[CPEO-BIF] Pollution notification, Santa Clara, CA

["lsiegel@cpeo.org" <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Sounding alert on pollutants
AFTER EXPOSURE INCIDENT, STATE, LOCAL OFFICIALS REVISIT PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
SYSTEM

By Julie Patel
San Jose Mercury News (CA)
May. 10, 2006

A chance exchange between an Intel contractor and construction workers at
Pedro's Restaurant in Santa Clara has prompted a new look about how the
public should be told about soil and water pollutants.

In November, the Intel contractor was walking past Pedro's, which is on
land owned by Intel, when he noticed construction workers digging up the
parking lot. He asked them if they knew the land is contaminated with
pesticides and requires state approval to work on. They said they didn't
know and were concerned. About five workers had already completed most of
the work, but one visited his doctor and another contacted the
Environmental Protection Agency and a television reporter he knew,
according to Intel officials.

Officials from Santa Clara and the state's Department of Toxic Substances
Control launched an investigation into the complaints and are assessing how
to better spread information about contaminated sites.

The ground underneath the restaurant contains arsenic, lead and other
byproducts of pesticides that were used in orchards decades ago. When Intel
bought the land in 1997, it was "capped" or covered with asphalt to ensure
that people weren't exposed to the chemicals.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/health/14543715.htm

-- 
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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