Scroll to end: click web view. Mrs. Mcmurray 's obtained proof Asarco smelter poisoned El Paso TX through what the EPA & US DOJ said was illegal burning of illegal hazardous/radioactive wastes 1991-98. (see 73 page 1998 conf. for settlement purposes only DOJ EPA Asarco doc,10/06 nytimes) We have never been told what actinides, forever chemicals, dioxins etc are present from illegal Asarco actions see "Asarco secret document"
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Friday, November 6, 2015
November 6, 2015 Ciudad Juarez NewsKilled Border Foxconn Workers MournedTwo Ciudad Juarez families conducted funeral preparations for loved ones who suffered tragic deaths this week. Foxconn employees German David Rodriguez Balderas, 41, and Martin Gomez Limones, 56, perished when a company-contracted bus they were riding in plunged off a cliff early on the morning of Tuesday, November 3. The accident occurred as the Joselyn Personnel Transport (JPT) company bus was returning workers home to Juarez after an evening shift at Foxconn's huge electronics factory outside the city limits at Jeronimo-Santa Teresa on the Chihuahua-New Mexico border. The bus veered off the Camino Real, a controversial highway constructed during the first mayoral administration of Hector "Teto" Murguia (2004-2007) which connects the urban zone of Juarez with the border mega-development located about ten miles away at Jeronimo-Santa Teresa, and plunged 60 feet or more into a canyon. Rodriguez and Gomez were killed, and 18 other workers reported lightly or seriously injured. The surviving passengers, ranging in age from 18 to 53, included 11 men and 7 women. Three of the injured workers were reported still hospitalized as the week drew to a close. Almost miraculously, the death toll was not far higher. Esmeralda Castor Gomez, an eighteen-year-old Foxconn worker and the niece of Martin Gomez, was among the lucky ones. "The truth is, I didn't get badly hurt," Castor said. "Nothing happened to me. I didn't even get struck." Law enforcement officials detained Jose Antonio Perez Rocha, the 24-year-old driver of the bus. The cause of the November 3 tragedy is in dispute. Castor, for instance, said driver Perez fell asleep at the wheel. But JPT owner Raul Rodriguez Santillanes defended his employee, saying the young man had a good record in his five years of service with the company. What's more, the GPS data from the bus showed that Perez was going the speed limit when vehicle crashed, Rodriguez said. As for early speculation that a tire or other bus equipment had failed, the unit in question was in good condition and recently inspected, he affirmed. Rodriguez pointed to dangerous road conditions on the Camino Real, adding that his company and a second one servicing Foxconn decided after the accident to suspend use of the desert highway even though it meant a longer ride and commute time for workers. "We prefer this," Rodriguez told El Diario de Juarez. "There are a lot of rocks on the road, and we don't want to risk something else. There is no lighting. The (highway) lamps are pretty but they do not work." For his part, Ciudad Juarez Mayor Enrique Serrano blamed human error, possibly related to transport company practices of "overexploiting the personnel and making them work extra hours-we don't know." Hernan Ortiz Quintana, public policy researcher and spokesperson for Citizens for Better Public Administration, said the Camino Real, presumably a "jewel of engineering," was "literally falling to pieces" like much of the public infrastructure in Juarez. The two Foxconn employees killed had little time with the company. According to German Rodriguez's sister-in-law, Lourdes Alanis, her brother-in-law had six months under his belt at Foxconn but was ready to quit because of he was "tired." Last week, Rodriguez put in double shifts, Alanis said. The factory worker left behind two daughters, aged 12 and 15, respectively. Relatives of Gomez, who had put in only two weeks with Foxconn, described the ill-fated worker as the sole support for a 77-year-old invalid father. According to his sister, Gomez ironically had not even cashed his first paycheck when he was killed. Negotiations are reportedly ongoing between victims' families on one side and JPT and Foxconn on the other over the payment of funeral expenses and other compensation. JPT's Raul Rodriguez said his company has insurance to pay for the disaster. "We want justice to be done, even if that sounds trite," said Lourdes Alanis. German Rodriguez and Martin Gomez worked at one of the most important links in the global electronics chain of production. Also the locus of the growing Jeronimo-Santa Teresa border economic cluster, Foxconn manufactures computers for Dell and other brand-name clients. In turn, Foxconn sub-contracts its workers through employment agencies and sub-contracts employee transportation and other services. The November 3 accident occurred at a moment of ferment in the Ciudad Juarez industrial sector, which mainly consists of maquiladoras, the foreign-owned factories like Foxconn's that manufacture products for export to the United States and other nations. Hundreds of workers at least four separate companies continued protests that included camp-outs this week. The unresolved grievances variously include wages and benefits, safety, management practices, sexual harassment, and union representation. The companies witnessing protests include Commscope, Eaton, Lexmark and Scientific Atlantic, a Foxconn affiliate