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...)

EP Times -- what about the TOXIC WASTE??!!

Commissioners shouldn't let Asarco reopen
El Paso Times - El Paso,TX,USA
On Wednesday the commissioners of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality have a choice: They can refuse to allow the Asarco smelter reopen, ...
See all stories on this topic

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And Pam Giblin neglects to mention that neither the TCEQ or the Bankruptcy court or the EPA or ASARCO is talking about the TOXIC WASTE

TCEQ denies City's request in Asarco hearing
El Paso Times - El Paso,TX,USA
Pam Giblin an attorney for Asarco told the commission that postponing their decision would be a waste of time. "We are all as ready as we are going to be," ...
See all stories on this topic

David K. STILL not talking about the TOXIC WASTE!!!

EP Times Opinion Page Provides Thought Provoking Reading Today
By David K
Developers are involved, but only involved with the land across I-10 where all the big box retail is planned to go... just as soon as they can get the city to get a port of entry put in on the ASARCO land. No developer in his right mind ...
Refuse the Juice - http://refusethejuice.typepad.com/thinkaboutit/

Time for ASARCO and Environmental Regulators to come clean...

Next Wednesday in Austin the TCEQ will decide whether or not to grant ASARCO (El Paso) their air permit so that they can restart the smelter. No one wants the smelter to reopen - not Mexico, not New Mexico and not El Paso TX. But there is a fraud/cover-up. In the ASARCO bankruptcy proceeding in Corpus Christi they are refusing to discuss the toxic waste handled and burned illegally by ASARCO in the 1990's. And, in the Paso del Norte region no one asks what toxic waste is here from that illegal burning.

They are dividing up the company assets, deciding what damages/liabilities they have to still pay for, and NOT DISCUSSING THE ILLEGAL TOXIC WASTE that got into the Paso del Norte soils, air, the Rio Grande and the international Hueco aquifer.

Meanwhile, just several miles up river from the El Paso smelter the 2nd largest N.M. regional dump is renewing a ten year permit -- and its application would allow it to accept (radioactive) Uranium mining and milling waste into that dump. That radioactivity will outlast the dump's liners. That dirt would be blown all over the region, and the isotopes would flow with the dirt during rain and wind events into the dump's unlined storm ponds to likely flow down the documented Sunland (park) surface fault (that extends along sunland park drive and then the edge of the dump) into the aquifer below. (A whole pile of that waste sits up at Coyote Canyon in Navajo N.M. land, stockpiled by EPA Region 6).

It is time that the community asked what EPA Region 6 is hiding, what Asarco is hiding --- what all these powerful concerns are hiding from us about what ASARCO poisoned us with. Has anyone seen a dioxin report on the Paso del Norte region? No. Has anyone seen a comprehensive beta radiation level plot graphed of our region? No. Has anyone seen a comprehensive chemical analysis of the Asarco pond-dirt that Asarco felt was bad enough that they railed it all the way back to Corpus Christi? No. What about a PCB report/chemical analysis? No. Can the EPA water lab find the chemical report and records for when they came out here in 2001 to try to duplicate Rio Grande samples from an unpublished UTEP masters thesis (running a mini double membrane osmosis treatment system at the Canal street station)? NO.

Are we and have we been sacrificed? YES.

The powers that be must think that we are ignorant stupid people down here in El Paso to sit idly by and simply ask for the smelter to be CLOSED without asking WHAT ARE THEY HIDING and WHAT TOXIC WASTE IS HERE??????????

Poisoned Community

** Why won't anyone talk about the illegal ASARCO toxic waste being concealed by our environmental authorities and Asarco?!?! **

Asarco opposes Grupo's request for examiner in bankruptcy case

"New York (Platts)--4Feb2008

Grupo Mexico's recent request for a court-appointed examiner in the
Asarco bankruptcy case is being opposed by several parties, including US
copper producer Asarco and the United Steelworkers union, who urged a Texas
court on Monday to reject Grupo's application.....

In new filings with the court, Asarco and the USW opposed the examiner
request while the United States, also a party to the case, said it has
"serious questions" about the need for an examiner....

The USW said it "strongly opposes" Grupo's request.

It's unclear when Schmidt will rule on Grupo's request.

