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SAGINAW – The Lone Tree Council has a message for The Dow Chemical Co. – clean up the dioxin. Now.
The group of environmental activists, along with concerned residents from the affected Tittabawassee River flood plain, met Tuesday at Imerman Park to add to the list of actions they believe Dow should take to clean up dioxin contamination.
The Scope of Work, or outline of remediation plans, Dow submitted recently to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is "woefully inadequate," said Lone Tree Council’s Michelle Hurd-Riddick. The DEQ also suggested the plans be improved and put into action. Public comments on improvements will be taken at two yet-to-be-scheduled meetings later this month.
Activists at Immerman Park, which has been found to have dioxin levels far exceeding the state’s action level of 90 parts per trillion, criticized Dow for planning further testing of soils, river sediment and wildlife. State-conducted testing has already determined the dioxin exists and is likely the result of historic Dow manufacturing processes.
Additional testing, some of which is in progress by a Michigan State University research team with the help of a grant from Dow, is only a tactic to delay cleanup, Hurd-Riddick said. "Dow should be doing a range of things from relocating families in heavily contaminated areas, to dredging to shore stabilization," she said.
The Lone Tree Council is asking Dow to drop its pursuit of testing and take six steps to protect public health immediately. The suggestions include:
• The removal of contaminants in the Tittabawassee River by dredging.
• The elimination of exposure at contaminated parks by removing or covering contaminated soils and/or eliminating use in highly contaminated areas.
• Relocation of families who live in the areas with high contamination by buying out homes at acceptable prices.
• Responding to flood plain agricultural land contamination by offering acceptable purchase prices.
• Control of erosion on riverbanks with plantings to discontinue the spread of contamination.
• Continuation of soil sampling. Action should be immediately taken upon finding elevated dioxin levels.
The council also believes that public funds used to discover and evaluate contamination by Dow should be reimbursed by Dow.
For more information about meetings about dioxin and Dow’s plans for remediation, contact Cheryl Howe at the DEQ, howec@michigan.gov. |