Just in case you missed it! Fort Wayne Essex Spill Early March 2009 – Very interesting viewpoints. I think that Essex, Ft. Wayne, IDEM, et.al. Need to re-evaluate a lot of items. The tank that leaked should have secondary containment, which it did (containment vault) but secondary containment should be large enough to handle the entire amount from the original tank. Then the viewpoint (state environmental officials said there is no risk to human health) seems a bit premature because (The crews wore protective hazardous-material suits and respirators to filter the air they breathe). The chemicals are still able to cause burns even in a diluted state (Phenol is corrosive and even when diluted can cause serious burns after prolonged contact)….and it sounds like the fish kill was due to ice? Toxic soup in St. Marys Chemicals spill from Essex Group; river ice masks extent of fish kill Dan Stockman The Journal Gazette A wire factory spilled hundreds of gallons of hazardous chemicals into the St. Marys River along the Rivergreenway and upstream from two popular parks, but state environmental officials said there is no risk to human health. The spill, which involved chemicals that can burn the skin even when
Read more →An article written by a local blogger, Robert Rouse. Thank You Robert! Change starts at the ground roots level Friday, February 12, 2010 By Robert Rouse Abigail Frost Abigail Frost took the mantle of a grassroots organizer to the nth degree after purchasing a home that overlooked the Maumee River in Fort Wayne, IN. What she found in the river below her home compelled her to found and organize the Save Maumee Grassroots Organization. The riverbank must have looked like a dump site to Frost. Trash and debris littered the banks of the Maumee beneath her home. Frost and her army of volunteers do their best to raise awareness about the problems with not just the Maumee River, but with the other two rivers (St. Jospeh and St. Marys) that converge with the Maumee near downtown Fort Wayne. Each Earth Day, the group organizes a clean-up of the banks. One year resulted in more that two tons of garbage extracted. Here is a little more information about the Three Rivers which, by the way, I live less than 100 yards from the confluence provided by Save Maumee. The 3 Rivers in Fort Wayne, Indiana appear brown
Read more →http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&msa=0&msid=106949531795848980635.00047a1bfebc809599725&ll=39.300299,-90.791016&spn=23.74567,56.25&z=4&source=embed Google Map created by Sierra Club from EPA – Includes sites, hazardous sites and spill sites! Is there one near you?
Read more →http://www.ecofactory.com/news/groups-id-toxic-coal-ash-sites-14-states-demand-regulations-022510 Coal ash is currently being toted as an “green” additive to concrete. Just to clairify… Coal ash is considered hazardous if it is released into air or water, yet when added to concrete it is then rendered safe? Eventually, it would be re-released into the environment when the concrete is removed and ground into gravel again. More on this topic to come.
Read more →Fact Sheet – Understanding the Depth of Northeast Indiana Water Related Issues
Read more →Local FOX News Story – Save Maumee Weighs In – Watch here while it lasts…. http://fortwaynehomepage.net/fulltext/?nxd_id=21324 Reported by: Marchelle McConnell Friday, February 19 2010 Monday Mayor Tom Henry spoke about his efforts to improve the rivers in his state of the city address. The Mayors River efforts are connected to a federal mandate issues by the Environmental Protection Agency. The city is required to improve the rivers by 2025. The city has been working toward this for years. A city official says the reason the mayor included the rivers in his speech this year was to show his commitment to the mandatory project. Abigail Frost, a local clean river activist and founder of Save Maumee, wants to see the city take more action. Frost says I see them bringing up the rivers as movement and progression, yes. I eagerly anticipate what the city has planned in addition to the mandatory EPA regulated long term controlled plan. Frost says the city always has plans, but she wants to see more hands on projects. Frank Suarez, with the City Utilities and Public Works, says Right now we have the upper Healy interceptor which is a pipe that 52 inch wide. It’s going
Read more →So “377,000 gallons of coolant was spilled [that]contained a corrosion inhibitor called 3D Trasar 3DT289, which contains up to 5 percent phosphoric acid and up to 5 percent sulfuric acid, both of which can be hazardous at higher concentrations.” It is important to note that after tests are taken up to several hours later, the damage had been done to the St. Mary’s. The “coolant” will pass along downstream and become diluted. It is naive to think that “it should pose no danger to residents or the environment.” Phosphoric Acid – The phosphate may persist indefinitely in water. Is considered hazardous and burns skin….see for yourself. – http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/p3973.htm Sulfuric Acid is a musculoskeletal toxicant, respiratory toxicant, skin or sense organ toxicant www.scorecard.org/chemical-profiles/summary.tcl?edf_substance_id=7664-93-9#hazards No fines assessed? What do you think? Published:February 26, 2010 3:00 a.m. GE plant coolant spills in river; no threat seen Benjamin Lanka and Dan Stockman The Journal Gazette More than 300,000 gallons of coolant water spilled into the St. Marys River from General Electrics Taylor Street plant this week, but company and state officials said it should pose no danger to residents or the environment. GE employees discovered a water tower line break at
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