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

Saturday, March 8, 2008

In Italy, the protesting of incineration of toxic waste (see video)

Nero Prodi and the eco-bales

Toxic waste, expired medicines or even radioactive waste. Burning them would mean speeding up the death sentences for the people living in the Acerra area, as well as others nearby. As a matter of fact, the area is already being called ...
Beppe Grillo's Blog - http://www.beppegrillo.it/eng/


When will the Paso del Norte region get tired of being lied to and demand the truth

ASARCO illegally burned SECRET toxic/hazardous waste, some with military sources, during the 1990's - and then this was kept secret from us for eight more years after the Federal Department of Justice and EPA made a secret agreement with that company.

To this day we have not been told what the EPA (and TCEQ) are hiding here. It is in our water, our aquifer, our soil and our air.

Late last year the EPA and UTEP made a memorandum-of-understanding (agreement) so that UTEP will do public health and environmental studies under the EPA. Is this more cover-up?

When will the Paso del Norte region get tired of being lied to and demand the truth of what happened here? Our children deserve to know what happened even if people are afraid to face it. There can be no clean-up or health or true environmental science until this BIG LIE has been exposed.

It is time for all of us to ask what it is - what the toxic waste is that no one will talk about.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

ASARCO, G.Gordon Liddy's Daughter and TX HB 433 in January 2003

TXHB 433 read: "... ecological terrorist organization" means two or more persons organized for the purpose of supporting any politically motivated activity intended to obstruct or deter any person from participating in an activity involving ...an activity involving natural resources." ("Activity involving natural resources" means any lawful activity involving the use of a natural resource with an economic value, including mining...or processing [i.e. smelting] natural resources.")

That ALEC task force had an ASARCO executive for its private sector chairman
when it wrote those words; and, it had G.Gordon Liddy's daughter (yes, the same guy from the Watergate break-in during the Nixon years) as its director (Sandy Liddy Bourne). She continues to work at ALEC in a new job, higher up, she co-publishes on her dad's website and has him speak at ALEC events.

see www.alecwatch.org
and also http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/dfiles/file_169.pdf (ALEC Battle of the States)

Handing out literature on a street corner to let people know that ASARCO El Paso burned toxic waste would fit under the above, sounds like to me. The HB 433 would have put anti-Asarco activists' name/addresses/photos into a database for three years before the persons could appeal their designation as "legal terrorists". Any organization helping them (like Get the Lead Out and others) would also be called terrorist organizations.

To read the full text of this draconian bill written quietly by the ALEC.org Energy, Environment and Agriculture task force in 2001-2 (and then passed to the ALEC Criminal Justice Task Force, to be then as quietly taken by the ALEC Criminal Justice Task force Legislative chairman (Rep. Allen) to his own home state of TEXAS in 2003 and passed off as a "hunting group" sponsored bill) see:
http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=78R&Bill=HB433








Wednesday, February 27, 2008

La Paz Accord JAC bi-national meeting tomorrow Thursday at 11 AM open to the public

The 40th Meeting of the Joint Advisory Committee for the Improvement of
Air Quality in the
Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua / El Paso, Texas / Doña Ana County, New Mexico
Air Basin
DATE: Thursday February 28, 2008
TIME: 11:00 AM - 2:30 PM
LOCATION: El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization
10767 Gateway W. Suite 605 / El Paso, Texas

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

IBWC Commissioner Marin states [paraphrased] that IBWC passes "hot-potato" of Asarco Toxic waste


Commissioner Marin states that they notified the DHS and the Army Corp. of Engineers about the "contamination". This implies ALL the contamination, including the toxic waste.

Will SOMEONE tell us what toxic waste is there from the illegal waste handling by ASARCO??

Monday, February 25, 2008

Link to CNN transcript of the ASARCO El Paso Video "scorched earth...."

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0802/21/acd.02.html

Still no mention of the TOXIC WASTE. WOW!!!! How do they ** DO ** this?

No mention about how close the smelter is to our drinking water........


Sunday, February 24, 2008

Bill Clinton, AL Gore and the WTI Toxic waste incinerator in East Liverpool, OH

It started up about the same time that ConTop began incinerating illegal secret toxic waste in El Paso TX under the Clinton-years.

