Tittabawassee
River Watch www.trwnews.net
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TRW Archives 2007 4th quarter 10/01/07 - 12/31/07
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 | May 9, 2004 -- DEQ won't back down on dioxin cleanup |
| May 26. 2004 -- A community meeting sponsored by the City of Midland draws more than 1,500 to the Midland Center for the Arts to hear DEQ Director Steve Chester, representatives from the city, Dow and the Midland County Health Department talk about dioxin contamination. Emotions of residents and local lawmakers are inflamed. |
| May 27. 2004 --A cleanup plan for the Tittabawassee River and Midland isn't done yet, but state Department of Environmental Quality officials vow to have it ready by mid-June. |
| May 27. 2004 -- Senate & House Bills are introduced by Sen. Tony Stamas and Rep. John Moolenaar to give polluters free ride |
| June 1. 2004 -- Congressman Dave Camp, state Sens. Mike Goschka and Tony Stamas and state Reps. Jim Howell, John Moolenaar and Sandy Caul request a meeting with Gov. Jennifer Granholm to talk about dioxin. |
| June 3. 2004 -- The governor tells the Midland Daily News she wants to "turn down the temperature on this very hot issue." |
| June 3. 2004 -- State Rep. John Moolenaar recommends cuts in the Department of Environmental Quality budget, calling the move a "message of intent" for a department "out of control." Cuts suggested included a 15 percent reduction in director Steve Chester's salary and the abolishment of the DEQ's hazardous waste program. |
| June 5. 2004 -- Congressman Dave Camp, state Sen. Tony Stamas and state Reps. Mike Goschka and John Moolenaar and Sandy Caul, meet with Gov. Granholm at Mackinaw Island. |
| June 21 -- Residents of the Tittabawassee River flood plain meet in Lansing to tell Gov. Jennifer Granholm about their personal dioxin dilemmas. |
| June 24. 2004 -- High level talks between Lt. Gov. John Cherry, Chester and Dow begin. T |
| Aug. 29. 2004 -- Residents of the Tittabawassee River flood plain send a letter to the governor, lieutenant governor and Chester saying they are growing increasingly concerned about the inaction of officials and are questioning their trust in the government. |
| Sept. 1,2004 -- John Moolenaar says that a meeting among the concerned parties is planned for Sept. 15 at which he expects a plan of action to be presented. |
| Sept 10, 2004 -- Enough peace and quiet; it's time to talk, That's what some residents are saying, claiming that high-level dioxin cleanup negotiations between Dow Chemical Co. and the state Department of Environmental Quality have stayed hush-hush too long. |
| Sept. 16, 2004 -- The state Department of Environmental Quality emerges from negotiations with Dow Chemical Co. not with an agreement about how to proceed with dioxin cleanup, but with a date. DEQ spokeswoman said the parties plan to reach agreement by Sunday, Oct. 31 |
| Nov. 1, 2004 -- Halloween deadline missed " |
| December 27, 2004 -- still no response, residents write letter to Granholm. |
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January 13, 2005 -- No deal yet on dioxin cleanup |
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January 21, 2005 -- Dow and DEQ agree on "framework", not cleanup |
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January 24, 2005 -- Leading citizens and environmental groups today sharply criticized an agreement between Dow Chemical Company and the Granholm Administration, saying it fails to deliver a cleanup of dioxin contamination in the Saginaw Bay basin |
| ... | |
| Slow forward to 2007 | |
| ... | |
| July 3, 2007, EPA tells Dow to clean up dioxin |
| October 23, 2007, Play it again Sam. DEQ and EPA once again announce they will be going behind closed doors to NEGOTIATE a cleanup with Dow Chemical. |
| December 21, 2007, Chamber of Commerce asks DEQ to be removed from dioxin negotiations |
12/15/07 Fed up,
residents want out
Michelle Hurd Riddick
Lone Tree Council
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Below are a few documents which provide a glimpse into the EPA relocation process:
Visit http://www.epa.gov/superfund/community/relocation/index.htm for additional information
12/15/07 Saginaw
River EPA Dredging Pollution Reports
Late
on Friday, November 9, 2007, Dow notified U.S. EPA that preliminary data for a
sediment sample collected from within the channel of the Saginaw River was in
excess of 1.6 parts per million (ppm) Dioxin TEQ. This is the highest TEQ
analytical result recorded for either the Tittabawassee or Saginaw Rivers. On
November 11, 2007, U.S. EPA issued a verbal General Notice Letter of Potential
Liability to Dow.