with another plant inside Juarez's urban core. Safe and reliable transportation has also been a recurrent issue of contention in the maquiladora industry. According to El Diario, the number of mishaps involving company contracted buses jumped from 115 in 2014 to 179 so far in 2015. Citing numbers from the municipal public transportation department, the newspaper reported that 2,400 private buses are deployed to transport workers employed in the massive maquiladora sector. Meanwhile, more than 2,000 workers were temporarily evacuated from two Flextronics plants in Juarez the afternoon of November 5 after a foul odor was detected. A suspected gas leak was later discounted, but no definite determination of the source of the bad smell was reported. For another recent FNS story about the labor situation in Ciudad Juarez maquiladoras check out: https://fnsnews.nmsu.edu/behind-ciudad-juarezs-new-labor-movement/Sources: El Mexicano, November 5, 2015. El Diario de Juarez, November 3, 4 and 5, 2015. Articles by Luz del Carmen Sosa, Martin Orquiz, Aracely Castanon, Fernando Mendez, and editorial staff. Nortedigital.mx, November 3, 4 and 5, 2015. Articles by Carlos Omar Barranco and Miguel Vargas. Arrobajuarez, November 3, 2015. Opendemocracy.net, January 16, 2015. Article by Devi Sacchetto and Martin Cecchi. Albuquerque Journal, May 20, 2013. Article by Kevin Robinson-Avila Frontera NorteSur: on-line, U.S.-Mexico border newsCenter for Latin American and Border StudiesNew Mexico State UniversityLas Cruces, New Mexico For a free electronic subscriptionemail: fnsnews@nmsu.edu________________________________________Fns_NMSU-lTo Unsubscribe or Manage Your Membershiphttps://mailman.nmsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/fns_nmsu-l
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ASARCO to Pay $163.5M, Cut Toxic Emissions · Environmental Leader · Environmental Management News
https://www.environmentalleader.com/2015/11/05/asarco-to-pay-163-5m-cut-toxic-emissions/#.Vjx-1paBZlY.mailto
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Thursday, November 5, 2015
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Epa , us doj, asarco hayden smelter consent fecree press release from epa
EPA HomeNewsroomNews Releases By DateU.S. EPA Requires ASARCO to Cut Toxic Emissions at ....
News Releases By Date
U.S. EPA Requires ASARCO to Cut Toxic Emissions at 103-Year-Old Arizona Copper Smelter
Release Date: 11/03/2015
Contact Information: Nahal Mogharabi, (213) 244-1815, mogharabi.nahal@epa.gov
SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with ASARCO requiring the company to spend $150 million to install new equipment and pollution control technology to reduce emissions of toxic heavy metals at a large smelter located in Hayden, Ariz. The company will also fund local environmental projects valued at $8 million, replace a diesel locomotive with a cleaner model for $1 million, and pay a $4.5 million civil penalty.
The federal enforcement action targeted hazardous air pollutants, including lead and arsenic, and particulate matter (PM). With the controls in place, the hazardous air pollutants should be reduced by at least 8.5 tons per year, and PM emissions are expected to be reduced by 3,500 tons per year. The new equipment and controls will also slash the facility's sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions by 19,000 tons per year, a reduction of more than 90 percent, according to EPA estimates. Currently, the ASARCO smelter is the largest source of SO2 emissions in Arizona.
"The communities living near this century-old smelter will breathe cleaner air as a result of this landmark enforcement action," said Jared Blumenfeld, Regional Administrator for EPA's Pacific Southwest Region. "As one of only three major copper smelters in the nation, it is critically important that the facility operate in a way that complies with federal law, minimizes harmful pollutants and safeguards public health and the environment."
"This settlement will bring tremendous benefits to public health and the environment in Arizona for generations to come through dramatic cuts to harmful air emissions," said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "The requirements of this consent decree will not only bring ASARCO into compliance with the nation's clean air law, but will also result in testing for lead contamination in area homes and improvements to nearby roads to further improve air quality."
EPA's investigation found the company violated federal Clean Air Act standards by failing to adequately control emissions of hazardous air pollutants, such as arsenic and lead, from the Hayden smelter. Under the settlement announced today, ASARCO will install new and upgraded ventilation hoods to capture hot flue gases from its furnaces to better capture the PM, which includes the hazardous air pollutants, and SO2. The company will also replace an aging electrostatic precipitator with a new, cleaner baghouse and inject high performance lime to reduce SO2 emissions.
To reduce wind-blown dust from the facility, which contains varying levels of heavy metals, the company will implement an improved dust control plan, including the use of wind fences, upgraded water sprayers and the installation of concrete pads. In addition, ASARCO will operate five ambient air monitors in and around the Hayden and Winkelman communities to track levels of pollutants, including arsenic, lead and PM, and will make additional improvements to dust controls if levels are high.
