Caveat emptor : ASARCO EL PASO CLEAN-UP TRUSTEE PASSES THE BUCK TO BUYERS

"... the realities of more than 100 years of contamination have left a legacy. One audience member asked whether the stacks and their surroundings would be safe for children.

"I'm not going to say that," Puga said. "The new owners have to say that.""

God help us all, and all the little children who will be playing on the playgrounds and elementary-school-yard on top of the existing Asarco lands in the new "smart code" neighborhoods.   Because the children have a high surface volume to body ratio they will intake more dusts and aerosols per pound of body than an adult, and have it affect them and their own babies' development throughout their lives.   Simply covering the ground with asphalt will not stop the off-gassing of materials beneath the developments and "will not make it safe" [KVIA interview with UTEP Geologist].

El Paso ASARCO Clean-up Trustee admits that the ASARCO stacks contain contaminants

The El Paso ASARCO Clean-up Trustee admits that the ASARCO stacks contain contaminants that would require sealing the stacks to make these safe, rather than just letting the stacks stand.

"But Puga said money from his $52 million budget could be spent only on remediation efforts. It is possible, however, that something like sealing the stacks to prevent the spread of contaminants would qualify, he added."

The Trustee/TRUST did not test the CONTOP/Acid Plant's primary metal stack for contaminants, but wrote it off to the Bankruptcy court's decision releasing the TRUST from fiduciary-responsibility to test-for and/or remediate for the illegal chemicals illicitly incinerated by Asarco in El Paso TX from 1991-1998 -- in fact, the Bankruptcy courts totally publicly ignored that such incineration of D.O.E. and other wastes ever happened.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_19242239

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

Globeville CO ASARCO site accepted materials from El Paso TX Asarco site during illegal-waste burning years (1991-1998)

Recent documents released by the EPA show that the Globeville CO ASARCO site accepted materials from El Paso TX/East Helena MT Asarco sites during illegal-waste burning years (1991-1998).

Have the Globeville Asarco community tested for any of those illegal materials?

"Google Alert:

Open house planned on Asarco site Your Hub Officials plan to discuss Globeville Asarco redevelopment at meeting. yourhub.denverpost.com/.../0PN6unW4KoCp5OZYFrkCoJ-st... "

Washington State got nearly 200 million from Asarco while El Paso TX got less than 40 million

google alert
"Dept. of Ecology plan aims to clean up Tacoma Smelter Plume properties
Tacoma Daily News
In December 2009, the state of Washington obtained a $188 million bankruptcy settlement from Asarco. About $94 million is slated for the Tacoma Smelter ..."

How sad for El Paso TX that they got around 32 million dollars for cleanup of an unpermitted and illegal multi-state hazardous-waste disposal operation (ASARCO from 1991-1998) while Tacoma WA got three  times that amount. 

Doesn't pay to be a mexican-american community does it.  The surface water supply (Rio Grande) is now fully compromised by the Asarco El Paso arsenic-plume.  Paltry 32 million; and, the Federal Dept. of Justice Bankruptcy Trustee during the Bush Administration allowed this to happen by looking the other way and letting the Asarco Bankruptcy Courts totally ignore the Asarco hazardous-waste operation-liabilities.

google alert

"
Judge orders Grupo Mexico to refund $1.3B in copper deal
Arizona Daily Star
Grupo Mexico, parent company of Tucson-based Asarco, must return $1.3 billion in shares to Southern Copper Corp. for forcing the unit to overpay for a ..."

