Santa Teresa Int. Port of Entry: 10 miles from the Asarco El Paso toxic epi-center

[click on map to zoom it in separate window]

UTEP CERM Director, Project Navigator, and Malcolm Pirnie ASKING FOR STUDENT INTERNS TO WORK at ASARCO EL PASO remediation-site

NO MENTION TO THE STUDENTS ABOUT POTENTIAL EXPOSURE TO UNDISCLOSED TOXINS.  THE EPA TOLD THE DOJ  ASARCO EL PASO HAD CONDUCTED NEARLY TEN YEARS OF ILLEGAL HAZ-WASTE INCINERATION-FOR-PROFIT.   Will these students be given haz-mat protection? 
http://www.recastingthesmelter.com/wp-content/themes/recastingasarco/downloads/UTEP-STUDENT-INTERNSHIPS.pdf

"Successful applicants will be employees of Malcolm Pirnie for one semester, working for 8-10 hrs/week, and assigned to one of the three teams of scientists and engineers working on-site at the ASARCO Remediation Project. Interns will be required to submit a report describing their experience and will be eligible for academic credit. Salary: $12/hr"

TCEQ says that ASARCO contaminated groundwater beneath El Paso Texas (this is within the Rio Grand alluvium)

"In accordance with the 1996 Agreed Order, ASARCO submitted the first Remedial Investigation (RI) Report on October 9, 1998. Subsequent RI Phase II, III & IV reports were submitted in July 2000, November 2001 and September 2003, respectively. The RI Report indicates the groundwater was impacted by plant operations. Since the process pond water and groundwater are interconnected, the process pond water is most likely the main source for metals in the groundwater"

surface soil ARSENIC AT 17,000 MG/KG at the ASARCO EL PASO SITE

"The elements which comprise the Chemicals of Concern (COC) at the [ASARCO] El Paso facility include arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn). The most prevalent COCs are arsenic, lead, and cadmium. The highest on-site surface soil concentrations are arsenic at 17,000 mg/kg; lead at 49,000 mg/kg; and cadmium at 3,500 mg/kg."

http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/remediation/sites/asarco/media

October 6 - Public Hearing on the Texas Rail Plan

Fellow Texan:

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is in the process of developing a comprehensive rail plan for Texas. The Texas Rail Plan will serve to guide future actions of TxDOT in cooperation with our rail partners as we work to meet the freight and passenger rail needs of the state.

We have traveled throughout the state this year conducting seven rail visioning workshops and ten public meetings to hear your ideas and get your input regarding the future of our state's rail system. Through this process we have developed a draft of the Texas Rail Plan that is ready for your review and feedback at the link referenced below.

We will hold a final public hearing on October 6, 2010, at 1:30 p.m. (CST) at the TxDOT Auditorium in Building 200, Room 1A-1 at 200 East Riverside Drive, Austin, Texas. If you are unable to attend the hearing, we encourage you to visit our website at: http://www.txdot.gov/public_involvement/rail_plan/default.htm to review the draft document and provide comments. The mailing address, if preferred, is also available at this link.

Following the public hearing, and a 30-day comment period, we will analyze the feedback and finalize the plan for submittal to the Texas Transportation Commission for adoption. Afterwards, TxDOT will submit the Texas Rail Plan to the Federal Railroad Administration for coordination with the National Rail Plan.  The plan will also be made available to the Texas legislature for their consideration.

TxDOT values your participation in laying the foundation for the Texas Rail Plan and creating a vision for the future of rail in Texas. We hope you will participate in this important planning process.

... inquiries may be directed to AskTxDOT@dot.state.tx.us

Texas Department of Transportation * 125 E. 11th Street * Austin, TX 78701 * (512) 463-8585

"(AMM) Asarco's legal battles rage on despite Chapter 11 exit" Federal DOJ, TX/WA/MT lose big

"Google Alert

(AMM) Asarco's legal battles rage on despite Chapter 11 exit
Metalbulletin.com (subscription)
Asarco LLC's legal team received a reprieve Sept. 29 when a Texas judge denied substantial contribution claims made by the US government and three states in ..."

