Tag: toxic

  • Criminal Investigation Underway in Air Force Toxic Chemical Release

    environmental Strategist, between the lines:  The United States Military may be the world’s number one polluter.  While military bases offer an economic boom for the communities where they are located, they also have a history of polluting their neighbors.  Billions of tax dollars are spent each year cleaning up pollution caused by our military.  Contamination from military operations can spread for miles impacting third party properties.

    My experience is the military is slow to identify contamination and even slower in paying to take care of the problem.  What is your financial assurance strategy if you are near a military base to address pollution liabilities?  Pollution insurance can protect you from third party polluters.

    U.S. Air Force photo

    Associated Press | Nov 02, 2016 | by Dan Elliott

    DENVER — Military and civilian authorities are investigating whether any laws were broken in the unexplained discharge of 150,000 gallons of wastewater tainted with toxic chemicals at an Air Force base in Colorado.

    The Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are looking into the release of the contaminated wastewater at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, officials said Tuesday.

    The chemicals flowed into the city’s wastewater treatment system but didn’t get into its drinking water, officials said.

    The discharge was discovered on Oct. 12 and announced six days later.

    Air Force officials have scheduled a news conference Wednesday to discuss the incident and other issues surrounding the chemicals, called perfluorinated compounds or PFCs.

    PFCs are an ingredient in firefighting foam used at Peterson and other military installations. They have also been used in non-stick cookware coatings and other applications.

    PFCs have been linked to prostate, kidney and testicular cancer, along with other illnesses. The Air Force announced in August it would switch to some other type of foam.

    Air Force officials haven’t said how high the levels of PFCs were in the wastewater released at Peterson.

    The Colorado Springs wastewater treatment system isn’t set up to remove PFCs, so they were still in the water when it was discharged into Fountain Creek, officials said. State officials said no communities take water directly from the creek downstream from the treatment plant.

    The water was in a storage tank used to recirculate the water to a fire training area, officials said. It would have been re-used in firefighting exercises.

    The discharge was discovered during a routine tank inspection. Air Force officials said they found no obvious defects in the tank.

    The Air Force is also investigating whether Peterson is the source of PFC contamination found in well water in two other nearby communities, the town of Fountain and an unincorporated community called Security-Widefield.

  • America’s Toxic Mining Pools: Ticking Time Bombs?

    Environmental Strategist, between the lines:  There are hundreds of thousands of abandoned mines littered across the United States.

    Do not fool yourself and think you are in the clear once you get environmental professionals involved.  Below is a simple example of how even “environmental professionals” make mistakes.

    As you will read below, abandoned mines can release an array of environmental contaminants which can cause third party bodily injury, third party property damage, business interruption, investigation and cleanup costs, legal fees…

    This leads to the question “Who are your neighbors?”  What if a neighboring property causes contamination to come onto your property and it happens to be from an old abandoned mine and there is not an identifiable responsible party?  Under Federal law the property owner is responsible for the environmental condition of their property regardless of who caused the environmental problem.  Pollution liability insurance can protect you from pollution liabilities caused by third parties.

    There are over 500,000 abandoned mines in the U.S. containing noxious brews

    Bob Woods, special to CNBC.com

    On August 5, 3 million gallons of toxic sludge gushed out of the long-abandoned Gold King mine near Silverton, Colorado, and into the Animas River. The Tang-colored torrent, percolating with arsenic, lead and other pollutants, was inadvertently unleashed by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) contractors attempting to clean up wastewater that’s been accumulating since the mine closed in 1923.

    Water flows through a series of sediment retention ponds built to reduce heavy metal and chemical contaminants from the Gold King Mine wastewater accident outside Silverton, Colorado, August 14, 2015.
    Brennan Linsley | AP Water flows through a series of sediment retention ponds built to reduce heavy metal and chemical contaminants from the Gold King Mine wastewater accident outside Silverton, Colorado, August 14, 2015.

