Hafnium

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Thursday, November 3, 2011

EPA to retest Illinois ASARCO zinc smelter site for Beryllium and other contaminants

After Asarco El Paso TX was secretly-caught by the EPA and Federal DOJ to be running a multi-state illegal and unpermitted hazardous waste disposal/incineration operation from 1991-1998, the EPA made ASARCO do a demolition and clean-up of all buildings/stacks related to its El Paso Asarco zinc plant.  We are not told how much Beryllium is on site; but, we note that recently the EPA is re-testing an Illinois Asarco Zinc plant site (active until 1994) that is contaminated with beryllium.  Beryllium is extremely toxic and there is a Federal Program to compensate all workers thus exposed to it on-the-job.

Why isn't the Federal DOJ/Bankruptcy Court/EPA requiring the TRUST doing El Paso Asarco's "clean-up" to look for and report the levels to the public of Beryllium?
Interested Taylor Springs [IL] residents learned during a meeting Oct. 20 with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that a thorough study of the Asarco Superfund site is set to begin.... Within the month, residents can expect to see technicians in required protective clothing [sampling] sediment and surface water from Shoal Creek Middle Fork, ground water from 14 existing monitoring wells and six additional yet-to-be-installed wells, air quality samples, and samples of fish, plants, and animals that may have been affected by site contaminants....Asarco is the 533-acre site of which about 100 acres is covered with residue from former zinc smelting and zinc oxide operations [up to 1994]. The residue includes zinc slag, plant cinder wastes, calcine clinker, sinter clinker, and coal. The primary contaminants are arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc.
http://www.thejournal-news.net/articles/2011/10/27/news/news03.txt

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