Motorola, Siemens Corp. and GlaxoSmithKline were fined $500,000 Monday for system failures that led to trichloroethylene, or TCE, being released into a private water company’s drinking supply twice in a four-month period.Motorola, Siemens, and GSK are the companies that were responsible for the TCE contamination in Scottsdale's water supply and are responsible for the cleanup of the affected area, known as the North Indian Bend Wash Superfund Site (NIBW).
Expect the fine and more to be discussed, at length, during Wednesday's meeting of the Community Involvement Group (CIG) of the NIBW at the Civic Center Branch Library in Scottsdale. The meeting will be held in the library's auditorium from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Expect a 'colorful' meeting. :))
Background on the history of the NIBW, courtesy The Phoenix New Times, here.
A U.S. Department of Justice press release on the fine here.
EPA press release here.
Previous posts - May 2, 2008, April 4, 2008, February 5, 2008, January 19, 2008. January 18, 2008, January 17, 2008, November 17, 2007, November 15, 2008.
The list isn't even close to being a comprehensive one. :)
More on Wednesday...
I just took a peek at http://www.tftptf.com/ and the picketing of McCain at Camp Lejuene.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to add my own thoughts regarding John McCain and his record on TCE.
I grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona and
thought you ought to know more about
McCain and TCE. I know from personal
experience that John McCain doesn't
give a hoot about his constituents in
the NIBW see:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/r9/sfund/r9sfdocw.nsf/webdisplay/oid-3a4364e2a3ab3c7688256de9006819f2?OpenDocument
To the best of my knowledge, McCain has
never attempted to intervene on behalf
of his contaminated constituents the
way Elizabeth Dole and Hillary Clinton
have done. He ought to be exposed for
ignoring all those children in the NIBW
during his years in office. He chose to
keep the contamination of the
groundwater in Scottsdale very, very
hush-hush. Keating and others would not
have appreciated that kind of publicity.
It wouldn't have been good for that
burgeoning real estate market to talk
about all that poison in the water. (57
THOUSAND POUNDS have been removed thus
far from the municipal wells that
supplied my neighborhood in the 60's &
70's.)
http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/sfund/indianbend/index.html
John McCain even failed to act
when TCE was served to residents this
year. His office staff in Tempe is
apparently oblivious to the issue.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/116853
John McCain has nothing to say about TCE
and he ought to be ashamed of his
disregard for advocating on behalf of
all of his citizens. When I contacted
his office in 2006 about the petition
ATSDR accepted, I received no reply.
It's just not a popular issue for
McCain - he ought to be shamed out of
office. I guess since so many of the
kids I grew up with left the State to
die in other places, he doesn't feel a
need to respond on our behalf. The
ones who still live there, in many
cases, are not aware of their chronic
TCE exposure and it's consequences.