El Paso Times editorial applauds ex-workers help with chemical testing

Nothing was found. 110 years of smelting; over a decade of illegal unpermitted hazardous waste incineration for profit -- some of it of D.O.E. origin ----- and, nothing bad turned up with the Trust's chemical testing.   That is good news for the "smart-code" walkable neighborhood developers who want to site an elementary school and kids playgrounds on the former Asarco ground....

but hardly believable.  Incredulous.  Makes fools of people who are demanding to know what they were exposed to at Asarco El Paso during the illegal-haz-waste burning years....

google alert:
"Asarco cleanup Exsmelter employees big help El Paso Times
But more testing, especially on the 123-acre plant site of Asarco s total 580-plus acres, is prudent.
www.elpasotimes.com/opinion/ci_19140539
"

According to this article Asarco El Paso was incinerating stuff until 2005 and that clean-up "A tremendous financial success"

"Mike Casbon, who is based in Indiana with multi-national contractor ERM Inc., has spent much of the past 10 months in El Paso, Texas, helping oversee the demolition of a copper smelting facility that is spread out over 200 acres.

ERM hired Brandenburg Industrial Service Co., Chicago, as its demolition subcontractor for the project. Malcolm Pirnie, Highlands Ranch, Colo., was the lead remediation contractor.

Metals were smelted at the site, adjacent to the border with Mexico, from 1887 until Asarco closed the facility in 2005. In part because owners prior to Asarco smelted lead on the site, decontamination has been a vital part of the demolition and recycling process, said Casbon.

While the decontamination process has been costly, the variety and volume of metals harvested has yielded generous returns. That harvest has included some 3,500 tons of copper; 1.5 million pounds of lead; 44,000 ounces of silver; and 1,200 ounces of gold.

Much of this material has been harvested and sold during a time of record-high metals prices, benefiting the trust entity that now owns the land.

In addition to recycling metal for an eager scrap market, Casbon indicated that the project has also entailed recycling sulfuric acid, Douglas fir timber and some salvageable equipment.

Casbon said the efforts of ERM, Brandenburg and others working on the project have provided a tremendous financial success for the Asarco site land trust. Rather than spending down the trust’s $52 million cash reserves for the project, work done thus far has provided an additional $25 million to the trust’s value.

The 2011 C&D Recycling Forum was Sept. 25-27 at the Turf Valley Resort and Conference Center in Ellicott City, Md."
http://www.cdrecycler.com/cdr-forum-rising-and-falling-LEED-Asarco-Nationals-Park.aspx

Shades of "Fire down Below" illicit poisoning of community(s): Asarco Encycle (Dona Park Corpus Christi) that EPA secretly told DOJ 1998 sent massive secret hazardous wastes to El Paso TX and East Helena MT

"CORPUS CHRISTI — Test results of soil taken near the site of a shuttered zinc smelting plant produced no elevated levels of chemicals of concern, the Texas Commission on Environmental Equality reported. [as they say on Saturday Night live News,..... "REALLY!!"]

The commission has investigated residents' claims for about a year that parts of the Dona Park neighborhood were a dumping ground in the 1980s for toxic chemicals from the ASARCO/Encycle plant on Up River Road.....

...The Texas Department of State Health Services also is working with residents, having taken voluntary blood and urine samples to test for harmful chemicals.

The most recent tests inspected soil in drainage pathways leading from the former plant out into the neighborhood, said Omar Valdez, project manager with the commission."
http://www.caller.com/news/2011/oct/05/tests-near-former-zinc-smelting-plant-show-no-of/

Tests near former zinc smelting plant show no elevated levels of ... Corpus Christi Caller Times ... chemicals from the ASARCO/Encycle plant in the 1300 block of Lantana Street. TCEQ officials tested the site, and nearly 3500 neighborhood homes nearby. ...

Talk about a conflict of interest...

Encycle-Asarco TX asked its SALES REPS to "screen out" illegal wastes such as radioactive materials, organics etc....

'The sales representative Is responsible for pre-screening wastes during his or
her Initial contact with the client. The sales representative should immediately
screen out those wastes which are not covered by the company's permit;
e.g., organics, radioactive wastes, etc. Submitting a waste for analysis and
characterization is time-consuming and expensive for both ENCYCLE and the
client. It Is Important from an economic standpoint as well as building good
customer relations that the wastes submitted for characterization have a
reasonable likelihood of acceptance.'
9159004.pdf on EPA asarco documents site

" Google Alert - asarco"

" Asarco Related Documents | Region 6 | US EPA EPA Region 6 has created this page to help people locate information about the ASARCO property in El Paso, Texas. While you will find links to many ... www.epa.gov/earth1r6/asarco_encycle/ "

Eerily like Asarco's escape from criminal accountability for running a multi-state unpermitted illegal haz-waste disposal operation, now Wall Street Banks seek immunity from criminal accountability...