Below is the link to latest EPA "Pollution" reports which summarize the
cleanup progress made so far:
| Saginaw River 1,600,000
ppt site as of December 10, 2007
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12/12/07 Under
federal pressure, Dow submits dioxin cleanup plan
MIDLAND, MICH. (December 10, 2007) – The Dow Chemical Company submitted its good faith offer to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region V, for an Administrative Order on Consent in response to EPA’s Special Notice Letter of October 10, 2007. Click here for AP News story
12/09/07
Lone Tree
Council / TRW Dioxin Update/
| The Secret Memo |
| Human Element lost locally but recognized in Michigan's leading newspapers |
| Dow employee files for whistle blower protection |
| Dow deadline tomorrow |
| About that 1.6 million ppt in the Saginaw River |
| The MSU Wildlife study |
Click here for all the details
12/7/07 The Secret
Memo
Click here
to view the confidential EPA memo detailing Dow's deceptive tactics
accidentally released to the Lone Tree Council as part of a FOIA request.
See 12/7/07 Detroit Free
Press story for an interpretation. Note: there have been two
breaking stories in the last 24 hours, the
whistle blower lawsuit
filed yesterday about Dow submitting flawed data to the MDEQ is unrelated to the
leaked EPA memo above. However they both share a common theme: a sneaky and
unscrupulous Dow Chemical
12/7/07 Secret
Memo: Dioxin report details deception
The Detroit Free Press reports (a few snippets)
| EPA found state failed to stand up to chemical giant With the state's complicity, Dow Chemical Co. has delayed cleanup and misled the public about the dangers of dioxin it dumped decades ago into rivers downstream of its Midland plant, Environmental Protection Agency officials charged in a confidential August internal report. The memo, obtained by the Free Press, also said Dow impeded state efforts to force a cleanup, concealed data and studies, tried to keep documents confidential that should have been made public and insisted on negotiating cleanup details with Gov. Jennifer Granholm's office, rather than staff of the state Department of Environmental Quality. ...
Getting to the truth In her suit, whistleblower Denney
said
the independent laboratory double-checking the dioxin results told
her in November 2006 that the data from Dow's contractor was badly
flawed. ... |
| Denney told her bosses. A week later, they ordered her to stop
doing any work relating to the data validation. The lab rejected the data in a letter Dec. 5, 2006, saying it couldn't validate it. On Dec. 8, the lab sent Dow a letter terminating its contract, citing a breakdown in procedures. Denney's suit said Dow submitted the bad data to the DEQ in February. "She's been shut out," said Victor Mastromarco Jr., Denney's attorney.
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| Click here to view the entire Free Press article |
| Click here to view the whistle blowers suit document |
12/6/07 Whistle
blower: Dow submitted bad Tittabawassee dioxin data to State
A Detroit News article today states that A Dow Engineer was demoted for questioning dioxin level sampling data submitted to the state. The Engineer is now filing a whistle blower suit against Dow.
Project Enhancement Corp., the Germantown, Md., company hired to validate data from samples collected in August 2006, rejected the data that November because of "major technical non-compliance," Denney alleges in the lawsuit.
The Engineer states she reported the flaws to her Dow supervisors, but Dow "submitted said bad data to the state on or about February 1, 2007
For more on Dow and it's deceptive practices, click here
12/04/07
Saginaw River hotspot clean up begins
The
Saginaw News reports
...
"Six members of a Dow dive team are strapping on drysuits and taking a dip in near-freezing water this week to suck up contaminated soil with a hydraulic dredger, "a vacuum cleaner sort of thing, if you will," Dow spokesman John C. Musser said.
The dredger can vacuum 80 to 120 cubic yards of sediment every day, Musser said.
A diver will spend an hour or two at a time vacuuming the riverbed as the other five members on a barge monitor the air feeding down the diver's umbilical cable and other equipment, project leader Todd Konechne said.
"One of the divers on the barge will be suited, ready to go, at all times," Konechne said.
The crew is racing the winter frost to dredge up 800 cubic yards of material, he said.
"The river was essentially frozen completely over Saturday morning," Konechne said."
11/30/07 Astounding:
MSU wildlife study proves normal animals are normal
The Michigan State University "Tittabawassee River Ecological Studies " presentation at the 11/28/07 quarterly dioxin meeting was intended to "convince" the attendees that even though wildlife in the contaminated floodplain are assimilating dioxin at a rapid pace, they are not exhibiting any ill effects. The study protocol includes the tagging/banding of the test subjects at the time of tissue and blood sampling. Depending upon the species tested, only 3% to 27% of the 3200+ subjects tagged where re-captured for subsequent re-testing. In other words, up to 97% of a particular species samples where taken from animals whose prior whereabouts are unknown.
What they failed to mention is that a well known ecological concept termed "sink populations" may be in play here. Dr. Hector Gailbraith discussed the impacts of a sink during the Q&A session following his 2005 presentation of the Tittabawassee River Watershed Ecological Risk Assessment.
Wildlife is constantly on the move, competition for food and mating create a dynamic system where vacancies are quickly filled.
In other words, the low number of tagged animals in the Tittabawassee River sampling area may indicate they are dying off and/or failing to reproduce because of the extremely high dioxin levels. Once gone, the newly opened niche is filled by immigrants from other non-contaminated areas.
Basically, they are testing "normal" animals that may have been in the contaminated target area for only a shot period of time.
Based on the high levels of dioxin reported in most of the animals tested, one could infer that ‘normal" animals migrating into the area rapidly assimilate the dioxin into their bodies soon after their arrival.
