In an important win for environmental regulators yesterday, federal officials ordered Dow Chemical to clean up high levels of dioxin recently discovered in homes and yards in a Saginaw, MI, neighborhood located downstream from the company's world headquarters. Even at low levels, exposure to dioxins can cause cancer and disrupt the immune and reproductive systems. Suffice it to say, Western Michiganders are facing a significant risk:
Preliminary results from tests conducted in March by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found dioxin levels in household dust and outdoor soil that were well above the federal cleanup standard. The amount in a sample taken from one yard was 23 times higher than what the EPA considers reasonably safe ...
One sample of household dust had dioxin levels of 3,000 parts per trillion, three times more than the federal cleanup standard. Levels in the yards were as high as 23,000 parts per trillion and averaged 2,000 parts per trillion.
The ruling is the direct result of the effective and diligent work of the EPA's former top official in the Midwest, Mary Gade, who says the White House recently forced her out of her Chicago-based post because she chose to side with at-risk Michigan residents over the president's political allies:
Before Gade stepped in, cleanup had been minimal. The most extensive work, negotiated by the state, had involved scouring the interiors of 300 homes and spreading wood chips over contaminated soil outside ...
"This highlights why it is so important for the agencies to keep holding Dow accountable for its actions," Gade said Wednesday.
For most of the last century, Dow has dumped dioxin-infested waste into rivers that stretch for 50 miles into Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron while refusing any responsibility for their actions. I can see why they're buddies with the Bushies.
Post new comment