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"THE ONLY THING NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING"
--Burke

Thursday, July 2, 2009

The East Liverpool OH Toxic Waste Incinerator was not allowed to handle the stuff that was secretly sent to Asarco El Paso for burning --

[The East Liverpool OH Toxic Waste Incinerator was not allowed to handle the stuff that was secretly sent to Asarco El Paso for burning -- the stuff sent to El Paso had to be very very bad.  Why won't our Environmental Agencies disclose what chemicals are left in our Paso del Norte Environment from those years of secret waste burning at Asarco?]

"NEWS RELEASE
For Release:November 20, 1998

Media Contact: Jim Leach (614) 644-2160
Citizen Contact: Patrick Gallaway (614) 644-2160

Ohio EPA to Answer Questions, Hear Comments on Modified Permit for WTI

Ohio EPA will hold an information session and public hearing on Monday, December 14, 1998, in East Liverpool, regarding hazardous waste permit changes requested by Waste Technologies Industries (WTI) [East Liverpool OH Toxic Waste Incinerator], 1250 St. George Street, East Liverpool, Columbiana County.

The December 14 meeting will be held at East Liverpool Middle School, 810 West 8th St., East Liverpool.

Ohio EPA issued a draft modified permit to WTI on November 13, 1998. If the modified permit becomes final, it would authorize WTI to accept, store and treat lab pack wastes. A "lab pack" is a package of one or more small jars, bottles or cans containing chemicals generated by laboratories, research facilities and other commercial and industrial activities. WTI would only be authorized to accept lab packs containing wastes it is already permitted to accept. Wastes not authorized for acceptance at WTI include:

  • shock-sensitive materials;
  • chemical munitions controlled by the Department of Defense or residue derived from such munitions[this is the kind of stuff sent to El Paso's Asarco smelter];
  • explosives in quanitities greater than two pounds per outer container or primary explosives;
  • asbestos, dioxins, mustard gases, compressed gases, PCBs greater than 50 parts per million, war gases, radioactive waste or infectious waste;
  • certain flammable wastes; and
  • waste streams with concentrations of bromoform, Freon 11 or Freon 12 greater than 500 parts per million each.

At the information session, Ohio EPA will answer questions about WTI's proposed changes and the hazardous waste permitting process. The hearing will follow the information session and will give the public the opportunity to comment on the proposed permit modification for the record. The meeting will start at 7 p.m.

Comments may be sent through January 6, 1999, to: Ohio EPA, Attn: Thomas E. Crepeau, Division of Hazardous Waste Management, P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio, 43216-1049. All comments will be considered before a final decision is made.

The draft permit and related materials may be reviewed at Carnegie Public Library, 219 East 4th Street, East Liverpool. Materials also can be reviewed at Ohio EPA's Northeast District Office, 2110 E. Aurora Rd., Twinsburg, by first calling (330) 963-1200 to make an appointment."


Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Was there a secret EPA DOJ "confidential-for-settlement-purposes-only document" for Libby Montana's Grace & Co?

W.R. Grace Bankruptcy Judge Says OK to $250M Libby Settlement


Santa Teresa/San Jeronimo International NAFTA City...

From http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2008/nov/Site-Visit/
November 2008:

"What does it say about border relations when one of the first cheerleaders for Hon Hai Precision Industry/Foxconn's new 9,350-worker plant in San Jeronimo, Chihuahua, Mexico, is the governor of New Mexico? 'This is one of many mutually beneficial projects that I and my economic development people have worked with Chihuahua officials to carry out,' said Gov. Bill Richardson in July. 'This is the kind of economic development that is going to bring the New Mexico-Mexico border to the forefront of international trade and development.'  "

http://www.siteselection.com/issues/2008/nov/Site-Visit/images/Hi-Res-Map.jpg

Verde Group

"William [D., or "Bill"] Sanders, a real estate developer who brought his Verde Realty Group to El Paso [was]...a driving force in developing the Paso Del Norte Group. Sanders, who originally is from El Paso but made his fortune in Chicago, brought a model from that city -- the Commercial Club, a storied organization of great influence in that city. He is the co-founder of the Paso del Norte Group."

http://www.pasodelsur.com/news/plantimeline.html

see:

