[CPEO-BIF] Residents see good, bad in toxics cleanup

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

California
MERCURY NEWS
Residents see good, bad in toxics cleanup
Property Values, Safety Weighted in Mtn. View
By Joshua L. Kwan
Posted on Mon, Nov. 17, 2003

Two years ago, Liz and Mark Gogolewski bought their first home in a
manicured new Mountain View neighborhood built atop an abandoned
electronics plant.

Toxins from the plant lurked nearby. But environmental experts had said
they lay mostly harmless and firmly trapped in pools of water under the
soil. So in the mid-1990s, the land-strapped city had eagerly rezoned
the property for housing, close to public transit and relatively
affordable for young families.

Then in 2001, government toxicologists trooped into the local elementary
school and issued a frightening warning: This toxin is probably many
times more dangerous than previously thought, and it could be seeping
into unprotected homes.

Don't panic, they said, the chemical is not an immediate health risk.
But over a period of 30 years, and especially for young children and the
elderly, it might cause cancer or neurological problems.

``I was shocked and alarmed,'' said Liz Gogolewski, 32, who is pregnant
with the couple's first child.

The local region of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has taken a
controversial, aggressive approach to the degreasing agent known as TCE,
or trichloroethylene. It has adopted much tougher safety standards for
TCE than some of its peers -- even as toxicologists disagree over the
science behind the changes.

The local EPA is going back into contaminated areas -- including Whisman
Station, the 500-home neighborhood where the Gogolewskis live -- to
conduct a battery of additional tests. If it finds elevated levels of
TCE in a building -- as it has in just one home so far -- it can install
underground ventilation systems or seal cracks and openings. But the
government's presence has evoked mixed emotions from residents.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/7281905.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CPEO: A DECADE OF SUCCESS.  Your generous support will ensure that our 
important work on military and environmental issues will continue.  
Please consider one of our donation options.  Thank you.
http://www.groundspring.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2086-0|721-0