A couple of facts you can believe about the study:
| The dioxin contaminants are entering the food web |
| Tissue and dietary based exposure assessments agree. |
| The State of Michigan DEQ has not approved the MSU study |
| Dow is paying MSU $5,000,000 for this study. |
In our opinion based on other questionable collaborations between Dow and MSU, last nights presentation was intended to confuse the public and can be considered MSU’s quarterly payment back to Dow for their patronage.
11/27/07 Community
Meeting on Dow Corrective Action Work
November 28 Community Meeting on Dow Corrective Action Work
The Department of Environmental Quality and The Dow Chemical Company will be
holding the next quarterly Midland/Saginaw/Bay City (Tri-Cities) Dioxin
Community Meeting on Wednesday, November 28, at the Horizons Conference Center
in Saginaw located at 6200 State Street. The meeting is open to the public and
will run from 6:30 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. Staff from the DEQ, Department of Community
Health, and Dow, with their consultants, will be available one-half hour before
and one-half hour after the meeting for individual discussion with the public.
Maps and other handout materials will be available for viewing and discussion.
Agenda items for the November 28 meeting include: Upper and Middle Tittabawassee
River investigation work status and DEQ oversight comments; the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), removal actions
in the Tittabawassee and Saginaw Rivers and EPA/DEQ oversight comments; an
update on the Michigan State University Ecological Study; and an update on the
Natural Resource Damage Assessment. The final hour of the meeting is set aside
for questions and discussion on these and other topics.
The meeting agenda and related documents will be posted to the DEQ Web site
prior to the community meeting at
http://www.michigan.gov/deqdioxin and may be accessed by clicking on
the *DEQ/Dow Community Involvement* and *Dow Off-site Corrective Action* Quick
Links in the right navigation column. The next quarterly community meeting is
scheduled to be held on February 7, 2008.
11/23/07 Saginaw
River dioxin find spreads fear
Detroit News tells it like it is
SAGINAW
-- At the spot where two rivers join to form the Saginaw River, clumps of
cattails and bald cypress share the sandy shores with deer and raccoon tracks.
For years, this scenic tableau has filled riverside residents such as Mitch
Larson with dread. The reason became clear last week when the river confluence
yielded something never conceived by nature: toxic dioxin.
The
chemical, dumped into the Tittabawassee River by Dow Chemical Co. a century ago,
had been discovered in other parts of the streams but never in this quantity, a
federal agency said. Not even close.
Larson worries about the health of his four daughters as he wonders whether this is the price Michigan residents pay for the state's industrial past. .......
Click here to view the Detroit News article.
11/23/07
U.S's top toxic spot here?
A top government scientist says a toxic ''hot spot'' found in the Saginaw River near Wickes Park in Saginaw could represent the highest level of dioxin contamination ever recorded in the nation's river and lake systems. ....''We're still saying we can't find numbers anywhere close to this particular value,'' Clark said. ''We're looking at historical databases and I've sent out messages (to the scientific community), but nobody is saying (they've heard of a higher level).'' ....
Click here to view the Saginaw News article
11/23/07 Video of
Tittabawassee River Reach O hotspot cleanup activities
| Click here for video | ||
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Reach O as of
October 24
progress report
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For additional information and past progress reports, click here
11/18/07
Lone Tree
Council / TRW Dioxin Update/
| Front page headline Detroit News
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| Dow Chemical in violation of license again
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| Additional fish advisories on the Saginaw
River
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| Freeland Festival Park dioxin on the move -
where did it go?
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| Class Action in limbo
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| Next DEQ / Dow quarterly meeting November 28 |
Click here to view the entire update for all the details
11/16/07
EPA: Dow to clean up dioxin hot spot in
the Saginaw River
CONTACT: Anne Rowan, 312-353-9391, rowan.anne@epa.gov Mick Hans,
312-353-5050,
hans.mick@epa.gov
For Immediate Release No. 07-OPA227
EPA: DOW TO CLEAN UP DIOXIN HOT SPOT IN THE
SAGINAW RIVER
CHICAGO (Nov.15, 2007) — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 and Dow
Chemical Co. of Midland, Mich., today signed a consent order to begin an
emergency
cleanup of a previously unknown dioxin hot spot on the Saginaw River.
Under the order, Dow must dredge dioxin-contaminated sediments in the Saginaw.
Field work must begin immediately with the dredging to be completed by Dec. 15.
“The extremely high level of dioxin found in the Saginaw River and its possible
consequences warrant immediate action,” said Regional Administrator Mary A. Gade.
“Today’s Superfund emergency order requires action now to eliminate an imminent
and substantial threat to human health and the environment.
“ Friday evening, Nov. 9, Dow notified EPA and Michigan Department of
Environmental
Quality of preliminary results of over 1.6 million parts per
trillion (ppt) of dioxin in one
sample of sediment taken from the Saginaw River.
This dioxin concentration is probably
the highest ever found in the Great Lakes.