    The poisonous plume ran downstream into waterways in Utah, New Mexico and the Navajo Nation, but subsequent tests reportedly show that the toxins have dissipated and the water is safe. Regardless, the episode has revealed an even more frightening, long-festering problem: There are an estimated 500,000 abandoned mines nationwide, though mostly in Western states, an unknown number of which contain similarly noxious brews that could potentially be released and contaminate innumerable water systems and adjoining lands.

    The Denver Post‘s Bruce Finley reported that “230 other old mines [in Colorado are] leaking heavy metals-laced muck into headwaters of the nation’s rivers. These old mines have leaked so much for so long, thousands of gallons a minute, that state agencies don’t track the combined toxic flow.” The EPA has calculated that 40 percent of river headwaters in the West are contaminated by acid mine drainage, which occurs when sulfides in mines are exposed to air and water, creating what’s basically sulfuric acid.

    “These are disasters we know are waiting to happen,” said Jennifer Krill, executive director of Earthworks, a Washington-based environmental group that’s been advocating for reform of a 143-year-old federal law seen as a major source of the dilemma. The General Mining Law of 1872, signed by President Ulysses S. Grant during the unbridled building of the West, permitted mining of gold, silver and other hard-rock minerals on public lands for next-to-nothing lease prices, zero royalties (unlike those paid by oil, gas and coal lessees), scant environmental oversight

    Despite numerous attempts, the law remains on the books, but that may soon change. “An entire river system turning bright orange ought to be the wake-up call for Americans that it’s time to stand up and take notice,” Krill stated.

    “If we modernize the 1872 law, we’ll start to reverse what’s going on by making sure the mining industry takes responsibility for its messes.”-Jennifer Krill, executive director, Earthworks

    Perhaps, but while the horrible images remain fresh, Rep. Raúl Grijalva, an Arizona Democrat, has already called for a congressional hearing on his recently proposed legislation to modernize the antiquated law. Essentially, HR 963—the Hardrock Mining Reform and Reclamation Act of 2015—would levy an 8 percent royalty on new and existing hard-rock mines to create a federal fund to supplement the meager public and private money currently spent on cleanup and remediation activities. Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico announced that he will introduce a similar bill in the Senate next month.

    “The federal estimate for cleaning up contaminated mines is $54 billion, which I think is low-balling,” Grijalva said. “While this [Gold King] incident was a mistake by EPA, the underlying problem is the huge number of abandoned hard-rock mines that are effectively ticking time bombs threatening our rivers and our lands. Congress must provide robust funding to clean up these mines, which is exactly what my [bill] does.”

    “No one is arguing that there isn’t clearly a problem,” said Luke Popovich, vice president of external communications for the Washington, D.C.-based National Mining Association. Yet changing the 1872 law is not the solution, he said, adding that “it is just a predictable way to exploit this accident by raising a completely irrelevant issue.” He cited several post-Earth Day laws—including the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act—that have addressed environmental concerns over mining. “We’re probably the most heavily regulated industry in the U.S.,” he said.

    Instead, the mining industry favors so-called Good Samaritan legislation, which would allow for private groups and mining companies to clean up toxic sites, but at no liability in case of spills like those into the Animas River. “We’ve discussed royalties on new mines,” Popovich said, “if they’re reasonable.” He declined to suggest a figure.

    Earthworks, meanwhile, will continue its push for reform of the mining law. “The government shouldn’t be paying for the cleanup,” Krill said, noting the EPA’s related shoestring budget. “If we modernize the 1872 law, we’ll start to reverse what’s going on by making sure the mining industry takes responsibility for its messes.”

