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The Alliance For A Clean Environment

Printable Version

Background of Oxy Superfund Events

1989 - Occidental in Pottstown was declared a Superfund Site.
1990 - ATSDR completed a health risk evaluation.
1993 - EPA issued a Record of Decision for clean up.
2001 - ACE received a Technical Assistant Grant to hire an expert to evaluate progress in EPA’s 1993 Record of Decision.
2002 - ACE’s TAG advisor found:

1. Occidental and EPA failed to carry out clean up of 4 earthen lagoons as required by EPA’s Record of Decision in 1993.
2. Very little progress was made towards restoration of the contaminated aquifer to drinking water standards.

Population around Occidental

• Over 31,000 residents live within 2 miles of Occidental.

• Tens of thousands more residents live downwind/downstream of Occidental.

• There are 25 schools and day-care centers within 2 miles of Occidental.

• Pottstown Memorial Medical Center is located within ½ mile of Occidental.

• There are thousands of people working at hundreds of professional and business offices in the immediate vicinity of Occidental.

Why is ACE Concerned?

1. Chemicals “released from” and “buried on-site” at Occidental Chemical in Pottstown present significant risks to public health.

2. EPA has never tested the site for DIOXIN. EPA does not consider DIOXIN in determining Occidental Chemical’s health risks, even though DIOXIN can harm human health at parts per trillion. DIOXIN could be a significant source of DIOXIN, exposing residents in the air, water, soil, and fish.

3. EPA evaluates public health risks from Occidental’s vinyl chloride emissions from just one route of exposure at a time. That is not the way area residents, children in the schools, or workers in the vicinity are exposed to Occidental’s vinyl chloride.

4. Private wells could be contaminated. There is no real proof they are not.

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