The sample came from a location a half-mile
below the confluence of the
Tittabawassee and Shiawassee Rivers, roughly adjacent to
Wickes Park in Saginaw.
On Sunday, EPA provided Dow legal notice of its potential liability and the
Agency’s intent
to immediately begin cleanup. Under the Superfund law, EPA gave
Dow the option to
perform the cleanup under EPA oversight. On Monday, EPA and
MDEQ technical experts
surveyed the site and met with Dow to discuss cleanup
alternatives. On Tuesday, Dow
notified EPA that it would agree to perform the
work under an EPA order. ....
| Click here to read the entire EPA Press Release |
|
Click here to read the "Administrative Settlement Agreement and
Order on Consent for Removal Action" between DOW and the EPA |
11/15/07
State issues fish consumption advisory for
Saginaw River
The state is warning people against eating certain fish in the Saginaw River.
The Department of Community Health says the fish may have
unsafe levels of dioxin in their bodies. Dioxin exposure has bee linked to
cancers, birth defects, and harm to the immune system.
The department says nobody should eat carp, catfish, or white bass taken from anywhere in the Saginaw River. Women of childbearing age and kids under age 15 shouldn't each small mouth bass.
Women of childbearing age and kids under 15 should eat walleye less than 22 inches long no more than once a month, and six meals of larger walleye per year. For all other species of fish caught in the Saginaw River, women of childbearing age and kids under 15 are being advised to eat no more than one meal per month.
A similar advisory has been in place on the Tittabawassee River for years, evidently some are ignoring the advice, click here for video
11/14/07
Lone Tree
Council / TRW Dioxin Update
EPA responding to Dow's outrageous drops of ink in 55
gallon drum analogy
Would appear EPA did not take lightly Dow's PR spin to down play the
significance of 1.6 million
ppt hot spot in the Saginaw River or the company's
attempt to brush aside their dioxin contaminating
fish and then people who eat
the fish.
CONTACT: Anne Rowan, 312-353-9391, <mailto:rowan.anne@epa.gov>rowan.anne@epa.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 07-OPA220
Note to correspondents: More information on new dioxin hot spot in the Saginaw
River
(Chicago, Ill. - Nov. 14, 2007) Recent published statements by a Dow Chemical
Co. spokesman
regarding the company's discovery of another dioxin hot spot in
the Saginaw River may leave the
public with mistaken impressions about the
health concerns related to this finding and exposure
pathways. Comparing a
highly toxic chemical such as dioxin to ink drops in a drum as Dow
recently did,
minimizes the real concern regarding dioxin's toxicity and the very high level
found. ...
| Click here for the entire update |
| Click here to watch latest video which includes EPA comments on the situation (on line for 7 days) |
11/13/07
Lone Tree
Council / TRW Dioxin Update
11/13/07 EPA orders emergency cleanup, 1,600,000 ppt dioxin found next to park
Highest dioxin level found in Saginaw River: EPA, MDEQ and Dow at work on emergency cleanupRelease date: 11/13/2007 Contact Information: Anne Rowan, 312 353-9391, rowan.anne@epa.gov 07-OPA217 (Chicago, Ill. - Nov. 13, 2007) Acting immediately on information received from Dow Chemical Co. of Midland, Mich., U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the company have begun preliminary emergency removal activities at a previously unknown dioxin hot spot on the Saginaw River. Late Friday, Dow notified EPA and MDEQ of preliminary, unvalidated results of over 1.6 million parts per trillion (ppt) of dioxin in one sample of sediment taken from the Saginaw River. This concentration is 50 times higher than a 32,000 ppt level, previously the highest found in the Saginaw River. It is 15 times higher than any dioxin levels found at hot spots in the Tittabawassee River. This new Saginaw River sample came from a location a half mile below the confluence of the Tittabawassee and Shiawassee Rivers, roughly adjacent to Wickes Park in Saginaw. "EPA has determined that this emergency work should be performed under an EPA Superfund order," said Regional Administrator Mary A. Gade. "EPA and MDEQ are working closely together on a thorough and appropriate plan to remove this hot spot. Moreover, we must be very cautious to make sure, through laboratory tests, that we determine the extent of this high level of contamination. It may be only one additional hot spot or it could cover a larger area." Dow discovered the latest hot spot during sampling done according to its own Sept. 14, 2007 work plan, which has not been approved by either EPA or MDEQ. As a result of EPA Superfund orders in June 2007, Dow is now wrapping up the cleanup of three dioxin hot spots in the Tittabawassee River and should be done by year's end. Those dioxin hot spots along the first six miles of the Tittabawassee River were contaminated at levels up to 87,000 ppt, far above state and federal action levels. The area is prone to flooding and erosion which can spread contamination. Dioxins are highly toxic compounds that pose serious risks to human health and the environment. EPA's reassessment of the most recent scientific findings on dioxin indicates that it is a more potent chemical than previously understood. For more information about the health impacts of dioxin and eating fish from the Saginaw River system, members of the public may call the Michigan Dept. of Community Health at 800-648-6942 and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry at 312-886-0840. Dow's Midland facility is a 1,900-acre chemical manufacturing plant. Dioxins and furans come from the production of chlorine-based products. Past waste disposal practices, fugitive emissions and incineration at Dow resulted in dioxin and furan contamination both on- and off-site. In separate legal actions last week, EPA cited Dow for air and hazardous waste violations at its Midland facility. These involve preliminary findings of violations and Dow has 30 days to discuss resolution of the allegations. Fact sheets on dioxins from Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQ http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts104.html |
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| Click here for map of 1,600,000 ppt contamination |
| Click here for EPA pollution report on the site |
Click here for a biased
Dow media spin article released earlier today to preempt the EPA report.
