elizabeth O’Nan of Protect All Children’s Environment.

“Because release of the Dioxin Reassessment has been delayed, our community has been assaulted with dioxin emissions for 22 years from a Wheelabrator waste incinerator. If the Dioxin Reassessment is released, communities like ours will have a powerful tool to convince regulators that waste incineration is a dangerous and unnecessary threat to public health and the environment,” said Jackie Elliott of CLEAR.

"We have waited far too long in North Carolina for the EPA to act. Waste incinerators still operate 24 hours a day= and new waste to energy plants are on the horizon. EPA must act now to reduce the threat of dioxin exposure,” said David Mickey of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League.

“The presence of copper can be a concern in biomass power plants that burn waste pallets, four of which are proposed in Western Massachusetts at present. Copper-based fungicides are the most common chemicals used to control mold growth on pallets, and copper is a catalyst in dioxin formation. Dioxins are the second most lethal substances known to scientists after radioactive isotopes. Periodic stack testing does not accurately reflect real dioxin levels, so continuous monitoring for dioxins is the right approach. Any biomass or other type of incinerator must have continuous emissions monitors (CEMS) for dioxins. These continuous monitors have been tested and verified by EPA. Requiring that biomass power plants monitor and disclose their dioxin emissions real-time should not be a problem. Dioxin emissions can be hundreds to thousands of times higher than what annual stack tests indicate,” said Jana Chicoine of Concerned Citizens of Russell.

"At this point, we are trying to save lives. The last thing we need is a new study. It's time to release the study that was completed many years ago,” said Alonzo Spencer of Save Our County Inc.

"Dioxin is one of the most serious pollution-related health hazards. It is particularly dangerous because of the potential for insidious damage to unborn infants and future generations impacted by genetic changes. One facility in Delaware, DuPont's Edge Moor titanium dioxide plant, reported Toxic Release Inventory releases of over 60 pounds of dioxin for the year 2000. Dioxin-contaminated wastes from this plant have been used to treat Wilmington and Philadelphia drinking water--and probably that of many other places. This facility, the world’s first chloride process titanium dioxide plant, has probably been emitting large amounts of dioxins since the 1950s. Is it any wonder that DuPont, headquartered in Delaware, has been one of the most aggressive polluters stalling meaningful action against dioxins by the EPA and Federal health officials? Is it any wonder that public health statistics in Delaware are so poor? That infant mortality is so high? I am speaking for a community, a state, that urgently needs ACTION to control dioxin emissions. We need action NOW, not a continuation of the unending cycle of further study and review,” said Alan Muller of Green Delaware.

"Or nation--and world--must address the insidious chemicals we consume, create, landfill, and manufacture every day. Our fundamental ability to reproduce and live is at stake. A vital initial step is to acknowledge the pervasive pollution which plagues our bodies and environment. Release this study,” said Bruce Wood of BURNT.

“There are many dioxin sites closed but may still pose a risk due to encroachment of homes. Many other sites have shallow PCBs and outlawed chemicals such as Lindane, TCE, DDT, etc. As was shown with Agent Orange, when polychlorinated chemicals combine with benzene, at high temperature and at some rate these mixtures of PCBs create an unintended perfect storm for Dioxin creation. Dioxin is a bad actor and many people getting exposed to dioxin will contract a cancer 10 or more years later. The knowledge and control of dioxin and limiting exposures will likely reduce cancer rates, and could have a significant impact on Health Care costs. Just the costs saved by cancer would help the economy – just as cutting back on cigarettes dramatically reduced Lung cancer rates in the years following tobacco reforms. Many friends have endometriosis and cancer. My parents said they knew of no-one who had cancer in their 20s-40s. Now sadly there are many Dioxin related health problems occuring at younger ages,” said John Caulfield.

“Cement plants in our community create dioxin as they burn hazardous waste. There’s not enough of an awareness of dioxin emissions because people are focusing on lead and other pollutants. We would be happy to see some attention and emphasis given to dioxin,” said Becky Bornhorst of Downwinders at Risk.