--Bob Matyi, newsdesk@platts.com"
http://www.platts.com/Metals/News/6752266.xml?src=Metalsrssheadlines1

Asarco says it will sell its assets to fund Chapter 11 plan

[distributed under Fair Use]

"AP - February 4, 2008 6:15 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AP) - Copper-mining company Asarco (LLC) says it will sell all of its assets and has established a process for interested buyers to submit offers.......

Tucson-based Asarco didn't identify interested buyers in court papers, but it said it has held discussions with six bidders..."
http://www.kxxv.com/global/story.asp?s=7821223&ClientType=Printable

Mounds of refuse have built up across the Campania region and residents have clashed with police, blocking roads and setting fire to the rubbish.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7220332.stm

residents don't trust the dumps, don't want the dumps because of the illegal materials going into them and the health hazards....incineration has been used by other cities and shut down because of the dioxins (and other toxics) released .... THE ONLY ANSWER IS RECYCLING. RECYCLE RECYCLE RECYCLE.


"...Commission spokeswoman Barbara Helfferich told the BBC News website that she believed the people of Naples supported the Commission's approach.

She said EU funds had been allocated for the building of an incinerator but the authorities were not moving ahead fast enough.
Ms Helfferich said there was no proper management plan for refuse disposal, tackling illegal dumping, and ensuring toxic waste was properly handled"

The Camino Real Landfill can accept URANIUM MINING AND MILLING WASTE

There is a "however" clause hidden in the Camino Real 10-yr renewal (finalized) application that allows it to accept Uranium mining waste.

(There is a bunch of these wastes sitting up north in coyote canyon, n.m. needing disposal)

DO YOU WANT URANIUM MINING WASTE sitting on top of YOUR DRINKING WATER??

YOU GET OVER 60% OF YOUR DRINKING WATER FROM THE RIO GRANDE,
(just about 4 miles below this dump Canal Street treatment plant -- it pumps the
water up the Franklin mt, and mixes/distributes it throughout the city; and, it plans to expand and
pump it through Juarez).

Please spread the word to your friends about the danger to the Rio Grande (that dump's liners won't last forever and
the radioactivity will!!!) and what deception is going-down here in our region. That dump has already accepted demolition debris from
ASARCO in the 1990's that would have been covered with the illegal poisons from their illegal toxic-waste burning (the debris from the zinc plant demolition project that lasted years -- the "S.E.P.").

Ask what ASARCO is hiding - what poisons they burned illegally. Demand to know what our environmental
agencies are hiding from us.

Ask that the Corpus Christi Bankruptcy Court immediately release the draft of their ASARCO REORGANIZATION PLAN --
Find out what it is that they have planned for our community.

Will we be the toxic-waste disposal capital of the nation? Be involved somehow -- try to help somehow!!! This affects ALL of us!

David K. : STILL NOT TALKING ABOUT THE TOXIC WASTE

" If you've got to lie... maybe you're just wrong?

By David K
I finally got around to reading this week's El Paso Inc. and was shocked, I repeat - SHOCKED they mayor took it upon himself to lie about the findings of UTEP's report on ASARCO. Apparently he decided to make the mistake of lumping all ...
Refuse the Juice - http://refusethejuice.typepad.com/thinkaboutit/
"
why won't David K. and this community start talking about the TOXIC WASTE that ASARCO and our environmental officials are HIDING??

Waste Incineration : South Africa

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'Clean' waste incineration sparks anger

By Leon Marshall

As Naples continued to choke on its garbage this week, with landfill sites overflowing and the army being called in to help clear the mess on the streets after violent protests, a testy meeting in Pretoria demonstrated how South Africa's own mounting rubbish problem is beginning to rack nerves.

As in the Italian city, the key question is how to get rid of the ever-growing heaps of waste being produced by our growing population and rapid industrialisation.

Egmont Otterman, reflecting the exasperation and representing the Association of Cement Producers, warned the Pretoria meeting: "We dare not procrastinate. What is happening in Naples will happen here."

The meeting was called by the department of environmental affairs (Deat) to discuss the proposed incineration of hazardous waste, which is broadly classified as waste that is harmful to human health or the environment. It includes plastics, paint, pesticides, used oil and tyres. The proposal was that the materials should be passed on to cement factories where it could be used to fuel their kilns.