Local media bought it up hook, line, and sinker.
TV news had the Dow spinmister
John Musser comparing the find to 6 drop in a 55 gallon barrel and
interviews with fishermen lowering their hook almost directly over the contaminated
area.
Both articles are using the term "Dioxin-Like" (assume it was a
sound bite provided by Dow) in an attempt to downplay the discovery.
Regardless of the "dow-ese" used by the media, the samples taken near Wickes
park revel dioxin in unprecedented levels and it is the
same Dow DIOXIN found throughout the Saginaw Bay
watershed. Suffice it to say that this is "sound science"
at it's finest.
Dioxin-Like refers to compounds
from a group of halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons that have molecules shaped
like TCDD and produce similar toxic effects, such as certain other chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (CDDs) and certain chlorinated dibenzofurans (CDFs),
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), brominated
dibenzo-p-dioxins (BDDs), and brominated dibenzofurans (BDFs).
11/09/07 EPA notifies Dow of clean-air & hazardous waste violations
Chicago, Ill. - Nov. 9, 2007) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5
today notified
Dow Chemical Co. that it has found potential clean-air and
hazardous waste violations at
the company's Midland, Mich., facility.
EPA issued a finding of violation under the Clean Air Act and a notice of
violation under
the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. It also issued
requests for information under
both acts.
"The issuance of these notices and requests for information shows that the
agency takes
seriously its responsibility of protecting human health and the
environment," said Regional
Administrator Mary A. Gade. "Our investigation of
this very large facility spanned eight
weeks over a two-year period and included
personnel from EPA's National Enforcement
Investigation Center. Today's actions
are a product of that investigation."
EPA alleges Dow violated the Clean Air Act by, among other things, failing to
follow
regulations aimed at detecting and repairing leaks, as well as failing to
conduct a required
stack test. Dow was also allegedly found to be in violation
of multiple Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act requirements for managing
hazardous waste.
These are preliminary findings of violations. To resolve them, EPA may issue a
compliance
order, assess an administrative penalty or bring suit against the
company. Dow has 30 days
from receipt of the notice to meet with EPA to discuss
resolving the allegations.
EPA said Dow's alleged clean-air violations may have increased public exposure
to organic
hazardous air pollutant emissions including, but not limited to,
ethyl chloride, toluene, ethylene,
perchloroethylene, methanol and hydrogen
chloride. Hazardous air pollutants may cause serious
health effects including
birth defects and cancer and may also cause harmful environmental
and ecological
effects. These pollutants are also volatile organic compounds and are major
precursors of ground-level ozone (smog).
Smog is formed when a mixture of pollutants react on warm, sunny days. Smog can
cause
respiratory problems, including coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath
and chest pain.
People with asthma, children and the elderly are especially at
risk, but these health
concerns are important to everyone.
Hazardous wastes have properties that make them dangerous or potentially harmful
to
human health and the environment. They exhibit at least one of four
characteristics - flammability,
corrosivity, reactivity or toxicity. They can be
liquids, solids, contained gases or sludges and
can be products of manufacturing
processes or simply discarded commercial products like
cleaning fluids or
pesticides.
