CCA News & Information Articles

Tests: Runoff from Koppers contains chemicals 01-01-2009 Hey Everybody, This article is a perfect example of the games industry has played skirting government legislation that has little teeth or little will to protect the environment, people and wildlife surrounding this Superfund/working Industry site. Dancing with the devil might be a better description of asking industry to forgo ethics for safety. In this New Year we have hope that a new government in the U.S.A. and a new President is as disturbed as we are by such blatant disregard for our planet. We are also counting on the introduction of new laws to protect and also to punish those who have committed what should be deemed crimes not business transactions. Take care everybody and please keep safe. Deborah Tests: Runoff from Koppers contains chemicals By Megan Rolland Staff writer Published: Thursday, January 1, 2009 at 6:01 a.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 10:02 p.m. Local officials are concerned that rain water running off the Koppers wood-treatment facility near N. Main Street may be carrying arsenic and copper into Gainesville's creeks. Simpson Timber agrees to clean-up Dioxin 04-30-2008 By: Sara Wilmot Adjacent to Humboldt Bay's only public fishing pier is a drainage ditch that is rampant with the cancer-causing chemical dioxin. This ditch is located on property formally owned by Simpson Timber Company and drains directly into Humboldt Bay. Dioxin levels in the ditch are thousands of times higher than Environmental Protection Agency standards. The State Water Resources Control Board listed Humboldt Bay as "impaired" last year after dioxin was found in the tissue of local fish and oysters. Chemical-specific health consultation for chromated copper arsenate chemical mixture: port of Djibouti. 05-01-2007 The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) prepared this health consultation to provide support for assessing the public health implications of hazardous chemical exposure, primarily through drinking water, related to releases of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) in the port of Djibouti. CCA from a shipment, apparently intended for treating electric poles, is leaking into the soil in the port area. CCA is a pesticide used to protect wood against decay-causing organisms. This mixture commonly contains chromium(VI) (hexavalent chromium) as chromic acid, arsenic(V) (pentavalent arsenic) as arsenic pentoxide and copper (II) (divalent copper) as cupric oxide, often in an aqueous solution or concentrate. Experimental studies of the fate of CCA in soil and monitoring studies of wood-preserving sites where CCA was spilled on the soil indicate that the chromium(VI), arsenic and copper components of CCA can leach from soil into groundwater and surface water. In addition, at CCA wood-preserving sites, substantial concentrations of chromium(VI), arsenic and copper remained in the soil and were leachable into water four years after the use of CCA was discontinued, suggesting prolonged persistence in soil, with continued potential for leaching. The degree of leaching depended on soil composition and the extent of soil contamination with CCA. In general, leaching was highest for chromium(VI), intermediate for arsenic and lowest for copper. Thus, the potential for contamination of sources of drinking water exists. Kerr-McGee working on land-reuse plan for former Avoca plant 10-14-2003 By Joe Sylvester , Times-Shamrock News Writer 10/14/2003 Kerr-McGee Corp. will come up with a land-reuse plan for its former plant site in Avoca, where contamination spawned class action lawsuits joined by more than 1,000 residents. Borough council President Joseph Satkowski said at its recent meeting the company wrote to the borough seeking comment on the plan that would involve public comment. Solicitor Charles McCormick did not think the company had a project plan yet. "We passed (the matter) on to the (borough) engineer for technical review," the attorney said. Major Lawsuits Filed Against Colfax and Durawood By Lundy & Davis; Companies Blamed for Serious Health Problems 10-17-2003 ALEXANDRIA, LOUISIANA, Oct. 17 -/E-Wire/-- The following was released today by Lundy & Davis Law Firm: Lawsuits against Colfax Treating Co. and Durawood have been filed in the Rapides Parish Courthouse today in Alexandria. The suits are being filed on behalf of numerous citizens of Pineville and Alexandria who believe years of air, water and soil contamination by the wood treatment process at these two facilities have led to their serious health problems, including respiratory diseases, increased cancer rates and neurological conditions. Creosote contamination from wood treatment facilities found on residential properties in Prince Albert 12-09-2004 Results of environmental testing in a residential area in the Riverview Subdivision of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan northeast reveal the presence of creosote contamination on several properties. EPA reports contamination from old sewer 04-28-2004 HAVERFORD TWP. - More than a decade since National Wood Preservers shut down its wood treatment operations in Havertown, its pollutants are still plaguing Havertown residents. In-water cap to be installed at Superfund site 04-16-2004 The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has signed a contract with Remtech Inc. to construct an in-river sediment cap at a contaminated site on the Willamette River in North Portland. In-water cap to be installed at Superfund site 04-16-2004 The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has signed a contract with Remtech Inc. to construct an in-river sediment cap at a contaminated site on the Willamette River in North Portland. The project, scheduled to take place this summer, is the latest phase in a series of cleanup efforts designed to prevent harmful contaminants from migrating from the McCormick & Baxter site and entering the river. Pollution: Sakina residents in danger? 