Richard Pastula Letter to the Editor Midland Daily News 02/01/07

Erroneous conclusions

To the editor:
    Richard A. Maltby continues his dioxin assault on The Dow Chemical Co. regarding lack of action to clean up dioxin contamination in his Jan. 12 letter to the editor. Instead of exercising patience, Mr. Maltby jumped to erroneous conclusions regarding commitment to clean up. The last excellent dioxin update appeared Jan. 11 on the front page of the Midland Daily News. It states that clean up work can possibly start as early as next month.
    There is a joint effort between the state Department of Environmental Quality, the University of Michigan and The Dow Chemical Co. to resolve the dioxin issue based upon various studies and science rather than public emotion. Evaluation takes time. I believe The Dow Chemical Co. is committed to a clean environment, which includes the Tittabawassee River and surrounding areas.
    Many separate dioxin articles have been published in the Midland Daily News and meetings held informing the public on progress. Thus The Dow Chemical Co. does not have to update dioxin issues in every article about the company that is published in the Midland Daily News. I appreciate reading the article pertinent to its subject matter.
    I encourage people who are critical to articles published by the Midland Daily News to focus on each article’s content. I believe it is unfair to criticize an article because it dies not include a subject matter important to some readers. Occasional readers reading skewed articles can form negative impressions about a person or company that has many positive community contributions.
    Richard Pastula
    Midland