Click here for the entire press
release
11/05/07 MDCH releases final Pilot Exposure Investigation report
| Click here to view report | |
| www.michigan.gov |
Release Date: November 05, 2007 Last Update: November 05, 2007 |
| Contact: T.J. Bucholz (517) 241-2112 | |
| Agency: Community Health | |
|
|
|
|
November 5, 2007 The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) has released responses to comments received on the 2005 public comment draft of "A Pilot Exposure Investigation: Dioxin Exposure in Adults Living in the Tittabawassee River Flood Plain Saginaw County, Michigan." MDCH responses to comments are provided in a final Pilot Exposure Investigation (PEI) report. This final PEI report does not address new environmental or biological data that have become available since the draft PEI report was released in 2005. The PEI report found that dioxin levels in some Tittabawassee River Flood Plain study participants were higher than background estimates for people of the same age with no known exposure to dioxins beyond background. While some of the total dioxin toxic equivalent (TEQ) levels in the participants' blood samples were on the high end of the range, all fell between the lowest and highest levels for people with no known exposure to dioxins beyond background. These findings are consistent with those reported for the University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study, which was completed in 2006. The MDCH Division of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology conducted this Investigation under a cooperative agreement with the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The Pilot Exposure Investigation Report, "Dioxin Exposure in Adults Living in the Tittabawassee River Flood Plain" is available on the MDCH web page at http://www.michigan.gov/mdch-toxics, or by calling the MDCH toll free at 1-800-648-6942. Copies of the Report are available for public review at the following locations: - The Grace A. Dow Memorial Library, 1710 West St. Andrews, Midland, Michigan - The Midland County Health Department, 220 W. Ellsworth Street Midland, Michigan - The Saginaw County Health Department, 1600 N. Michigan Avenue, Saginaw, Michigan - The Tittabawassee Township Office, 145 South 2nd, Freeland, Michigan - The Zauel (Saginaw Township) Library, 3100 N. Center Road, Saginaw, Michigan - The Thomas Township Library, 8207 Shields Drive, Saginaw, Michigan - The James Township Hall, 6060 Swan Creek Road, Saginaw, Michigan - The Hoyt Library, 505 Janes Avenue, Saginaw, Michigan - The Saginaw Bay-District office of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, 503 N. Euclid Avenue, Suite 9, Bay City, Michigan. Requests for copies should be addressed to Dr. Linda D. Dykema, Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Environmental Health, 201 Townsend Street, P.O. Box 30195, Lansing, Michigan 48909. People may also call the toll-free telephone number, 1 800 648-6942 (1-800-MI TOXIC). |
|
11/05/07
Lone Tree
Council / TRW Dioxin Update/
| Bay City Times launching Saginaw Bay Watershed Watch |
| Dioxin, public health, and food for thought |
| Manufacturing Uncertainty: Contested Science and the Protection of the Public's Health and Environment |
| Dioxin alters normal ratio's of girls and boys |
| EPA right in urging Dow to speed up work |
Click here to view the entire update
11/01/07
Tittabawassee River EPA Dredging Pollution Reports
On June 27, 2007, U.S. EPA ordered The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) to
negotiate an
Administrative Order on Consent, to address removal of extremely
elevated levels of
dioxin-contaminated sediment within Reach D of the
Tittabawassee River near Midland, Michigan.
Dow contractors mobilized to the
site on July 9, 2007. Dow agreed to the terms of the Order
and on July 12,
2007, the Order was signed by the Regional Administrator and Dow.
Below are the links to latest EPA "Pollution" reports which summarize the progress made so far on reach D and O:
|
Reach D as
of October 29
| ||
|
Reach O as of
October 24
|
For additional information and past progress reports, click here
10/25/07
Lone Tree
Council Press release
Lone Tree Council P.O. 1251, Bay City, Michigan 48706 (Fighting for
environmental justice since 1978)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Michelle Hurd Riddick: (989) 799-3313
OCTOBER 24, 2007 Rita Jack: (517) 484-2372
Terry Miller (989) 686-6386
Kathy Henry (989) 695-5348
GREENS AND RESIDENTS ALARMED BY EPA ACTION IN DIOXIN CLEANUP Fear Delayed
Clean-Up; Loss of Transparency Due to Closed-Door meetings
Local and state environmental organizations and residents are expressing alarm
over
recent reports that regulators are again going behind closed doors to
negotiate next
steps on the cleanup of Dow’s massive contamination in the
Saginaw Bay watershed.
EPA recently announced plans to engage in confidential
discussions with Dow Chemical,
the polluter. “The full sunshine of public
scrutiny is essential to keep the parties honest,”
said Michelle Hurd Riddick of
the Lone Tree Council.” While we welcome the EPA’s
recent announcement to demand
action on the contamination, we want the taxpayers
and residents of this region
to be fully informed, and we want all of the agencies working
together”
Dow Chemical Company is responsible for one of the largest contamination sites
in the
country, with highly toxic doxins and furans, cancer causing synthetic
wastes produced
by the company and discharged into the Tittabawassee and Saginaw
Rivers, as well as
into Lake Huron. Since the discovery of the extent of the
contamination five years ago,
Dow and the state have bobbed and weaved over
responsibility for the contamination,
removal, and the risk of dioxin. Over the
past five years, the Dow Chemical Company,
regulated by permit through the
federal law called the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (RCRA), has missed
deadlines, provided the State inadequate sampling plans, initiated
unapproved
actions, and waged a public campaign denying the danger of dioxin. But after
five years, this summer saw the DEQ pursue the first company directed efforts to
remove
some hotspots of contamination in the Tittabawassee River. Suddenly, the
EPA has had
enough, and when they reportedly saw more foot-dragging from the
company they stepped in.
The sound of clapping, however, has been silenced by the realization that the
EPA may not
bring the comprehensive cleanup or openness that residents and
environmentalists want.