Clinton takes a big stinkin' dump on Ohio
By Zwoof
WTI wanted to build America's largest toxic waste incinerator in East Liverpool, Ohio. The incinerator is located 1100 feet from an elementary school. WTI was owned by Jackson Stephans , who donated $200000 to Bush #1 to help this ...
Daily Kos - http://www.dailykos.com/section/Diary

Clinton takes a big stinkin' dump on Ohio

Sun Feb 24, 2008 at 04:01:50 AM PST

Actually, a big stinkin' toxic waste incinerator...

I've written on this before but I feel that it needs more attention that it received because of the upcoming Ohio Primary.
Short and sweet this time:
WTI wanted to build America's largest toxic waste incinerator in East Liverpool, Ohio. The incinerator is located 1,100 feet from an elementary school.
WTI was owned by Jackson Stephens, who donated $200,000 to Bush #1 to help this project along.
There were problems and the project was not going to be approved during the Bush #1 administration.
When Bush's ratings tanked during his bid for re-election, Stephens donated $100,000 to Clinton #1 as well as extending a 2 million line of credit to the DLC when they were tapped out.
Bill Clinton won and with some serious monkey business (a Hillary crony) at the EPA, the permit was approved.
more down below....

President Clinton and Vice President Gore visited East Liverpool while campaigning for election in 1992; at that time, Mr. Clinton said that, if he were elected, WTI would never be allowed to operate. But the huge incinerator began burning hazardous waste in 1993.


Mr. Clinton has not returned to East Liverpool since he became President in 1992.

WTI failed part of its test burn in 1993, releasing four times more mercury than allowed. Children at the elementary school were tested for mercury in their urine prior to WTI operation and again six months after the facility started burning as part of a state health study. In the first test, 69 percent of the children tested negative; the follow-up test found that nearly the same number tested positive.

U.S. EPA's own risk assessment of the facility found at least 27 possible accident scenarios that could threaten the lives of the children in the nearby elementary school.

Despite these and other problems, the U.S. EPA issued WTI a full commercial operating license in 1997. The agency has also allowed the facility to nearly double the types of wastes it can burn.



When Clinton became president, he appointed Carol Browner head of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

Ms. Browner then sent a small cadre of scientists to court in Cleveland, Ohio, to serve as expert witnesses on behalf of Waste Technologies, Inc. (WTI).

Because a memo to Ms. Browner from one of her staff was leaked to Greenpeace (a plaintiff in the lawsuit trying to shut down WTI), Ms. Browner's staff were forced to admit under oath that after Ms. Browner took office on January 20th, EPA conducted a secret risk assessment on the WTI incinerator.


EPA's secret risk assessment revealed that the incinerator would be 1000 times more dangerous than EPA had estimated in the risk assessment they released to the public.

New EPA appointee Browner recused herself from the issue
She left the matter in the hands of Robert Sussman, Deputy EPA Administrator.

The EPA Deputy Administrator Robert Sussman that eventually approved WTI's application was a law school classmate of Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Sussman had previously acted as legal counsel to the Chemical Manufacturing Association, at a time when two of its biggest clients, Du Pont and BASF, were negotiating contracts to supply two-thirds of the waste to WTI." The Nation Magazine

The plant opponents cited Sussman's appointment to the EPA through the influence of first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose former law firm represented the original founder of Waste Technologies, Jackson Stephans.
Source Archives Cleveland Plain Dealer

The gift to Ohio that keeps on giving..

Recently a new ruling from the Ohio EPA allowed this incinerator, located 1,100 feet from an elementary school, to accept even more hazardous waste (anthrax, radioactive waste, infectious medical waste and mixed hazardous waste from Hurricane Katrina) than the original permit that was shrouded in corruption and approved by the Clinton Administration

I don't think Hillary will stop by East Liverpool asking for votes. They are familiar with Clinton campaign promises.


Previous Diary with pictures and more...

Just a few problems at this incinerator you might want to know about...

Explosion under investigation, Operations suspended at Von Roll WTI

EAST LIVERPOOL -- "An explosion at the Von Roll WTI plant...... One employee was taken by ambulance to East Liverpool City Hospital for evaluation and treatment. Wayne did not release the name of the employee but stated, The Review.