03-24-2004 Residents of Sakina suburb located in Arusha Municipality are allegedly exposed to toxic fumes, emanating from a timber treatment plant, it has been claimed. The victims of the fumes believed to be potential for cancer include more than 200 students of the University of Dar es Salaam Computing Center, Arusha Branch, which shares a wall with the plant. At the center of this complaint is the Timbers and Poles Treatment Plant, a subsidiary of System Builders Furniture, located along the Arusha – Namanga Road. Juken Nissho Winner Of Roger Award For Worst Corp 02-20-2004 To quote the Judges' Report, Juken Nissho is "a company which operates wood processing plants in Kaitaia, Masterton and Gisborne and creates work for more than 1,000 New Zealanders. The reasons for the Award are JN's horrifying safety record in its plants and its arrogant disregard for the welfare of the Kaitaia community with the emissions from its triboard plant in the town". The judges called for a public inquiry into both aspects - health and safety, and pollution by its Kaitaia mill. Lawsuits against Colfax Treating Co. and Durawood 10-17-2003 - Source: Lundy & Davis Law Firm Major Lawsuits Filed Against Colfax and Durawood By Lundy & Davis; Companies Blamed for Serious Health Problems Friday October 17, 11:08 am ET Kerr-McGee working on land-reuse plan for former Avoca plant 10-14-2003 According to the complaints, plant workers used chemicals such as benzene and arsenic, classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as probable carcinogens, to pressure treat the railroad ties and left the chemical-laden ties outside to dry. According to the lawsuits, rain and other weather conditions caused them to emit odors and toxins, contaminating air, soil and groundwater. Superfund to pay for cleanup in East Feliciana 08-17-2003 Today the former Central Wood Preserving Inc. plant in East Feliciana Parish is a highly toxic hazardous waste site If parish officials can find the money, in a couple of years the property could be a children's playground that also recognizes the timber industry's role in the parish's history. Ties Contaminate 07-10-2002 - http://www.beyondpesticides.org/main.html Beyond Pesticides Daily News Updated on March 15, 2002 "Recycled" Utility Poles and Railroad Ties Contaminate Homes Around the Contaminating Small Communities Appears to Be a Pattern for Kerr-McGee, The following was issued by the Gibbons Law Firm: Beyond Pesticides News Release 07-06-2002 Wood Treatment Facility Contaminates Louisiana Community Sucking up the seepage 06-03-2004 The plant smells like burgers on the barbecue, which is funny because what's actually cooking is bentonite, 1.2 million pounds of bentonite. Aqua Technologies of Wyoming Inc., a Casper firm, is making its biggest sale ever of modified bentonite, also called activated clay, or ET-1, that sucks up hydrocarbons while letting water run off. Bushels of the stuff in white bags emblazoned with the "Steamboat and Rider" Wyoming symbol are bound for a site in Portland, Ore., where toxic contaminants are ruining the water. Extractability of metals and ecotoxicity of soils from two old wood impregnation sites in Finland 10-19-2004 Four metal-contaminated soil samples were classified using physical methods, extracted by selective extraction procedures and analyzed for chemical concentrations. Kerr-McGee ,Duryea Firm Named in Class-action Suit 01-05-2005 More than 4,000 people are involved in a class action lawsuit filed in Luzerne County Court against the Kerr-McGee Corp., Avoca, and the T.P. Corp., Duryea, that claims the wood and fabric treatment plants caused life-threatening health ailments article down, email me for a copy Residents split over cleanup efforts 01-07-2005 - By Mike Penprase The most involved cleanup effort of the three centering in Ava's industrial area could begin in the spring, but local residents at a Tuesday night meeting continued to be divided about the work. Judge approves 29 out-of-court settlements involving Kerr-McGee 07-11-2008 Luzerne County Judge Thomas Burke approved 29 out-of-court settlements between the Kerr-McGee Corp. and several hundred area residents who claimed ground contamination from the company's former wood treatment facility in Avoca caused serious health problems or deaths. In the largest settlement, the family of John Gorzkowski, a 32-year-old man who died of leukemia in 1988, was awarded $450,000. The second highest settlement, $234,550, went to James Manley, brother of the late Gail Manley, 41, who allegedly developed liver disease as a result of the contamination and died in 2001. Most of the settlements were in the range of $2,700 to $20,000. Environmental cleanup plan for A. C. Dutton Lumber Yard site up for public comment 11-14-2008 POUGHKEEPSIE – The state Department of Environmental Conservation wants public comment on its proposed remedy to address contamination at the former A.C. Dutton Lumber Yard site at 2 Hoffman Street in the City and Town of Poughkeepsie. The site, which has been used for a number of industrial operations, most recently as a pressure treated lumber production facility, is known to have extensive areas contaminated with arsenic, chromium and petroleum. Once remediated, future development of the site is mixed residential and commercial so the DEC says the more stringent soil cleanup objectives have been selected.