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  • It’s Spring Time and The Smell of Meth Is In The Air

    18 DEC 2008 Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team (KVET) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officers wearing protective Hazmat gear work to dismantle a " meth lab cave" built into the side of a hill in a wooded area between Charles Avenue and East Michigan Avenue Thursday morning. An investigation into a meth manufacturing operation led to the discovery of the underground lab on Kalamazoo's east side. Mark Bugnaski / Kalamazoo Gazette
     Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officers wearing protective Hazmat gear work to dismantle a ” meth lab cave” built into the side of a hill in a wooded area. An investigation into a meth manufacturing operation led to the discovery of the underground lab.
    Mark Bugnaski / Kalamazoo Gazette

    environmental Strategist, between the lines:  Meth labs are a huge environmental hazard that can impact each and every one of us.  Meth labs can be found in places such as homes, trailers parks, apartments, automobiles, hotel rooms, commercial buildings, storage units, or as the link below points out, mother nature.

     From the US Forest Service website on meth labs: 

    As an environmental hazard, the byproducts of meth labs contaminate their surroundings with harmful fumes and highly explosive chemical compounds.  Abandoned meth labs are basically time bombs, waiting for the single spark that can ignite the contents of the lab.  In the hands of the untrained chemists simultaneously using meth and working with the flammable chemical components, a working meth lab is just as unsafe.

    Simply put, meth kills.  The drug stimulates the central nervous system, producing excess levels of neurotoxins the brain cannot handle.  As a health concern, meth eliminates brain functions and leads to psychosis and, in some cases, deadly strokes.  Other long-term effects of meth use include respiratory problems, irregular heartbeat, extreme anorexia, tooth decay and loss, and cardiovascular collapse and death.

    How to recognize a Methamphetamine lab?

    • Unusual, strong odors like cat urine, ether, ammonia, acetone or other chemicals.
    • Coffee filters containing a white pasty substance, a dark red paste, or small amounts of shiny white crystals.
    • Glass cookware or stove pans containing a powdery residue.
    • Shacks or cabins with windows blacked out.
    • Open windows vented with fans during the winter.
    • Excessive trash including large amounts of items such as antifreeze containers, lantern fuel cans, engine starting fluid cans, HEET cans, lithium batteries and empty battery packages, wrappers, red chemically stained coffee filters, drain cleaner and duct tape.
    • Unusual amounts of clear glass containers.

    Getting rid of a meth lab is dangerous and expensive. Meth cookers dump battery acid, solvents and other toxic materials into rivers or the ground. Much of the waste is highly flammable and explosive.

    • One pound of meth produces six pounds of toxic waste.
    • Even months after meth labs have been closed, chemical residue still remains.
    • The chemicals used in the manufacturing process can be corrosive, explosive, flammable, toxic, and possibly radioactive.
    • Solvent chemicals may be dumped into the ground, sewers, or septic systems. This contaminates the surface water, ground water, and wells.
    • Traces of chemicals can pervade the walls, drapes, carpets, and furniture of a laboratory site.

    Pollution liability insurance can protect you against the environmental exposure to meth labs.  Contact your environmental team member at environmental Risk Managers to strategize in more detail. Instead of poisoning Mother Nature, let’s embrace her

    More Reading – 

    Spring thaw uncovers meth-related dump sites across Michigan

    http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/05/spring_brings_visibility_to_me.html#incart_m-rpt-2

  • eRMI on Exposures for Building Owners – Contaminated Caulk At Hartford School Well Above Federal Limit

     environmental Strategist™, between the lines:  Sick building syndrome is potentially a huge environmental exposure for building owners.  According to the EPA, indoor air quality can be two to five times more toxic than outdoor air.  See the simple example below.

    The core function of an environmental Strategist™ (eS) is to assist businesses to manage and transfer their environmental exposures.  Manufacture of PCB’s was banned in 1979.  Property owners with pre-1979 structures can have an exposure to PCB’s.  Are you assisting your client’s to manage this environmental exposure?  Have you made them aware of this environmental exposure?

    Contaminated Caulk At Hartford School Well Above Federal Limit

    By Vanessa de la Torrecontact the reporter

    HARTFORD — Caulk used in the construction of Clark Elementary School is laden with PCBs and may be a reason why the school’s air is tainted with the hazardous chemical, the district’s consultants said in a report Friday.