Dec 6, 2006: U.S. EPA fines WTI

EAST LIVERPOOL -- "WTI/Von Roll officials call it a 'legacy issue' going back to 1999, and said they agreed to a $750,000 fine from the U.S. EPA and U.S. Justice Department so they could put the matter behind them. Fred Miller, East Liverpool
Review.

Blast Injures Worker at WTI Plant

PITTSBURGH -- "An explosion at the Waste Technologies Industries (WTI) plant in East Liverpool, Ohio this afternoon has sent a worker to a hospital ....The blast actually blew siding, insulation and other debris outside the plant, injuring injured a worker who was outside at the time" KDKA TV.

Mar 29: WTI fireball rattles windows

EAST LIVERPOOL -- ...At first you could see some flames, then there was a huge loud explosion and a giant ball of fire shot up in the air. It was huge. I've never seen anything like it before,' said Estell. 'There was smoke everywhere. The plant was kind of lost in the smoke for awhile,' she said. 'My windows rattled. It was huge. The noise was huge. . . I screamed for my kids to get back into the house,'" Fred Miller, East Liverpool Review.

Oct 5, 2004: EPA cites Von Roll for clean-air violations

CHICAGO -- "U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has filed an administrative complaint. EPA alleges Von Roll discharged more lead and cadmium from its incinerator than is allowed by the Clean Air Act during tests in December 2003 and in March 2004. Excessive exposure to lead may cause anemia, kidney disease, reproductive disorders, and neurological impairments such as seizures, mental retardation and behavioral disorders. Children and the unborn are especially susceptible to low doses of lead. Exposure to cadmium may cause damage to the lungs, kidneys, liver, immune and nervous systems and the blood. Long-term inhalation of cadmium can increase the risk of lung cancer," press release, US EPA .

Tags: environmental, environment, toxic waste, Bill Clinton, failed leadership, Hillary Clinton, Jackson Stephans, WTI, East Liverpool Ohio, Von Roll, Recommended (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Community asks Governor for Honest Services

See Newspapertree article:
http://www.newspapertree.com/opinion/2112-perry-says-margo-asarco-protestors-hold-their-noses

Gioia Tauro (Calabrien, Italy): Protest Against Waste Incineration

"Incinerators are multi-billion dollar pollutors and waste the planet's valuable resources. (...) To continue promoting incineration while agreeing to eliminate persistent organic pollutants is sheer hypocrisy (...) Chemicals released from incinerators cause a variety of health problems, including immune and reproductive system defects, spontaneous abortions, respiratory diseases, diabetes, hormone disruption and cancers. Some fish caught in European Union waters are so contaminated with dioxins they have been declared unfit for human consumption..."

"Society continues to generate more waste and to change this alarming trend; strong political and industrial measures are urgently needed.
Despite what industry and governments would like people to believe, incineration is not a solution to the world’s waste problems, but part of the problem.
Incinerators may reduce the volume of solid waste, but they do not dispose of the toxic substances contained in the waste. They create the largest source of dioxins, which is one of the most toxic chemicals known to science.
Incinerators emit a wide range of pollutants in their stack gases, ashes and other residues. The filters used to clean incinerator stack gases produce solid and liquid toxic wastes, which also need to be disposed.
The only way to improve the situation is to avoid toxic waste production by improving our products and processes.
Public opposition to incineration is growing worldwide. People are recognising that there is no place for the incineration of waste in a sustainable society."

(From a Greenpeace Campaign) "


By nobody@flickr.com (Osvaldo_Zoom)
Incinerators may reduce the volume of solid waste, but they do not dispose of the toxic substances contained in the waste. They create the largest source of dioxins, which is one of the most toxic chemicals known to science. ...
Photos from Osvaldo_Zoom - http://www.flickr.com/photos/osvaldo_zoom/


Wednesday, February 13, 2008

TCEQ Commissioners Court Slideshow



commissioners court

ummm, what is a TOXIC SAMPLER??



Yep, we all can sure ok that permit as long as those "air samplers" and "TOXIC SAMPLERS as well" are there.....