"NEW YORK 01 October 2010 Asarco LLC's legal team received a reprieve Sept. 29 when a Texas judge denied substantial contribution claims made by the U.S. government and three states in the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. Judge Richard Schmidt of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas rejected applications by Texas, Washington, Montana and the U.S. Department of Justice for more than $22 million in fees and expenses associated with Asarco's bankruptcy. According to Schmidt's memorandum opinion, the government movants had already received payment in previously settled environmental claims. "

"Mine giant Grupo Mexico gains upper hand in Sonora : Asarco workers here worry that union losses in Cananea dispute could carry over"

http://azstarnet.com/business/local/article_413da48c-6854-5956-881f-5d70a8551b27.html

"CANANEA, Sonora - The Mexican conglomerate that owns Tucson-based Asarco LLC is winning a long labor conflict south of the border, a victory that could reverberate across North America....Arizona mining contractors, such as Tucson-based Modular Mining Systems, are benefiting from the re-opening of the massive mine by making sales there....This outsourcing of labor tells Bensusan, the Mexico City researcher, that Grupo Mexico is winning in its effort to undercut independent unions...."

ASARCO Denver CO site -- "assumption of environmental cleanup"

compare this clean-up with Superfund effort at Asarco E. Helena MT 

"Google alert
Colorado business park to get funds - The Denver Post
The 77-acre former Asarco property north of downtown is targeted for 1.1 million square feet of industrial development after it is cleaned up. ...
www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_16211013?source...
"

"After the site is cleaned up, Adams County will contribute $10 million to develop the site from a grant it received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. .....Brownfield Partners reached an agreement with Asarco in 2006 to buy the property out of bankruptcy. At the time, it said it would redevelop the site as a high-end industrial business park.   ....Asarco valued the transaction at about $8 million, largely as a result of the liability transfer, assumption of environmental cleanup and decommissioning of the facility."

Testing at Asarco [El Paso] : Has XRF been used and if not, why [and what about RADON]

Mr. Puga:

Current research by M.D.'s (2009) show significant radon contamination throughout El Paso - heavily associated with the dirt outside of homes, and they recommend clean-up.  The levels are very significant.  It is very interesting that you state "El Paso County has low radon potential" when the medical doctors are finding radon to be a huge problem here. 

We already know from the EPA that El Paso TX had the highest Beta Radiation levels in the nation just before Asarco El Paso shut down in 2/99.  Mr. Bill Luthans asserted that this was "naturally occurring radiation" (or "NORM"/"TENORM") and said it was not a problem - but could not provide data to back-up his statement that the radiation was not a problem.

You are incorrect to state that "Radon gas, which is a naturally occurring substance, is not measured using XRF methods".   Radon is an element that appears from radium decay, and can be detected with many different methods.  It is radioactive and hazardous to our health.  

You did not provide any links or documents showing any XRF data from ASARCO.  In fact, Asarco El Paso refused to allow XRF technology to be tested on-site) to determine what chemicals have been left here by the nearly ten years of illegal, untracked, incineration of both military and industrial wastes for profit by Asarco El Paso.  

I would like to know why Project Navigator continues to dodge the question of the illegal chemical residues at the site.  I would like Project Navigator to provide data showing the radon, radium and radio-isotope levels at the site. 

EPA has provided proof now that ASARCO handled radioactive materials.

I would like to know who Mary Koks is (you copied her on your reply) at <mkoks@munsch.com>; and, why you felt it necessary to also copy the TCEQ attorney, Caroline Sweeney on your reply.  Are Radon and NORM/TENORM at ASARCO something that Project Navigator is afraid to discuss with the public?

Details about what chemicals have been left here by the nearly ten years of illegal, untracked, incineration of both military and industrial wastes for profit by Asarco El Paso continue to be kept secret; but, such secrecy/gag is likely illegal now that the Federal Dept. of Justice made the confidential-for-settlement-purposes-only EPA-DOJ-Asarco agreement public domain.   

Project Navigator should honor the intent of this public-domain-release of information; and, also the La Paz Accord JAC committee International Recommendation (to measure background contamination levels).   To continue to withhold full disclosure from the public about the poisons remaining around this site is ethically and morally wrong; potentially places the elderly, the young, the unborn and the ill in grave dangers that could be averted; and potentially puts Project Navigator in the sad role of making profits in a fake clean-up at the expense of our future generations.