    Samples taken from the public school revealed PCB levels up to 1,940 times the federal limit, complicating Hartford’s efforts to clear the contamination.

    Clark’s paint, fireproofing and air filters were found to contain polychlorinated biphenyls. Even new ceiling tiles installed last summer were contaminated — suggesting that PCB vapors had infiltrated the tiles.

    The caulk may be a factor in the indoor air quality, the report stated. The environmental consulting firm, Eagle Environmental also raised the possibility that renovation work in summer 2014 could have disturbed materials that contain PCBs, but said any impact on the air “cannot be determined.”

    The district estimates that it has spent about $40,000 so far on PCB testing at Clark, a prekindergarten to grade 8 neighborhood school. About 350 Clark students were moved to three other city schools in mid-January after the toxic chemicals — known carcinogens that are a risk factor for a host of other long-term health effects — were found as workers prepared to install a fire sprinkler system.

    Tests revealed airborne PCB levels above federal public health guidelines for schoolchildren. School administrators say the Clark cleanup could take a year.

    Clark’s 104,000-square-foot school building was constructed in 1971, a time when PCBs were used in caulk and other commercial products before the U.S. banned production of the chemicals later that decade. The Environmental Protection Agency, which has advised Hartford on Clark, has warned that schools built between 1950 and 1979 could have PCBs.

    And when caulk and other building materials are found to have PCB concentrations exceeding 50 parts per million, that triggers strict rules under the federal Toxic Substances Control Act. The EPA requires special cleanup and disposal of the hazardous waste.

    At Clark, the PCBs in the window caulk ranged from 41,000 parts per million in the principal’s office to 97,000 ppm in Room 223. Caulk in the school entrance door frame tested at 79,000 ppm.

    Robert Herrick, a senior lecturer in the environmental health department at Harvard’s School of Public Health, said such high levels are not uncommon when PCBs are found in caulk.  “When you have levels that are that high in the caulk, it wouldn’t be surprising at all that you have correspondingly high air levels, too.”

    Eagle Environmental’s report said PCBs were found in Clark’s air filters and in spray-applied fireproofing, which is near the school’s air handling system. In those areas, the PCB levels were below the federal limit, but exceeded the state’s regulations and will need to be remediated.

    The Clark contamination appears to be the most extensive case of PCBs detected in a Hartford school to date.

    Records from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, which has identified more than 100 school buildings statewide that have reported PCB issues, show that Hartford’s Simpson-Waverly School, Global Communications Academy, M.D. Fox, Bellizzi, the former Barbour School and West Middle School needed some form of PCB remediation in recent years.

    PCB samples were taken as school renovations got underway. For state-reimbursed projects, districts are now required to test for hazardous materials in areas of the building that will be worked on.

    At Simpson-Waverly, where Clark students in a special-education program have been relocated, it was a 2012 window replacement project that turned up low concentrations of PCBs in window glazing, records show.

    The district indicated Friday that Simpson-Waverly’s PCB testing was limited to the window area.

    Massive overhauls at M.D. Fox and the former Quirk Middle School, now the home of Global Communications, uncovered caulk in 2011 with PCB levels above the federal limit. The cleanup and disposal plans for both schools required EPA approval.

    That same year, minor PCB remediation was planned for Bellizzi in the city’s South End and the 1950 section of the Barbour School building across town, state records show. That Barbour section was demolished as part of the $37.45 million project to create the new Journalism and Media Academy.

    And in 2013, as West Middle was being prepped for demolition work and its ongoing renovation, an inspection found PCB levels exceeding state regulations in the paint, flooring and other areas, according to a notice received by DEEP.

    Andrea Johnson, president of the Hartford Federation of Teachers, said Friday that she had not been informed of past PCB remediation in other city schools. With the Clark case alone, she said, there is “great concern” among teachers about potential health hazards.

    State public health officials have tried to assure school employees and parents that the elevated PCB levels in Clark’s air do not pose a health risk, although that assessment has drawn skepticism.