Friday,
February 10, 2006
JEREMIAH
STETTLER
THE
Tiny footsteps led down the
dock at
With a crack of emotion in
her voice,
"What is Dow (Chemical
Co.) going to do about this?" Averill, 58, asked of state regulators and
Dow officials at the
The first thing, Dow
officials responded, is to find out where the contamination lies, how it got
there and what effect it might have on people and the environment.
The chemical giant
presented plans Thursday for measuring the scope and impact of dioxin pollution
downstream of its
The plan calls for more
extensive sampling along the Tittabawassee River with
dioxin tests at 25 locations for river-bottom sediment, 60 for floodplain soil
and three for surface water. The task may include up to 250 samples.
Dow officials also intend
to sample dozens of locations upstream of its plant -- a sampling area not
affected by historic dioxin releases -- to better frame the downstream data.
Plans also include a human
health study and ecological impact study to determine what dioxin is doing to
the people and animals that live along the river.
"Today we've got a
picture," said Dow spokesman John Musser. "We think we know some
things about where these contaminants are, how they got there and where they
might move in a flood situation. But we don't have enough answers to feel real
confident about saying, 'This is the way it is and this is what we need to do
to deal with it.'
"The only option we
really have is to do the work to understand what we don't know."
The state Department of
Environmental Quality wouldn't go into specifics about Dow's plan Thursday,
only that it doesn't measure up to the department's expectations.
"We need to complete
our review," said Deputy Director Jim Sygo.
"I suspect it will be some time. We feel there are areas that need to be
improved."
Sygo declined to give a time frame for when the state would complete its review of the work plan.
The lack of a concrete
end-point irks residents such as Carol Chisholm, a 54-year-old
"I don't see any
action," she said. "It's just lip service to make you think they are
doing something."
Another resident, this time
an 18-year-old, attended the meeting partly because of a class assignment at
Heritage High and partly because she lives along the river wondering how long
people would have to wait to see cleanup happen.
"I totally understand
the need for testing," said Katie Eimers, the
daughter of Steven Eimers and Nancy Darling of
Dow's work plans are
available online at www.michigan.gov/deq
dioxin. v
Jeremiah Stettler is a staff writer at the Saginaw News. You may
reach him at 776-9685.