The settlement requires ASARCO to spend $8 million to fund two environmental mitigation projects. Of this, $6 million will be used on a road paving project in Pinal County that will reduce dust pollution on local dirt roads close to the towns and benefit residents exposed to PM emissions. In addition, $2 million will be provided to the Gila County Environmental Health Services to conduct lead-based paint testing and abatement in homes, schools and other public buildings in the towns of Hayden and Winkelman.
ASARCO will spend approximately $1 million to replace an existing diesel switch locomotive operated at the facility with a cleaner diesel-electric switch locomotive. The project will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides, which are precursors to the formation of PM2.5, and greenhouse gases.
Long-term inhalation exposure to inorganic arsenic is associated with irritation of the skin and can affect the brain and nervous system. Exposure to lead can cause effects on the blood, as well as the nervous, immune, renal, and cardiovascular systems. Particulate matter, especially inhalable coarse particles (PM10) and fine particles (PM2.5), can cause coughing or difficulty breathing, decreased lung function, aggravated asthma, and even premature death in people with heart or lung disease. SO2 has also been linked to a number of adverse effects on the respiratory system, and SO2 is also a precursor to the formation of PM2.5. Fine particles are also the main cause of reduced visibility (haze) in parts of the United States, including national parks and wilderness areas. The PM2.5 and SO2 emission reductions achieved through compliance with this settlement will also serve to reduce visibility impairment owing to emissions from the facility.
Built in 1912 and expanded over the years, the ASARCO Hayden site is a copper ore processing, concentrating and smelter facility located adjacent to Hayden and Winkelman. The ASARCO plant includes a crusher, concentrator, smelter and tailings impoundment areas and produces 300 to 400 million pounds of copper and over half a million tons of sulfuric acid annually. ASARCO is owned by Grupo México, a Mexican consortium that owns Ferromex, the largest railroad in Mexico, and operates mines and smelters, including the one in Hayden, that make it the fourth largest copper producer in the world. The Hayden facility is one of three copper smelters in the United States, and the only one owned by ASARCO.
The settlement was lodged with the U.S. District Court of Arizona and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. The proposed consent decree can be viewed at: www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
More on the settlement: http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/asarco-llc-settlement
For photos of the facility, please visit: http://www3.epa.gov/region9/mediacenter/asarco/photos.html
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U.S. EPA Requires ASARCO to Cut Toxic Emissions at 103-Year-Old Arizona Copper Smelter
Release Date: 11/03/2015
Contact Information: Nahal Mogharabi, (213) 244-1815, mogharabi.nahal@epa.gov
SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with ASARCO requiring the company to spend $150 million to install new equipment and pollution control technology to reduce emissions of toxic heavy metals at a large smelter located in Hayden, Ariz. The company will also fund local environmental projects valued at $8 million, replace a diesel locomotive with a cleaner model for $1 million, and pay a $4.5 million civil penalty.
The federal enforcement action targeted hazardous air pollutants, including lead and arsenic, and particulate matter (PM). With the controls in place, the hazardous air pollutants should be reduced by at least 8.5 tons per year, and PM emissions are expected to be reduced by 3,500 tons per year. The new equipment and controls will also slash the facility's sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions by 19,000 tons per year, a reduction of more than 90 percent, according to EPA estimates. Currently, the ASARCO smelter is the largest source of SO2 emissions in Arizona.
"The communities living near this century-old smelter will breathe cleaner air as a result of this landmark enforcement action," said Jared Blumenfeld, Regional Administrator for EPA's Pacific Southwest Region. "As one of only three major copper smelters in the nation, it is critically important that the facility operate in a way that complies with federal law, minimizes harmful pollutants and safeguards public health and the environment."
"This settlement will bring tremendous benefits to public health and the environment in Arizona for generations to come through dramatic cuts to harmful air emissions," said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "The requirements of this consent decree will not only bring ASARCO into compliance with the nation's clean air law, but will also result in testing for lead contamination in area homes and improvements to nearby roads to further improve air quality."
EPA's investigation found the company violated federal Clean Air Act standards by failing to adequately control emissions of hazardous air pollutants, such as arsenic and lead, from the Hayden smelter. Under the settlement announced today, ASARCO will install new and upgraded ventilation hoods to capture hot flue gases from its furnaces to better capture the PM, which includes the hazardous air pollutants, and SO2. The company will also replace an aging electrostatic precipitator with a new, cleaner baghouse and inject high performance lime to reduce SO2 emissions.
To reduce wind-blown dust from the facility, which contains varying levels of heavy metals, the company will implement an improved dust control plan, including the use of wind fences, upgraded water sprayers and the installation of concrete pads. In addition, ASARCO will operate five ambient air monitors in and around the Hayden and Winkelman communities to track levels of pollutants, including arsenic, lead and PM, and will make additional improvements to dust controls if levels are high.