"The same Wall Street banks whose irresponsible actions led to our nation's economic collapse are now pressuring all 50 states to give them legal immunity. The banks want to block any criminal or civil accountability for actions that have yet to be investigated.  Attorneys General from Delaware, Minnesota, Nevada, and New York have been fighting back."

-- Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway

Asarco El Paso Acid Plant/ConTop stack demolished without publishing results of stack tests

http://klaq.com/el-paso-times-smaller-asarco-smokestack-comes-down-video/

"A lawsuit accuses a Baltimore medical institute of exposing children to lead poisoning in the 1990s"

"The Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, is facing a
class-action lawsuit accusing it of knowingly exposing more than 100
young black children to lead poisoning in the 1990s during the course of
a scientific study on lead abatement measures in homes with lead paint.
The children, aged 1 to 5 years, were living in supposedly "lead-safe"
housing in poor neighborhoods of Baltimore, but according to the lawsuit
were actually selected by the institute because of lingering lead dust
problems. "What they would do was to improve the lead hazard from what
it was but not improve it to code," Thomas F. Yost Jr., one of the
lawyers who filed the suit, told The New York Times."

http://the-scientist.com/2011/09/19/institute-sued-over-lead-poisoning-study/

Press Release from EPA: "EPA Advancing Clean Up at 15 Hazardous Waste Sites" ASARCO EL PASO NOT MENTIONED

Asarco El Paso texas not mentioned.........and we got the worst of the worst secret hazardous wastes for over seven years.

"News Releases from Headquarters
EPA Advancing Clean Up at 15 Hazardous Waste Sites, Proposing 11 Sites for Action

Release date: 09/15/2011

Contact Information: Stacy Kika, kika.stacy@epa.gov, 202-564-0906, 202-564-4355

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adding 15 hazardous waste sites that pose risks to people’s health and the environment to the National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites. EPA is also proposing 11 sites to be added to the list. Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites in the country with the goal of protecting people’s health and the environment through long-term and short-term cleanup activities.

To date, 1,652 sites have been listed on the NPL. Of these sites, 350 sites have been cleaned up, resulting in 1,302 sites currently on the NPL (including the 15 sites added today). There are 62 proposed sites (including the 11 announced today) awaiting final agency action.

With all NPL sites, EPA works to identify companies or people responsible for the contamination at a site, and require them to conduct or pay for the cleanup. For the newly listed sites without viable potentially responsible parties, EPA will investigate the full extent of the contamination before starting significant cleanup at the site. Therefore, it may be several years before significant EPA clean up funding is required for these sites.

The following 15 sites have been added to the National Priorities List:

· Blue Ledge Mine (abandoned mine) in Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest, Calif.;
· New Idria Mercury Mine (abandoned mercury mine) in Idria, Calif.;
· Armstrong World Industries (ceiling tile manufacturer) in Macon, Ga.;
· Sandoval Zinc Company (former zinc smelter) in Sandoval, Ill.;
· Gary Development Landfill (former landfill) in Gary, Ind.;
· Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp – Columbus (former pressure –treated railroad products manufacturer) in Columbus, Miss.;
· Red Panther Chemical Company (former pesticides formulation plant) in Clarksdale, Miss.;
· Horton Iron and Metal (former fertilizer manufacturer and metal salvage) in Wilmington, N.C.;
· Garfield Ground Water Contamination (contaminated ground water plume) in Garfield, N.J.;
· Chevron Questa Mine (molybdenum mine) in Questa, N.M.;
· New Cassel/Hicksville Ground Water Contamination (contaminated ground water plume) in Hicksville, Hempstead, and North Hempstead, N.Y.;
· North Ridge Estates (former WWII medical facility) in Klamath Falls, Ore.;
· US Finishing/Cone Mills (former textile operation) in Greenville, S.C.;
· Alamo Contaminated Ground Water (contaminated ground water plume) in Alamo, Tenn.; and
· Falcon Refinery (inactive refinery) in Ingleside, Texas.