Mr. Shaw, Commissioner in process of committing a crime(in my opinion) against the people in the Paso del Norte region

CAN'T ANY OF THE COMMISSIONERS SAY TOXIC WASTE CONTAMINATION?

we are watching a crime in progress when a legal court does not address the contamination in the stack and facility and region that exists from the previous ILLEGAL TOXIC WASTE handling and incineration, in my lay opinion

Asarco Attorney rebuttal

"ASARCO is on the good side of average" Asarco Attorney says during the TCEQ Commissioners Court....

Can SHE say TOXIC WASTE?!??



TCEQ commissioners court in action

It is 1:17 (2:17 Austin Time) and no one wants to mention the illegal Toxic Waste CONTAMINATION at the court.

It is easy to say. Only two words.

Just try, Mr. Commissioners, you can say the words. After all, we have to breathe it, eat and drink it.

TCEQ agenda 1 PM ASARCO discussion

AGENDA Wednesday, February 13, 2008 TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY 1:00 P.M. 12100 Park 35 Circle Room 201S, Bldg. E Item 1. TCEQ Docket No. 2004-0049-AIR; SOAH Docket No. 582-05-0593; Consideration of the Application by ASARCO Incorporated (ASARCO) for renewal of Air Quality Permit No. 20345 to authorize its continued operation and all related filings, including the Executive Director's Report to the Commission on the Renewal of Asarco Incorporated's Air Quality Permit No. 20345 prepared pursuant to the Commission's Interim Order of March 10, 2006, public comments, and the Executive Director’s Responses to Comments. The copper smelting plant is located at 2301 West Paisano Road, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas. (PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES WHO PLAN TO ATTEND THE TCEQ AGENDA AND WHO MAY NEED AUXILIARY AIDS OR SERVICES SUCH AS INTERPRETERS FOR PERSONS WHO ARE DEAF OR HEARING IMPAIRED, READERS, LARGE PRINT, OR BRAILLE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT OFFICE OF THE CHIEF CLERK AT (512) 239-3300 AT LEAST TWO (2) WORK DAYS PRIOR TO THE AGENDA, SO THAT APPROPRIATE ARRANGEMENTS CAN BE MADE. PERSONS WHO DESIRE THE ASSISTANCE OF AN INTERPRETER IN CONJUNCTION WITH THEIR ORAL PRESENTATION AT THIS TCEQ AGENDA ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF CLERK AT (512) 239-3300 AT LEAST FIVE (5) WORK DAYS PRIOR TO THE AGENDA SO THAT APPROPRIATE ARRANGEMENTS CAN BE MADE.) REGISTRATION FOR AGENDA STARTS AT 12:30 P.M. UNTIL 1:00 P.M. PLEASE REGISTER BETWEEN THESE TIMES. LATE REGISTRATION COULD RESULT IN YOUR MISSING THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ON YOUR ITEM. THE PUBLIC CAN VIEW LIVE AND ARCHIVED TCEQ MEETINGS ON THE INTERNET AT NO COST, AT: HTTP://WWW.TEXASADMIN.COM/cgi-bin/tnrcc.cgi

TCEQ commissioners agenda link

http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/comm_exec/agendas/comm/comm_agendas.html

Asarco protest

Asarco protest

By bullymike(bullymike)
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.
meanderings - http://www.bullymike.com/


Tuesday, February 12, 2008

UTEP Prospector at least does mention the NYTIMES article about toxic waste

UTEP Prospector article quotes the NY Times article announcing how ASARCO had illegally burned toxic waste for years... the students make no comment. Wish that the students would ASK WHAT EPA/TCEQ/UTEP are HIDING -- WHAT IS THE TOXIC WASTE that no one will report???!!!

Students fight Asarco
Today about 70 UTEP students will travel to Austin to witness a historic moment for the city: a final hearing by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, to consider renewing Asarco's air-quality permit, allowing or denying the ...
The Prospector - http://www.utepprospector.com

"The New York Times reported that the Environmental Protection Agency filed a $20-million cleanup and penalty settlement with Asarco, Inc. in 1999 for having illegally burned hazardous waste. Asarco Inc. faces thousands of environmental lawsuits according to the Times, and entered bankruptcy in 2005 to avoid cleanup costs of over $20 billion."

Oh where oh where has the-mention of Toxic waste gone...

(to be sung to the tune of "oh where oh where has my little dog gone....")

OH WHERE OH WHERE CAN IT BE?????

(our lungs, our soils, our water...)