“It has now been 14 years since the closure of the largest known source of dioxin in the country, the Columbus, Ohio trash burning power plant. And for 14 years we have waited for the release of the dioxin assessment. No more studies, the assessment has been held captive long enough,” said Teresa Mills of the Buckeye Environmental Network.

It is bad enough to be tied to the archaic notion that burning waste is the answer, but we don’t even do that in the safest ways possible, with the benefit of modern scrubber technology. Whether burning garbage, coal, tires, dioxin is one of the byproducts. There is no safe level of dioxin. It is unconscionable that the American public continues to be subjected to one of the deadliest carcinogens known to man. My community, as many others, is a hot spot for pollution, no matter which direction the wind blows. This is unfair. Current laws must be enforced and new legislation that is truly protective of this and future generations must be enacted. The lobbyist stranglehold must be broken, with conservation and renewable solutions as the only things to emerge from the ashes,” said Maureen Headington of Stand Up/Save Lives Campaign.

"As a women's environmental health group Women's Voices for the Earth aims to reduce and ultimately eliminate environmental pollutants that impact women's health and their families and communities. Dioxin has long been of concern to us, given the research linking exposure to endometriosis, breast cancer and other types of reproductive harm in women. Delaying the release of the dioxin assessment means a delay in actions which will help prevent these health conditions in women across the country. We simply cannot afford to wait any longer,” said Alexandra Scranton of Women’s Voices for the Earth.

Dow sponsored walleye fest to donate contaminated fish to the poor

Comments from Science Blogs

The current Tittabawassee Township stupidvisor was selling these hats a few years ago at the festival.

More information about Michigan fish advisories is available at the website for the Michigan Department of Community Health.

04/09/09 Midland Dioxin Cleanup?

In regards to the dioxin contamination in the Midland area, I thought you would be interested in the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s report, “Dioxin Contamination in the Midland Area” (July 2, 2004)? What health effects occur from exposure to dioxin in the city of Midland and adjacent areas?

As reported by DEQ, higher exposures to dioxin in human populations have been linked with many adverse effects including chloracne, increased incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, birth defects, and blood disease (porphyria). Fetuses, infants, and children may be especially sensitive to dioxin exposure because of their rapid growth and development. Low-level exposures to dioxin in human populations have been linked to more subtle effects on developing fetuses including alterations in thyroid function, immune function, learning disabilities, behavior, and effects on tooth enamel.

Other effects of dioxins, including changes in liver enzymes, hormonal effects, and effects on the developing nervous system, appear to occur in many or most species, including humans. Based on available information, dioxins are believed to have the potential to cause a wide range of adverse effects in humans. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has characterized the mixture of group of dioxins to which people are usually exposed as “likely human carcinogens.” The EPA has also characterized 2,3,7,8-TCDD – the most toxic chemical in the dioxin group – as a known “human carcinogen.”

In conclusion, the Midland city residential and industrial areas and adjacent properties, school sites, Tittabawassee River sediments and floodplain soils, all exceed the 90 parts per trillion (ppt) cleanup standard, ranging from 90 ppt to 17,030 ppt.

So, why is the city of Midland withholding information on dioxin contamination? To protect property sales? Now is the time for the city officials to end its withholding of information on dioxin contamination and start cleaning up the mess.

04/05/09 Obama's EPA Administrator Sussman a former Chemical Industry lobbyist

It appears President Obama's EPA Administration Policy Advisor, Robert Sussman, was recently a lobbyist for the chemical industry. Is this really the individual that should be making a recommendation as to whether Dow Chemical's dioxin contamination cleanup should be taken away from the state and "Alternative Superfunded"- A Bush era guidance that is not regulated?

TRW Archives 2009 2nd quarter 04/01/09 - 06/30/09 06/29/09 EPA to restart negotiations with Dow - Update #1