EPA refuses to test/reveal petrochemical & oil industries NO Toxic Level

[papau]

New Orleans ‘cancer alley’ / love canal will not be discussed by our media because EPA will not be questioned by US Media - not that our US Media is controlled by the RW GOP - they just act that way.

http://www.bushgreenwatch.org/mt_archives/000295.php


September 20th 2005

Critics Say EPA Withholding Information on New Orleans Contamination

Journalists, government watchdogs and a top Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official have criticized EPA’s inability to provide adequate data on the location and danger of chemicals leaked into New Orleans communities in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Last week Hugh Kaufman, a senior EPA policy analyst in the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, said of EPA’s water testing efforts, “There is not enough information to draw any conclusions other than EPA has become totally incompetent at water testing, or there is a cover up.” <1>

George Sorvalis, outreach associate for OMB Watch, a nonprofit government accountability group, told BushGreenwatch, “EPA does not appear to be testing for chemicals related to the petrochemical and oil industries, including diesel and byproducts of petrochemical refining. These are chemicals you would expect EPA to test for.”

“EPA’s sampling to date has been spotty and inconsistent,” says Darryl Malek-Wiley, a New Orleans-based environmental justice advocate for Sierra Club, who spoke to BushGreenwatch from Baton Rouge. “The amount of sampling that has been done doesn’t fully characterize what is happening in New Orleans.”

Sorvalis, who has been in close communication with a number of scientists and researchers working in the New Orleans area, said EPA’s failure to assess the presence and danger of such chemicals presents a particular concern for rescue workers and others exposed to the contaminated water. “Many chemical byproducts of the petrochemical industry are hazardous to human health and can breach certain types of protective gear,” said Sorvalis. “If EPA is not testing for them, how can people make the right choices to protect themselves?”<snip>

OMB Watch has posted a link for citizens to take action on this issue by urging the EPA to inform the public of its testing results as soon as possible. To access the website click here. http://www.ombwatch.org/info/NewOrleans/smalltoxic.html

<1> “Senior EPA official calls hurricane testing inadequate,” Greenwire, Sept. 12, 2005 http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/searcharchive/test_search-display.cgi?q=Hugh+Kaufman&file=%2FGreenwire%2Fsearcharchive%2FNewsline%2F2005%2FSeptember12%2F09120501.htm

<2> “A Flawed Tool — Environmental Reporters' Experiences With the Freedom of Information Act,” Society of Environmental Journalists, Sept. 12, 2005 http://www.sej.org/foia/SEJ_FOIA_Report2005.pdf

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. bastards. We have no government. Just private dicks for the corporations

[mom cat]

2. It is only peoples' lives at stake...They don't care.

[Lindacooks]

3. Weren't there some independent groups doing some testing?

It's not that difficult, and it's not like it's hard to get water samples.

[Fovea]

4. As they say in medicine

If you don't want to find a fever, don't take a temperature.