Mesa Considers Clean Up of Decade Old Contamination

" A lingering contamination site beneath Mesa’s Sixth Street service center could finally receive a cleanup.

In the 1990s, there were four fuel leaks into the ground at the city’s service center, 300 E. Sixth St., home to the city’s solid waste, truck fleet and utility division, according to city
records. " More . . .

Lavaca Bay Restored

A good news story out of Texas!

"March 28 - PORT LAVACA, Texas — Longtime resident Tiney Browning remembers when people stopped fishing here and stopped ordering fish at restaurants because of the mercury that Alcoa Inc. dumped into Lavaca Bay in the 1960s. On Wednesday, she celebrated her town's rebirth." More . . .

May 2005 Report Detailing Health Risks Finally Released to Public

Another case of a long delay in getting important information to the public.

"Radiological and chemical contaminants at the former Sylvania nuclear products facility in Hicksville could pose health and environmental risks to those at or near the site, according to a study by the Army Corps of Engineers, which concluded further study is needed.

The report, dated May 2005 but not released to the public until this week, appears to contradict prior assurances by state agencies and the site's current owner that the site posed no health risks "whatsoever." More . . .

Health study planned for IBM plant - thousands may have been exposed

"(March 28, 2007) — ENDICOTT — Federal health officials are proposing a $3.1 million study of IBM personnel records to determine the cancer rate among 28,000 employees who might have been exposed to chemicals at the Endicott plant since the 1960s." More . . .

Victor homeowners want answers about water contamination

"Dozens of Victor homeowners in Victor, Ontario County want to know why they weren't told about under ground water contamination until years after the village discovered the problem, and stopped using the water from springs in the area." More . . .

Cancer strikes family that used well

"Use of your well water should not result in any adverse health effects," an EPA official wrote to the Holts on Dec. 3, 1991, after one high TCE test was followed by two low ones.

But a Tennessee water official questioned the EPA's conclusions. State and federal officials agreed the Holt well should be tested further. But for nine years, no tests were conducted.

More . . .

10 Families Relocated in Holley, NY

"EPA has been here to assist this community, stepping in to cover the relocation costs of residents after the accidental release of chemicals in 2002 by Diaz" More . . .

Frightened Residents Fight on in Endicott NY

"March 23 - ENDICOTT -- Kelan Pedley, a lifelong village resident, was still recovering from surgery to remove a cancerous left kidney when she learned a few weeks ago that the malignancy had spread to her right one.

While trying to fathom the implications, the 47-year-old mother learned some other dire news last week. The state Department of Health has documented excessive rates of kidney cancer and other serious illnesses in a polluted part of the village where she has lived most of her life.

Now she is on a mission to help her neighbors and find out more." More . . .

Search for TCE Expands in New York

"This will be the fifth year of a comprehensive search for trichloroethylene (TCE) vapors in Southern Tier homes and businesses near industrial sites tainted by the common industrial solvent. But it is the first year scientists will use a slightly revised policy in determining acceptable levels of TCE finalized by the state Department of Health last month.

Consequently, some homes that might have tested positive in the past with TCE levels too low to warrant action now may qualify for systems -- paid for by the state or the responsible party -- to address the problem." More . . .

New Problems from Old Waste

Check out the cool features to the right of this article.

"March 25, 2007 4:53 am — One of the latest public health concerns involves a new problem at old locations: toxic vapors that could rise from long-known dump sites.

In recent years, environmental and health officials in New York and around the nation have come to the conclusion that volatile chemicals pooled far below ground have the capacity to rise in vapor and accumulate in the basements of homes and other buildings." More . . .

Residents Shocked by Toxic Vapors

"March 25, 2007 4:51 am — Last month, environmental officers began going into the basements of homes set amid the cornfields and hillsides of western Victor. They told residents they were there to test the air for the presence of toxic vapors rising from industrial chemicals in groundwater below their homes.

Many residents were shocked. This was the first they had heard that their property was contaminated." More . . .

Ventura County Coast and its "Slag Heap"

"The words "slag heap" never bring to mind a pretty picture. But this one is a beaut. It is an estimated 40 feet high and almost 30 acres wide. Residents liken it to a moonscape." More . . .

Danger to Home Owners was not Disclosed

This article describes another example of homebuyers and home owners not being told about contamination on our around their property in clear and understandable terms. This type of situation is happening constantly across the country - people's health and investment are compromised, agents and developers get sued - and there's no need for it. Homebuyers need to start asking for neighborhood environmental reports and agents and developers need to start offering them.

Here's the article:
"March 25, 2007 4:54 am — Before Jim and Theresa Spillane moved into their new home a year ago in Victor's Renaissance Ridge subdivision, their builder mentioned something about chemicals in the ground far beneath their property." More . . .

Leaking Underground Tank Threatens Wallkill River in NJ

"SPARTA — Police and environmental investigators have determined a leaking underground storage tank was the cause of a fuel spill on Woodport Road that threatened the Wallkill River." More . . .

Vapor Intrusion in Endicott NY

The contamination problem in Endicott is and has been big news. To learn more just Google "vapor intrustion" and endicott.

What's amazing is that the TCE plume under this community was identified decades ago yet most residents didn't know until recently.

Here's are a couple articles about this. I'll be posting more as they come out.

• "When solvent pollution was discovered at various Southern Tier sites in the 1970s, the problem gained brief public attention. It was not unique. The chemicals, called volatile organic compounds, were common byproducts of a manufacturing golden age that improved living standards in communities throughout the country." More . . .
• 
  "ENDICOTT -- State policy-makers determining guidelines for acceptable human exposure to TCE didn't factor in studies that link the chemical with testicular cancer and lymphoma in animals, and other significant findings, according to a state Assembly report issued Thursday." More . . .

Is Selinsgrove PA Home to a Cancer Cluster?

March 18, 2007
"SELINSGROVE — The executive editor of The Patriot-News in Harrisburg said Friday that test results announced by Department of Environmental Protection investigators don't really contradict the newspaper's findings, and said the "more interesting" results will be those stemming from the Department of Health's investigation into fears that Selinsgrove is home to a "cancer cluster." More . . .

Simi Valley and Radionuclide Sr-90

Another community trying desperately to get to the bottom of things:

http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=5189&IssueNum=197

Chapel Hill NC May Have a Difficult Choice

Do they want to keep their money, or keep their contamination.

This kind of situation seems to happen all the time. They are testing a large piece of land for contamination and hoping it's not too bad because if it is they can't afford to do anything about it.

Here's the article:

http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-830196.cfm

Radioactive Soil at the Beach

Here's an interesting article in the LA Times about radioactive soil that's being removed from Ormond Beach in Oxnard, CA.

Some choice parts of the article include:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is overseeing the weeklong effort to remove 5,000 cubic yards of soil tainted with the metal thorium, generated by a shuttered metal recycling plant nearby.

Prolonged exposure to the metal or inhalation of thorium dust can increase the risk of bone, lung or pancreatic cancer.

As a precaution, public access to the wetlands at the south end of Perkins Road is blocked until the cleanup is complete.

After the work is completed next month, Wise said he intends to place a 6-foot-high, barbed-wire fence around the slag pile, which contains more than 710,000 cubic yards of spent waste, enough hazardous material to fill more than 1,000 standard-size homes.

Hello

As a senior executive at a large environmental risk information company I have unique insight into contamination issues in the U.S.

So much focus today is on global warming and air polution that people seem to forget about the pollutants in our ground and groundwater. There are millions and millions of contaminated sites across the country that affect regular people every day.

The purpose of this blog is to share what I see and learn about the affects of contamination in our nation and our neighborhoods.