The settlement requires ASARCO to spend $8 million to fund two environmental mitigation projects. Of this, $6 million will be used on a road paving project in Pinal County that will reduce dust pollution on local dirt roads close to the towns and benefit residents exposed to PM emissions. In addition, $2 million will be provided to the Gila County Environmental Health Services to conduct lead-based paint testing and abatement in homes, schools and other public buildings in the towns of Hayden and Winkelman.
ASARCO will spend approximately $1 million to replace an existing diesel switch locomotive operated at the facility with a cleaner diesel-electric switch locomotive. The project will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides, which are precursors to the formation of PM2.5, and greenhouse gases.
Long-term inhalation exposure to inorganic arsenic is associated with irritation of the skin and can affect the brain and nervous system. Exposure to lead can cause effects on the blood, as well as the nervous, immune, renal, and cardiovascular systems. Particulate matter, especially inhalable coarse particles (PM10) and fine particles (PM2.5), can cause coughing or difficulty breathing, decreased lung function, aggravated asthma, and even premature death in people with heart or lung disease. SO2 has also been linked to a number of adverse effects on the respiratory system, and SO2 is also a precursor to the formation of PM2.5. Fine particles are also the main cause of reduced visibility (haze) in parts of the United States, including national parks and wilderness areas. The PM2.5 and SO2 emission reductions achieved through compliance with this settlement will also serve to reduce visibility impairment owing to emissions from the facility.
Built in 1912 and expanded over the years, the ASARCO Hayden site is a copper ore processing, concentrating and smelter facility located adjacent to Hayden and Winkelman. The ASARCO plant includes a crusher, concentrator, smelter and tailings impoundment areas and produces 300 to 400 million pounds of copper and over half a million tons of sulfuric acid annually. ASARCO is owned by Grupo México, a Mexican consortium that owns Ferromex, the largest railroad in Mexico, and operates mines and smelters, including the one in Hayden, that make it the fourth largest copper producer in the world. The Hayden facility is one of three copper smelters in the United States, and the only one owned by ASARCO.
The settlement was lodged with the U.S. District Court of Arizona and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. The proposed consent decree can be viewed at: www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
More on the settlement: http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/asarco-llc-settlement
For photos of the facility, please visit: http://www3.epa.gov/region9/mediacenter/asarco/photos.html
###
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Search this collection of releases | or search all news releases
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View selected historical press releases from 1970 to 1998 in the EPA History website.
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11/04/2015  EPA Completes Review of 23 Site Cleanups in New England
11/04/2015  EPA Settles With Anchorage Companies for Hazardous Waste Violations
11/04/2015  EPA Calls for the 21st Presidential Green Chemistry Award Nominations/Program promotes environmental and economic benefits of using novel green technologies in chemical design, manufacture, and use
11/04/2015  EPA Recognizes State Street as a Top Green Power Partner
11/03/2015  State, federal agencies to map and protect cold water refuges for fish in Columbia and Willamette
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Last updated on 11/4/2015
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Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Please let people know this is happening: Asarco epa us doj hayden public consent decree
Type in the following (at end) to read the consent decree....there now starts a 30 day comment period for the public. Please think about commenting. Check on my blog (google asarco secret document, go to newest post) and when the us dept of justice posts how to make comments, i will put it there. Protect the families in hayden: jobs are good until your employed spouse gets disease associated with these secret poisons.....like leukemia.
Is there a "confidential for settlement purposes only" us doj epa asarco document for this? Like there was for asarco's mess in el paso tx?
We know as fact that asarco el paso acted as a high level radioactive waste disposal contractor during the 1990's. The gov never released this fact to us thru open records requests, but hid its relationship with asarco from us.
Asarco contaminated homes with material found in nuclear control rods. We have a critical radon/radium problem: both mexico and usa epa's know, but have not told el pasoans.
We in el paso were told nothing of this. A secret consent decree between asarco, epa and us doj 1998 hid it. The bankruptcy hid it. Our gov hid it.
So, what is now happening at hayden asarco... more of the same? The us doj said asarco made a lot of $$$$ doing this.
Why on earth would our gov and asarco stop such mon$y making given an old smelter in remote poor location with mostly mexican americans.
Our politicians looked the other way. Made it impossible for el pasoans to take legal action: that was passed to only TCEQ to do. They never did.
Now apparently it may be happening again, this nightmare, for Hayden, az. Asarco will invest $150 MILLION in Hayden..... so it is a big problem, there. Compare it with el paso...asarco gave us just 50 million, to clean us all up!
http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/asarco-llc-consent-decree
http://www2.epa.gov/enforcement/asarco-llc-consent-decree
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