“The EPA comes to the table with a different set of regulations than the state,”
said Lone
Tree Council’s Michelle Hurd Riddick. “The state has a signed license
by the company, a
requirement of transparency, and a legal obligation to deal
with off-site chemicals. The
EPA has Superfund (CERCLA), and it has a different
set of regulations. Among the tools in
their toolbox is a provision that
negotiations between polluter and regulator will occur in a
climate of
confidentiality,” said Riddick. “ We’ve been down that road with the state, and
the closed door negotiations resulted in a weak agreement and slowed progress on
cleanup.
We don’t want to go there again.” ...
Click here to view entire PR
10/24/07
Lone Tree
Council / TRW Dioxin Update/
Play it again Sam!
Beginning tomorrow Dow, DEQ and EPA will once again be going behind closed doors
to NEGOTIATE
a cleanup with Dow Chemical. Dioxin Update # 102 contains the
letter from EPA initiating the
negotiations under Superfund. Dow could have
challenged EPA because they are regulated under
a license being handled by MDEQ.
Dow chose not too. It's not like Dow to back down from a
legal
challenge...ever. Nobody knows why EPA is doing this and EPA has not seen fit
to explain
to the community their rationale. Yes, once again closed door
meetings and again no public involvement.
Again no way to conduct the business
of the taxpayers over the rivers and resources we own.
While no one should give this closed door process their blessings, DEQ in order
to secure a seat
at the table with EPA and Dow had to agree to confidential
negotiations. MDEQ still has authority
under Dow's license to regulate the
company and EPA by issuing these orders is muddying the
waters with Superfund.
The dynamics are going change. They always do when Dow is behind
closed doors.
We've heard from folks on the Kalamazoo River and Pine River and they are
raising
red flags all over the place for us with regard to EPA's recent
involvement. We appreciate their insight.........
Here is a short history of negotiations with Dow Chemical just in the last six
years.
| In 2001/2002 DEQ and Dow, were behind closed doors
negotiating Consent Orders with Dow Chemical for their dioxin contamination of the Tittabawassee, Saginaw Rivers and Saginaw Bay. Defined as “fatally flawed and illegal” by the Attorney General’s office they never saw the light of day. |
| In 2003 DEQ, Dow, EPA negotiated and finalized Dow’s
RCRA Corrective Action license to address Dow Chemical’s dioxin contamination of the Tittabawassee, Saginaw Rivers and Saginaw Bay. This license was to be a clear path to finally addressing this serious contamination. |
| In 2005 DEQ, Dow and the Governor’s office went
behind closed doors to further negotiate the cleanup of the Tittabawassee, Saginaw Rivers and Saginaw Bay. Secreted away from the public the reasons for these closed door meetings…Dow, DEQ and without protest from EPA, emerged after 8 months with a negotiated “FRAMEWORK for and agreement “ |
| Later in 2005 Dow, DEQ, EPA., USFWS, DOJ agreed to
private closed door meetings under the Natural Resource Damage Assessment to once again negotiate Dow’s responsibility to address their contamination of the Tittabawassee, Saginaw Rivers and Bay. |
| 2007, October Dow, DEQ and EPA will again be going
behind closed doors to negotiate under Superfund, Dow Chemical’s cleanup of the Tittabawassee River and possibly the Saginaw River and Bay. |
We applauded EPA for walking away from the NRDA process
because it wasn't transparent. But were
they lying? .........think about it.
They have now driven the entire cleanup behind closed doors to the
exclusion of
the public............what could be less transparent?
Go to the TRW web site to view related documents.
Michelle Hurd Riddick
Lone Tree Council
10/23/07
EPA right in urging Dow to speed up work
To the editor (Midland Daily
News):
Your editorial of Sept. 17th entitled "Our View: EPA should finish its work"
suggests that
because the agency's dioxin reassessment is not yet completed,
dioxin toxicity remains
open to serious scientific debate. This is simply not
true.
EPA has extensive scientific knowledge on the toxicity of dioxin. Thousands
of peer-reviewed
scientific studies have been published. No matter how you look
at dioxin, one fact remains indisputable:
dioxin is a highly toxic compound. In
fact, EPA's reassessment of the most recent science indicated
that dioxin is a
more potent toxic chemical than previously believed. A recent University of
Michigan
study funded by Dow Chemical revealed that people consuming fish from
the Tittabawassee River,
Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay have higher than average
levels of dioxin in their blood. Any increase
in the dioxin levels of fish
consumers is a health concern.
For more than 25 years, the State of Michigan has found it necessary to
issue consumption
advisories on fish from the Tittabawassee River, the Saginaw
River and the Saginaw Bay because
dioxin contamination extends over 50 miles.
EPA believes that the current science on dioxin is
sufficient to develop cleanup
criteria for the watershed. Even without a final dioxin reassessment,
EPA has
moved forward with dioxin cleanups across the nation to protect public health.
The Midland Daily News is right to urge EPA to continue its work on a final
dioxin reassessment
and take into consideration comments provided by the
National Academy of Science. And EPA is
right to urge Dow Chemical to continue
and accelerate its work to restore the Saginaw Bay watershed
so that fish
consumers will no longer need to be concerned about dioxin in the fish they eat.