-------- Original Message --------

Subject:	RE: Testing at Asarco: Has XRF been used and if not, why
Date:	Thu, 30 Sep 2010
From:	Roberto Puga <rpuga(at)projectnavigator.com>

Hello  ---,

 

Thank you again for your continuing interest in this project.  We offer the following responses to your questions:

 

1. Laboratory-type X-ray fluorescence (XRF) methods were employed in the past by Asarco to measure metal concentrations in soils and slag. Any results relating to X-ray and other analysis reported to the various regulatory agencies are documented in the remedial investigation reports produced for the site. These reports are available in the public record from the TCEQ and on the Trust website. 
2. Remedial contractors typically employ portable XRF screening tools for qualitative measurements during remediation of metal impacted sites.  The approved use of any analytical tools which may include XRF screening tools will be outlined in the appropriate work plans and procedures which will be posted on the Trust website.
3. Radon gas, which is a naturally occurring substance, is not measured using XRF methods, and in any case is not a constituent of concern at the site.  According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, El Paso County has low radon potential.  Outside ventilated, above-grade commercial buildings, which includes the plant office, (the only occupied building on the site) are generally not surveyed for radon.  Since radon is not a constituent of concern and there is no indication of radon sources there is not a concern for radon accumulation.  Testing requirements for constituents in stormwater runoff are detailed in the site discharge permit, which does not include radon.
4. The Trust has been extraordinarily transparent in all of its activities, and has posted requested information on its web-site.  The Trust will continue its policy as it completes its mission for the site.
5. We advise every one of the potential hazards at the site, and our Health and Safety program mandates training, personnel protection and monitoring for workers that may come in contact with constituents of concern.

 

Regards,

 

Roberto Puga

Trustee

 

---

From:
Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2010
To: Roberto Puga; Elizabeth Schell
Subject: Testing at Asarco: Has XRF been used and if not, why

 

To:  Project Navigator
Fr:  ---
sb:  XRF technology

Has XRF technology been used to test at the ASARCO El Paso site, and if not, then why not?

If XRF technology has been used then please advise us to the results of that testing.

XRF can detect Radon (element #86).  It is radioactive and is a known health hazard.  What were the results for Radon within the buildings and for the run-off/effluent water from ASARCO?

Do I need to force further disclosure through a P.I.A. or FOIA?  Please let me know.

Please also advise your potential contractors about the years of illegal toxic-waste burnings at Asarco; and, also advise any potential Project Navigator-UTEP interns of child-bearing-age of these chemicals.

- ---

Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club lawsuit Asarco llc, the BLM and the Department of the Interior : Circuit Judge reverses decision of the district court that approved BLM actions

"

OPINION

W. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge.

The Center for Biological Diversity, the Western Land Exchange Project, and the Sierra Club (collectively, "Appellants") bring suit against Asarco LLC ("Asarco"), a mining company, and the Department of Interior and the Bureau of Land Management (collectively, "BLM"). Appellants contend that the BLM's approval of a land exchange violates the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321-70; the Federal Land Policy and Management Act ("FLPMA"), 43 U.S.C. §§ 1701-87; and the Mining Law of 1872, 30 U.S.C. §§ 21-54.

If the proposed exchange does not occur, the land will continue to be owned by the United States. In that event, Asarco will be permitted to conduct mining operations on the land only if it complies with the Mining Law of 1872. Specifically, Asarco will not be able to conduct a new mining operation on the land without first submitting a Mining Plan of Operations ("MPO") to the BLM. The MPO would have to include detailed information about the operations, management, monitoring, and environmental impacts of the proposed mining activities. The BLM would then have to approve the MPO before the new mining could proceed.

If the proposed exchange occurs, Asarco would take fee simple ownership of the exchanged land. In that event, Asarco's use of the land would not be subject to the requirements of the Mining Law of 1872. Asarco has spent sixteen years, and considerable amounts of time and money, seeking to achieve private ownership of the exchanged land, which would allow Asarco to avoid having to prepare the MPOs that are required so long as the land remains in public hands.

