[CPEO-BIF] Emerson site (Ithaca, NY) editorial

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Emerson, TCE and DEC Healthy cynicism prods government


EDITORIAL
Ithaca Journal (NY)
March 8, 2005

More than a decade ago, experts from the New York State Department of 
Environmental Conservation labeled a swath of Ithaca's South Hill as a 
"Class 4" hazardous waste site.

In the jargon of environmental cleanup, "Class 4" essentially means 
"case closed." The conservation department decided that levels of 
chemicals that were spilled decades ago by the former Morse Chain plant 
were at levels that posed an insignificant risk.

After hearing ongoing complaints and concerns from South Hill residents, 
state officials last year found rusting 55-gallon drums that contained 
-- or had contained -- chemicals that were used to degrease chains and 
other items manufactured at the plant. More seriously, levels of 
trichloroethylene (TCE) and other toxic substances connected with the 
plant were found in soil and area basements that were thousands of times 
above the acceptable limit.

...

For the entire editorial, see
http://www.theithacajournal.com/news/stories/20050308/opinion/2056776.html

--
Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org


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