Verde Santa Teresa Intermodal Park



Swiss Asarco AG attorney

The Chicago Attorney representing the Swiss Asarco Bank's Chicago lake-front home has the same name as the attorney representing the imperial family of Vietnam.
http://vcml.homestead.com/

"May 19, 2009  .... the property is held in trust by Swiss company [bank] Asarco A.G., which Mr. Mikhail [Katamanin] controls....Northbrook lawyer... who represents Asarco, is out of the country until next week, according to employees at his office....The claim also is to be arbitrated in Switzerland, according to the complaint."
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=34091

Hon Hai (Foxconn) Vietnam 5 Billion expansion plan

"Hon Hai (Foxconn) Vietnam mega-site update
August 30, 2007
Taiwanese firm Hon Hai (also known by the trade name Foxconn) recently announced plans for a US$5 billion five-year expansion in Vietnam. This is considerably more than its previous Vietnam investment announcement of US$1 billion. To date, Hon Hai has already invested $200 million in Vietnam.   It is reported Vietnam can provide Hon Hai with 2,000 hectares of land."

http://www.ventureoutsource.com/contract-manufacturing/industry-pulse/2007/hon-hia-foxconn-vietnam-mega-site-update

Monday, June 29, 2009

Smeltertown

"There once was a very small village named Smeltertown on the highway below Asarco.....The village and the school have been torn down. They found lead in the blood of many children and I know some of them died too young because I kept up with them...."

http://familiacortez.com/wordpress/

Copy of a letter sent to EPA Thursday June 25th

"Mr. Luthans,

The report you sent me from 2002 reflects that the EPA (deliberately) used a non-standard EPA-sampling grid.  The EPA did not use the standard grid that the EPA usually did.   Many sites - most within the direction of ASARCO's main plume -- were left out.  That report also sampled City Parks with new sod and dirt.   Also, that report fails to address ground water. 

That 2002 report says that Sunland Park is "safe" --but, back then EPA left-out testing of Anapra/Sunland-Park N.M.; and [your letter] refers to ATSDR as an "expert" when ATSDR has recently been investigated-before-Federal-Congress for faking data.  

I am directing these questions to you because you sat on the La Paz Joint Advisory committee all those years, and were responsible --as the  USA Chair of that Air committee --- for our regional air health, and also are the manager for the only EPA staff local to our region.

The Superfund is not likely to have the data.  The TCEQ told the EPA that the testing was outside their jurisdiction and they turned it over to the EPA who in turn hired a private contractor with high-level security clearance.  Also, dirt is not likely to be the best source -- indoor attic dust, slag-from-a-known-date, and pond sediments are the best sources.  Have any of these been tested?  If not, then why not?

You state that the GAO report I gave you ..."is not a report that addresses risks or wastes that may have been generated at the sites and shipped offsite to facilities such as to the ENCYCLE facility and beyond".  ???  It is enough that the same site(s) that the EPA caught sending illegal wastes to Asarco El Paso are listed, because:  the wastes that ASARCO El Paso burned were UNMANIFESTED (and illegal/secret).  The EPA said that Asarco burned these for years.   Until we get honest testing in this region from our environmental agencies (and so far we haven't had testing for most anything at ALL -- including dioxins, PCBs, mercury, polonium, hexavalent chromium, chromium III and others....) we can't tell what ASARCO left here.

That is your responsibility, and not just Susan Websters; and I hope that you would do everything in your power to back us up and find out what is left here in our community from that illegal/unmanifested burning.  We already know from Rep. Reye's comments that ASARCO paid millions on the condition that the details of what it had done would never be made public -- and, we know that in 1998 the EPA told the DOJ in a confidential-for-settlement-purposes-document about Asarco's illegal activities and then proceeded to keep it secret from our community for the next eight years.   The details are still being kept secret.  That document is now public, and we want the details made public, also."

Grupo Mexico raises bid.... again

"In its latest revised offer fifth in 4 months Grupo Mexico has
increased the cash component to USD 1.46 billion from USD 1.3 billion
and also hiked payouts to asbestos claimants to USD 280 million from USD
250 million.... Sterlite wants to buy the assets of Asarco, Grupo Mexico
is interested in the entire company, including its liabilities.
Creditors will play a crucial role in the sale of Asarco"

http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/06/29/MTAwMzE3/Grupo_Mexico_revises_Asarco_bid_offer_again.html