The committee encourages EPA to finalize
the current Reassessment as quickly, efficiently, and concisely as
possible after addressing the major recommendations in this report.
The following from Rueters:
The National Academies panel said at a
briefing that the EPA's recommended standards -- which are as much as 10
times more stringent than the current ones -- should be applied within a
year or so, with no further data-gathering required.
"We're clearing the way for EPA to release
this report," said panel chairman David Eaton, a professor at the University
of Washington, Seattle. "Our recommendation is not to go back and start
over."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-07-11T201645Z_01_N11175354_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENVIRONMENT-DIOXIN.xml&archived=False
One of the most articulate summaries of the NAS report
was done by Dave Lindhardt of ChemTelligence Inc. Dave is a retired Dow
chemical engineer and we much appreciate his willingness to share it
with us. You can access his summary at the following link:
The Dioxin Slurry Pit Progresses
Regarding Lone Tree Council's case before the Federal
Courts: A detailed schedule was agreed upon by all parties which
will take us into September. In the past week after seeking
assurance that this site was for navigational dredging only it's
clear that no agency or government body will commit that this site
will not be used by a third party, i.e... Dow Chemical. This is
significant for a few reasons. 1. The taxpayers of Saginaw County
(only) are taking on the liability for this site. 2. How the site is
constructed is paramount to its integrity and ability to contain
highly contaminated materials from Dow's cleanup of the Saginaw
River 3. It will set a very poor precedent for dioxin cleanup in the
watershed and around the state. Imagine if Dow gets away with using
a federal project as the standard/precedent for its obligations.
With DEQ's blessing construction of this site is
proceeding absent a construction plan or an operational management
plan. Nothing can go into the site until the OMP is approved but
wouldn't you think how the site is constructed is paramount to how
the contaminated sediments are managed? Politics trumps science,
planning and process every time. Wouldn't be the first time a
corporation was successful in passing off a significant portion of
their cleanup liability to the taxpayers.
The Saginaw News - Saginaw,MI,USA
Snip:
The organization found that a toxin known as
2,3,4,7,8 Pentachlorodibenzofuran -- a dioxin-like pollutant that
makes up more than half of all contamination in the Tittabawassee
River -- is about 40 percent less toxic than believed during its
1998 analysis.
Snip:
The change could mean a 20 percent to 25
percent decrease in the overall toxicity of dioxin contamination
downstream of Dow Chemical Co., state Department of Environmental
Quality officials say.
The news report goes on to say concentrations of 8,
000 + are found in the Tittabawassee River. That is old data. Dow
found 23,000 ppt near the W. Michigan Park and the banks of the
river near Imerman Park top out near 20,000 ppt. The Saginaw River
has concentrations as high as 16,000 ppt.
Dow receives EPA citation
Saginaw News
By Jean Spenner
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has
cited Dow Chemical Co.
with Clean Air Act violations at its Midland operations.
.........The EPA said the company violated testing,
operating, monitoring, record keeping, reporting and notification
requirements. In addition, EPA says that Dow has exceeded emissions and
other limits.
EPA also filed a complaint against Dow for failing to
comply with the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. This
from the company who has launched a multi million dollar Human
Element ad campaign announcing its "vision of
addressing some of the most pressing economic, social, and environmental
concerns facing the global community in the coming decade."
According to Chemical and Engineering news this latest
public relations pitch finds Dow outspending the American Chemistry
Council on its essential 2 campaign, which debuted last year with a 2006
price tag of about $20 million. http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/84/i26/8426dowchemical.html
Think globally act locally. Look around the watershed.
This Thursday from 9am to 1pm in Morley Plaza Downtown
Saginaw Michigan Department of Community Health will be hosting
activities for the public to answer questions about safe fishing, fish
consumption and the fish advisories on our local rivers and Bay. Please
plan on attending. If you have questions please call Kory Groetsch at
MDCH 517-335-9935 or groetschk@michigan.gov
EPA SCIENTISTS PROTEST LIBRARY CLOSURES
For Immediate Release: June 29, 2006
Contact: Carol Goldberg (202) 265-7337
10,000 EPA SCIENTISTS
PROTEST LIBRARY CLOSURES — Loss of
Access to Collections Will Hamper Emergency Response and Research
Washington, DC —
In an extraordinary letter of protest, representatives for 10,000 U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency scientists are asking Congress to stop
the Bush administration from closing the agency’s network of technical
research libraries. The EPA scientists, representing more than half of
the total agency workforce, contend thousands of scientific studies are
being put out of reach, hindering emergency preparedness, anti-pollution
enforcement and long-term research, according to the letter released
today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).