NO BORDERS: COMMUNITIES LIVING AND WORKING WITH ASARCO
a project in process – some resources – Anne Fischel, Lin Nelson, July 2006
From the Tacoma WA area:
Tacoma newspaper, with intermittent coverage of Asarco, local to
national. Susan Gordon, Les Blumenthal, key reporters.
Seattle paper, with coverage, including Asarco site in Everett.
Daily, WA Capitol of Olympia -- Asarco plume into Thurston County.
Citizens for a Healthy Bay, key citizens organization, focusing on Commencement Bay Superfund Site, which includes Asarco site in Ruston (mile-sqare town next to Tacoma). CHB does citizen research, public education, remediation projects.
WA Toxics Coalition, regional advocate for environmental health.
Collaborative Health & Environment, national org, WA chapter. Physicians, researchers, citizen activists, resources, strategies.
Institute for Children’s Environmental Health, partner organization.
Independent citizens group in Ruston WA, site of Asarco smelter from 1898-1986. Working on effective post-industrial development plan for the community. Website provides local news – development, Asarco clean-up, Ruston Centennial.
County Health Dept, Asarco plume project. Provides soil sampling, health assessments and education about remediation and safe preventive measures – particularly focusing on children.
Seattle & King County Soil Sampling Studies, Soil Safety Guidelines. South King Co is one of the affected areas.
WA Dept of Ecology guides much of WA State work on Asarco impacts, particularly the Asarco plume analysis of 4 impacted counties – Pierce, King, Kitsap & Thurston.
WA State cleanup level for arsenic is 20ppm, for lead 250ppm.
EPA Region 10 – Federal Asarco Tacoma Smelter Superfund Cleanup Site, @ 2-square miles.
EPA SF cleanup levels for this area – arsenic 230ppm, lead 500ppm.
US Senator Marie Cantwell (D-WA) legislation on Superfund and corporate bankruptcies, based on Asarco-Tacoma situation. (search: superfund, bankruptcy)
A few other key resources:
Daily news; issues include lead, children’s health, policy.
Struggles in mining country, community right-to-know.
Asarco Chapter 11 Restructuring (case # 05-21207), Bankruptcy Ct
Steelworkers on Asarco bankruptcy, pensions, health, environ, coalitions.
Sierra Club’s coalition efforts on Asarco at the border; focus El Paso. Look for Marilyn Snell’s May06 Sierra article on Asarco – “Going for Broke