Richard Karl, Director
Superfund Division
U.S. EPA Region 5
Midland
10/23/07 Study indicates
dioxin pollution lead to more baby girls
Dioxin Pollution Leads to More Baby Girls: Study
By Jonathan Spicer
Reuters
Thursday 18 October 2007
Toronto - More girls than boys are born in some Canadian communities because
airborne
pollutants called dioxins can alter normal sex ratios, even if the
source of the pollution is
many kilometers away, researchers say.
Dioxin exposure has been shown elsewhere to lead to both higher cancer rates
and the
birth of more females.
Researchers at the IntrAmericas Centre for Environment and Health say their
findings,
released this month, confirm the phenomenon in Canada.
The study also reveals the health risks of living within 25 km (15.5 miles)
of sources
of pollution - a greater distance than previously thought, they said.
http://ca.today.reuters.com/news
10/12/07
Tittabawassee River EPA Dredging Pollution Reports
On June 27, 2007, U.S. EPA ordered The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) to
negotiate an
Administrative Order on Consent, to address removal of extremely
elevated levels of
dioxin-contaminated sediment within Reach D of the
Tittabawassee River near Midland, Michigan.
Dow contractors mobilized to the
site on July 9, 2007. Dow agreed to the terms of the Order
and on July 12,
2007, the Order was signed by the Regional Administrator and Dow.
Below are the links to latest EPA "Pollution" reports which summarize the
progress made so far
on reach D and O:
|
Reach D as
of October 12
|
For additional information and past progress reports, click here
10/10/07 EPA gives Dow 60 days to negotiate cleanup settlement of rivers
and Saginaw Bay
CONTACT: Mick Hans,
312-353-5050, hans.mick@epa.gov Anne Rowan, 312-353-9391,
rowan.anne@epa.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 07-OPA175
EPA to Dow Chemical: 60 day
clock to negotiate on Tittabawassee River system
cleanup starts today
CHICAGO (Oct. 10, 2007) - At a
meeting today in Chicago, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region 5 formally
notified Dow Chemical that it has a limited opportunity to negotiate with the
Agency on a settlement to conduct an investigation, a study and interim response
actions for
dioxin contamination in the Tittabawassee River system. The Midland,
Mich., company has until
Oct. 17 to decide whether it will negotiate.
The targeted area begins
upstream of Dow's Midland Plant and may extend downstream to the
Saginaw River,
its floodplains and portions of Saginaw Bay in Lake Huron.
EPA has the authority to call
for negotiations under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation
and Liability Act, or Superfund. Superfund specifies the process in which a
remedial
investigation/ feasibility study (RI/FS), cleanup removal actions and
remedy design must be conducted.
"The Superfund law provides a
strong mechanism to continue necessary actions to comprehensively
and
definitively address the issue of dioxin contamination in the river system,"
said Ralph Dollhopf,
associate director of EPA's Regional Superfund Division.
"The work begun this summer to address
three hot spots in the Tittabawassee
River is also being performed under Superfund authority."
Dow's expected RI/FS effort
must evaluate the nature and extent of hazardous substances, pollutants
or
contaminants from the site and assess the risks they present to human health and
the environment.
It must also provide enough data to develop and evaluate a
range of cleanup options.
If the company agrees begin negotiations, Dow will have until Dec. 10 to present
EPA with a good faith
offer demonstrating its willingness to conduct or finance
an RI/FS and design a remedy. EPA may
choose to extend negotiations until Jan.
9, 2008, if appropriate.
Top EPA and Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality officials are meeting today in Lansing
to
discuss their respective roles throughout this process.
Dow's Midland facility is a
1,900-acre chemical manufacturing plant. Dioxins and furans were
byproducts from
the manufacture of chlorine-based products. Past waste disposal practices,
fugitive emissions and incineration at Dow have resulted in on- and off-site
dioxin and furan contamination.
10/08/07 EPA prepares to offer initial response to NAS Dioxin Risk
Report
Inside EPA
October 5, 2007
EPA PREPARES TO OFFER INITIAL RESPONSE TO NAS DIOXIN RISK REPORT
EPA is poised to issue a plan detailing how the agency will address
recommendations
from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for improving its
risk assessment of dioxin,
a move that will provide a long-awaited guide on the
agency's future efforts but could
prolong uncertainty over how to regulate the
ubiquitous contaminant.
Although the plan for responding to NAS will be released in approximately a
month, an
agency source says EPA may not have a revised risk assessment
available for peer review
for up to two years, and may not ultimately develop a
full toxicological profile for dioxin
because the agency's current
responsibility "is to respond to NAS."
The source says developing a profile for the Integrated Risk Information System
(IRIS) --
which contains agency risk data used by state and federal officials to
set health and cleanup
standards -- would be the "logical next step" after
preparing the response, but internal
discussions of the agency's lon
The
Site covers the area in the vicinity of, an historic, 1,200 foot-long,
The
Site known as “Reach O of the Tittabawassee River Superfund Site,” is