As part of the process of approving the land exchange, the BLM prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement ("FEIS") pursuant to NEPA. In the FEIS, the BLM assumed without analysis that the MPO process would impose no constraints on, and would have no effect on, the manner in which Asarco would conduct new mining operations on the exchanged land. That is, the BLM assumed that the manner and extent of Asarco's new mining operations would be the same whether or not the United States owned the land. Because of this assumption, the BLM did not compare the environmental effects of exchanging the land with the effects of not exchanging the land.

Under these circumstances, we hold that the BLM has not "taken a `hard look' at the environmental consequences of its proposed action" in violation of NEPA, and that its action was therefore arbitrary and capricious. Blue Mountain Biodiversity Project v. Blackwood, 161 F.3d 1208, 1211 (9th Cir. 1998). We also hold that the BLM's approval of the proposed land exchange was a violation of FLPMA and similarly arbitrary and capricious. Webb v. Lujan, 960 F.2d 89, 91 (9th Cir. 1992). We therefore reverse the decision of the district court approving the actions of the BLM.

."

USA sues Asarco, llc (FKA Asarco, Inc. -- see Swiss Asarco Bank [Asarco A.G.] associated with Asarco SA/Asarco Inc.)

"Google Alert:
USA v. ASARCO :: Justia Dockets & Filings
US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit - Other Statutes - Environmental Matters - USA v. ASARCO - Justia Federal Dockets and Filings.
dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca9/10-35824/
"
"

Defendant - Appellant:	ASARCO, LLC, FKA ASARCO, Inc.
Plaintiff - Appellee:	UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Case Number:	10-35824
Filed:	September 17, 2010
Court:	U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Nature of Suit:	Other Statutes - Environmental Matters
Previous Case:	United States v. ASARCO, Inc. (6:1998cv00003)

"

Will TXDOT conceal the illegal secret chemicals at ASARCO El Paso, too??

How far does the corruption and secrecy extend?  

Google Alert
"Fix for UTEP traffic jam: $7M overpass
El Paso Inc
It's a much more complicated project, TxDOT officials say, since it involves historic neighborhoods, the former Asarco property and railroads, ..."

DOJ Asarco settlement agreement filing August 24, 2010 in Texas : Kelly Camp Mine, Bruce Gelber, Alan Tenenbaum, David Dain, Eric Albert, Ramos, Barron

"Google Alert:
USDOJ: Environment and Natural Resources Division : IN RE ASARCO, LLC
ENRD Home | Proposed Consent Decrees | IN RE ASARCO, LLC. Case, Comment Period. IN RE ASARCO, LLC, 09/10/10 - 10/12/10. Settlement Agreement 0.36 MBytes ...
www.justice.gov/enrd/3557.htm
"

2010 Sept. 8: Government argues that 75 mil settlement with former Asarco principal bondholder Citigroup is"fair, adequate, reasonable and in the public interest."

2010 Sept. 8:  "The government is defending as "fair and adequate" its $75 million settlement with Citigroup Inc. over charges it misled investors about billions in potential losses from subprime mortgages....The $75 million represents less than 0.3 percent of Citigroup's $22.07 billion in revenue in the second quarter of this year, the SEC noted....The bank has nearly $2 trillion in assets...."

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/09/08/2453998/sec-defends-75-million-deal-with.html#ixzz0z1RR9YZS

Morgan Stanley bank backs out of Revel Casino in New Jersey (April 2010)

Morgan Stanley bank backs out of Revel Casino in New Jersey

April 2010:  "...[Morgan Stanley] says it will be selling its stake in Revel Entertainment Group LLC's Revel casino in Atlantic City, N.J. The investment bank, which had invested $1.2 billion into the project, says it will "take a substantial loss...Morgan Stanley will be getting cents on the dollar."

Asarco Swiss Bank deceased President "Mikhail Katamanin's assets spark a legal brawl..."

"Google Alert: Mikhail Katamanin's assets spark a legal brawl
Detroit Free Press
Lawyers for the Swiss company, Asarco, and an attorney for his two adult sons declined to comment. One of the sons, Dean Katamanin, also declined to comment ..."