The solution seemed innovative and simple, but it turned out to be highly controversial. International experts contracted by Deat and representatives of the cement industry said the incineration process was one of complete combustion,[except for pm 10's and pm2.5's] which made it safe.

The ash was harmless and useful for mixing with cement. Although gas such as carbon dioxide was released, it would actually amount to a saving on the volumes produced, because otherwise coal would have to be burnt and the hazardous materials themselves would release greenhouse gases over time.

The experts told the meeting that it had been done for decades in Europe and in the United States where stringent safety standards were applied.

Incineration also had other benefits for cement factories. The materials, especially tyres, would save on the cost of coal. Iron, which can be obtained from burnt tyres, is a necessary additive to cement, thereby contributing another saving.

But several representatives of communities and non-governmental organisations who attended the meeting did not take kindly to the proposal. They feared that noxious substances would be emitted and that local communities, particularly the poor, would pay the price.

Past experience had much to do with their concern. A Tshwane councillor spoke of the many people in his ward who had been hospitalised with respiratory problems. Suspicions fell on the nearby cement factory.

Similar complaints came from a community representative from Lichtenburg in North West.

Others complained that waste sites were invariably placed near poor communities, which had to live with the filth and stench. "We all know," one representative said, "how these overfull and badly managed dumps catch alight and what toxic smoke gets sent into the air."

A Durban South spokesperson told the meeting about the high incidence of cancer and lung disease in his community and claimed that factory emissions and the illegal dumping of hazardous waste were to blame. He said that the incineration of waste would only add to the problem.

They wanted to know what guarantees there were that incineration would not add to their problems.

Non-governmental organisations warned that, even if safety standards were legally prescribed, the problem would be with monitoring and law enforcement.

"We have already seen how this has failed in the case of rivers, wetlands and such. For all the protective laws there are, they just keep getting destroyed. The trouble lies with the lack of enforcement," said Karen Marx of the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa.

Air pollution from industrial plants in general and the issue of incineration became the subject of such heated exchanges that Nolwazi Cobbinah, Deat's chief director in charge of pollution and waste management, had to intervene and added: "We are not fighting - we are here to find solutions."

But the meeting did not end on a good note for the NGOs and community representatives. They charged that the government was intent on going ahead with incineration without answering their concerns.

But the issue of waste goes much further. Besides being an environmental problem, it involves climate change and water security.

The government's attempts to devise a national strategy for dealing with the growing problem go back to 2002. The purpose has been to devise a plan that would include waste separation and recycling, as well as reductions in the production of waste. Incineration is another option, on which consultations have been taking place over the past year.

The tense meeting in the serene surrounds of the South African Biodiversity Institute in Pretoria was part of the consultation.

That there is a growing urgency about getting a national strategy and its supporting legislation in place was clear from Cobbinah's opening statement as chairman: "We are behind schedule. We should by now have had a policy document ready."

Underlying the NGOs' concerns about safety standards is the lack of information on the quantity and types of hazardous and other waste.

A Deat official explained that a waste information system had been set up to collect this data. But this itself became the subject of a chicken-and-egg argument. For the system to operate properly, the official said, data reporting had to be mandatory, which could only be done through enabling legislation.

The counterargument was that legislation to impose waste treatment through risky means such as incineration could not be legally enforced without proper information on the extent of the problem.

Jorn Lauridsen, an international expert from Denmark who is doing research on waste for the department, told the meeting that the most recent study done in 1997 showed that the country was producing 160 000 tons of hazardous organic waste a year.

His own research showed that a single waste-collecting company in Gauteng in 2006 handled 100 000 tons of such waste.

• This article was originally published on page 6 of The Sunday Independent on January 20, 2008

Published on the Web by IOL on 2008-01-20 08:34:00

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© Independent Online 2005. All rights reserved. IOL publishes this article in good faith but is not liable for any loss or damage caused by reliance on the information it contains.

Italy's problem with their city dump at Pianura and another reason for cities to RECYCLE

mothers blame Mafia as toxic rubbish spills over
Guardian Unlimited - UK

" Sheep with eyes staring out from below their mouths have been born in the fields near Caserta, north of Naples, and doctors are seeing girls menstruate at the age of seven. Government-run blood testing of residents for dioxin levels will start next month and now there are plans to do the same in the city, including Pianura.