The following 11 sites have been proposed to the National Priorities List:

· Jervis B. Webb Co. (former manufacturer) in South Gate, Calif.;
· Seam Master Industries (adhesive manufacturer) in South Gate, Calif.;
· Continental Cleaners (former dry cleaners) in Miami, Fla.;
· Leeds Metal (former scrap metal facility) in Leeds, Maine;
· Compass Plaza Well TCE (contaminated ground water plume) in Rogersville, Mo.;
· Eighteenmile Creek (contaminated creek) in Niagra County, N.Y.;
· Southeastern Wood Preserving (former wood treating operation) in Canton, Miss.;
· Metro Container Corporation (former drum recycler) in Trainer, Pa.;
· Corozal Well (contaminated ground water plume) in Corozal, Puerto Rico;
· US Oil Recovery (used oil recovery facility) in Pasadena, Texas; and
· Bremerton Gasworks (former gasworks facility) in Bremerton, Wash.

Federal Register notices and supporting documents for the final and proposed sites: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm

Information about how a site is listed on the NPL: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/npl_hrs.htm

Superfund sites in local communities: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/index.htm

"Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at EPA"

http://blog.epa.gov/administrator/ <cid:part1.03080205.08050909@gmail.com>

"The EPA has taken considerable steps to make sure all Americans have a
voice in the conversation about the environmental and health issues
facing them. Just this week we unveiled an environmental justice plan
called EJ 2014, to outline our work in the years ahead. .....we awarded
$6.2 million to organizations across the country that train local
residents and place them into good, green jobs cleaning up their
communities....."

EL PASO TEXAS not mentioned

Asarco El Paso could be theoretically modeled after Tacoma Asarco site "more than 1,000 square miles" contaminated

"For close to 100 years, the Asarco Tacoma Smelter emitted arsenic, lead and other heavy metals into the air. These windborne emissions contaminated more than 1,000 square miles covering four counties and 26 cities and towns, including University Place.

Since the smelter’s designation as an EPA Superfund site in 1983, efforts have been underway to clean up heavily contaminated soils.

According to Cynthia Walker, State Dept. of Ecology (DOE) project manager, exposure to high levels of arsenic can contribute to cancer and cardio vascular diseases while high exposure to lead is linked to neurological and developmental problems. Since 2000, the DOE and Pierce County Health Department have worked on education campaigns regarding handwashing and other measures along with providing free soil sampling and clean up at play areas at existing and new schools, childcares, parks and similar areas."

http://universityplace.patch.com/articles/e-mail-to-the-editor-mayor-recaps-flood-control-district-presentation

The El Paso TX City Council with Beto O'Rourke (now running for Federal House of Representatives) voted to make the Asarco El Paso site a walkable neighborhood (i.e. zone it "smartcode"), with future designs for school(s) and playgrounds.  Was this "smart"?

More evidence of what ASARCO did between 1991 and 1998 slowly being demolished and removed

the evidence not just being covered up - but removed

Google alert:
"Asacro/Encycle Zinc Smelting Plant Demolition Continues
KIII TV3
One of the last things to come down at the site will be iconic Asarco smoke stack, all 315 feet of it. After towering over the community or decades, ...
"

Fwd: October 6 - Public Hearing on the Texas Rail Plan [Asarco Ferromex UP BNSF modal station]

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.

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

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

Asarco: "Fifth Circuit upholds expense reimbursement for non-stalking horse"

Google Alert: " Fifth Circuit upholds expense reimbursement for non-stalking horse ... Lexology Factually, in Asarco, the debtor conducted a sale of a potentially valuable asset ... ASARCO, 2011 US App. LEXIS 16892 at 11. In addressing the substantive ...