(for more information do a search within the epgtlo.blogspot.com blog for "Asarco A.G." or "Katamanin" or "Asarco Swiss bank")

Asarco A.G. (Swiss Bank) president died 12-09 without filing bankruptcy papers ... attorneys argue that estate should be settled in Russia...

"....Katamanin also had a home in Switzerland and two apartments in Moscow, according to court filings. In the final year of his life, his passport was stamped 54 times in eight countries, records show....A Russian citizen, he died at age 53 in December in Zurich...of a heart ailment....In March 2008, Katamanin and a man representing himself as an agent of Asarco [Asarco S.A., Asarco inc.] signed the loan agreement under which Plymouth agreed to transfer $12 million into Katamanin’s Swiss bank account, the agreement states. But lawyers ...say...his estate should be settled under Russian law."

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/08/dead-businessman-leaves-behind-pile-of-debt-battle-for-assets.html

Asarco Hayden will smelt siliceous flux for gold and silver

"Google Alerts
Santa Fe Gold Supplies Trial Shipment of Siliceous Flux to Arizona ...
Santa Fe Gold Corporation (OTCBB:SFEG) is pleased to announce it has contracted with ASARCO LLC ("Asarco") to supply a trial shipment of 1000 tons of ...
story.albuquerqueexpress.com/index.php/ct/9/.../38146371/
"

""This initial trial of siliceous flux to Asarco's Hayden smelter, together with a similar trial conducted earlier this year with Freeport-McMoRan Miami's smelter, is expected to lead to long term contracts," said Pierce Carson, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Flux sales potentially could be quite significant to Santa Fe and could account for a substantial portion of ore mined at Summit."

Asarco El Paso TX Smelter stack to be brought down BEFORE DISCLOSING WHAT SECRETS TOXINS REMAIN

What do the Environmental Officials/DOJ and ASARCO continue to hide?  They are removing the Asarco stack before they disclose what toxins remain in the region from the years of illegal hidden waste-incineration.  Stacks can prove the point-source of industrial emissions down to the dust-particle level (SEM analysis) and easily assign monetary blame and responsibility. 

The La Paz Accord Internation Joint Advisory Committee for Air passed a resolution over 18 months ago recommending a comprehensive study to show what the background contaminants were in the Paso del Norte and the EPA HAS NOT RESPONDED.  People within the EPA, the DOJ and TCEQ continue to dodge the questions.  No study has been done to determine what actinides remain here or how much radioactive nickel or polonium etc. from the years of unlisted, secret waste burning.  Despite six years of asking, the community have yet to get answers.


"Google Alerts
Asarco Demolition Date Scheduled | KTSM News Channel 9
Asarco Demolition Date Scheduled. By Alexa Helms Multimedia JournalistAnchor ... Opinions vary on what to do with the Asarco smokestacks ...
www.ktsm.com/news/asarco-demolition-date-scheduled
"

Asarco rewards those who kept the secret of the corrupt illegal haz-waste El Paso CONTOP incineration with promotions and retirement

Instead of full disclosure to the taxpayers of El Paso County and the community of the Paso del Norte region, the former Manager and the person in charge of the world's two largest CONTOP furnaces got full retirement and promotion.

Instead of prison.

While Asarco employees as a group slowly die from terrible cancers, m.s., and other diseases commonly associated with exposure to industrial poisons, the managment who let this happen and did not disclose what was going on get retirement and promotion.

Where is our Federal oversight, where is our Federal Dept. of Justice?  Why are taxpayers and employees being left in the dark while the company management escapes accountability for what the EPA secretly told the Federal DOJ was illegal activity done over almost a DECADE?!

Asarco General Manager Retires MyHighPlainscom
Larry Castor, general manager of the Asarco Amarillo Copper Refinery, is retiring effective Aug. 31, after 34 years with the company.
myhighplains.com/fulltext?nxd_id=151065

"Castor ... and his wife, Joni, plan to take off the next two years to explore and spend time in various places in the U.S. and abroad....Jones...will become the seventh general manager of the Asarco Amarillo Copper Refinery since start of operations in 1975."