'In Naples, we could stop the Camorra from putting poison into city dumps by simply recycling,' said Marfella. 'The Camorra is scared stiff of recycling.' "

Investors signing confidential agreements with ASARCO

"
Investors show strong interest in resurgent copper producer
Arizona Republic - Phoenix,AZ,USA
Tucson copper producer Asarco LLC has so far signed confidentiality agreements with 14 investors interested in funding its eventual emergence from Chapter ...

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David K won't talk about the Toxic waste either ... why not?

"Google Blogs Alert for: asarco

ASARCO - The eyesore effects rich people's property values
By David K
The city spent $50000 of your tax dollars to find out what I've known all along - ASARCO is about rich people wanting to increase their property values in Kern at the expense of good jobs. The city was nice enough to prove my theory. ...
Refuse the Juice - http://refusethejuice.typepad.com/thinkaboutit/
"

WHAT ABOUT THE TOXIC WASTE?

WHY don't the management ever talk about the toxic waste???

"Google News Alert for: asarco

ASARCO Plant Manager Bob Litle Responds
KTSM-TV - El Paso,TX,USA
Specifically, the majority of the businesses contacted are in favor of ASARCO opening (5-2). In addition, the most recent residential poll that was ..."

Asarco filing deadline moved from February to mid-APRIL

"Copper-miner Asarco seeks delay in filing exit plan

Associated Press - January 16, 2008 1:24 PM ET WASHINGTON (AP) - Asarco says it needs two more months to file its bankruptcy-exit plan. The Tucson-based copper-miner says its parent...
KVOA - News - http://www.kvoa.com/global/category.asp?c=40644

Tucson-based Asarco requests more time to exit bankruptcy
Tucson-based Asarco LLC needs two more months to file its bankruptcy-exit plan and says its parent company, a unit of Mexican mining company Grupo Mexico SA, is behind the delay.
All Headlines - http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/allheadlines/

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 This as-it-happens Google Alert is brought to you by Google."

WE ARE ALL RESPONSIBLE

"The landfill here in Pianura was shut more than a decade ago. Now, there is talk of reopening it. Local residents say no. "We understand the emergency," says Salvatore, who lives just across the street. He has a tumor which he blames on exposure to toxic waste. "We can't accept garbage anymore," he says. "We are afraid and concerned about our health.""

...."Nearby, housewife Luciana carefully recycles her trash while surrounded by a mountain of refuse. "Can you really make the difference," I ask her. "Now, it's too late," she says, "but we are all responsible, the politicians, but also people who are uncivilized and did this [i.e. dumping of illegal hazardous wastes within the dump].""

(the mob-run garbage industry in Pianura region, Italy:  http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/studentnews/01/15/transcript.wed/  )

Asarco and Arizona

"Google News Alert for: asarco

Answers to water quality hard to get
Nogales International - Nogales,AZ,USA
We didn't know what we had and didn't know what to do with it" In the mid 1990s, Asarco wanted to purchase parts of Unit 3 and, although Wilson says he does ..."

"

In Italy, clans and their middlemen earned over 65 billion dollars in just four years from waste management

"...Below the surface lies the cause. Campania, according to Legambiente, the environmental group, is the industrial dumping ground of Italy, and Europe. Just as Naples is the port that sucks in counterfeited goods and raw materials for clothing made in Campania and sent round the world, so the region is also where much comes back to be buried. And both are controlled by the Camorra, the Naples mafia.

If all of southern Italy's illegally stashed trash were piled together, estimates Legambiente, it would tower above Everest and weigh 14m tonnes."....

"It is the triangle of death," says Marco the protester....."significantly inc­reased rates" of congenital malformation and cancer in parts of Naples and Caserta."

"Understandably, Campania's residents fear that if incinerators are used, as the government has proposed for years, illegal toxic waste will simply be blasted into the atmosphere. Private "consortiu...... Mr Saviano, who lives under police protection, estimates Camorra clans and their middlemen earned €44bn ($65.5bn, £33.5bn) in just four years from waste management. Such are their skills that Chinese gangs have studied and copied their methods, turning farmland in southern China into poisoned wasteland.

In Italy a whole chain of people is involved and officials are complicit in signing off the paperwork.....

Everyone blames everyone, especially the easily targeted Camorra, but no one is taking responsibility."
15/1/2008 3:53:17 πμ
http://www.euro2day.gr/printerfriendly.asp