http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11809616&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472542&rfi=6
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Residents pack MCFTA to hear dioxin answers |
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The top layer of Midland's dioxin-contaminated soil might be removed and replaced. Or maybe not.
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality director Steve Chester gave an overview of the agency's philosophies on dioxin, but never said exactly what's in store for Midland and when. "I don't see us any closer," said Bill Egerer, organizer of Midland Matters, a resident group mobilized to infuse a local voice into DEQ's local decisions. "There was a lot of head shaking." He and about a hundred other concerned citizens greeted DEQ staff members at a City of Midland-sponsored informational meeting on the dioxin dilemma with signs: "Shame on you DEQ" and "Show me the science." More than 1,700 people crowded the Midland Center for the Arts by the time the program began. Chester, along with representatives from The Dow Chemical Co., The City of Midland and Midland County Health Department, entertained questions from the community on problems and proceedings. "With respect to corrective action, Dow is accountable under federal and state law to remediate that contamination," Chester said. That means making sure the concentration of dioxin in Midland soil falls below the controversial state standard of 90 parts per trillion, a measurement derived from an algorithm that takes into account potential exposure factors. |
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Rita Jack
Water Sentinels Project Director
Mackinac Chapter Sierra Club
tel: 517-484-2372
http://www.sierraclub.org/watersentinels/
"Speak out - even if your voice shakes."