[CPEO-BIF] Residents vs. Lockheed, Tallevast, Florida

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Tiny toxic town takes on a corporate Goliath

BY RONNIE GREENE
Miami Herald (FL)
August 14, 2010

The main drag in this tiny blue collar hamlet is nearly hidden west of 
U.S. 301, a world away from the bustle of nearby Carrabba's, The Fresh 
Market and Starbucks. Tallevast Road lacks sidewalks, so if you're 
walking through town, tread gingerly to avoid the work trucks rumbling 
through. A long-closed plant anchors one end of town, hovering like the 
ghost of dead industry.

Yet Tallevast retains a small town richness, where news spreads word of 
mouth, neighbors are often kin, and many, though not all, of the 80 
homes maintain the well-kept look of the working class.

Environmental contamination threatens to destroy this historic black 
town and its heritage. In one of the nation's most emotional 
environmental divides, the residents find themselves pitted against 
giant defense contractor Lockheed Martin, Manatee County, and the state 
of Florida.

The divide takes root at the former American Beryllium Company plant, 
anchoring five acres at 1600 Tallevast Road across from a community 
church. Opened in 1961 and shuttered in 1996, the plant manufactured 
machine parts for nuclear weapons using beryllium-containing metals. 
Workers inhaled hazardous dust and handled a toxic degreaser that 
cleaned machine parts.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/14/1776659/tiny-toxic-town-takes-on-a-corporate.html

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



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