Pollution issues...

[Boerseun]

Read Orb's "Tropicana" thread just now, and it made me wonder!

 

Within a 10 kilometer radius of my house there are some seriously worrying things...

 

First off, of course, is a uranium enrichment plant called Pelindaba that was mothballed just before we had our first democratic elections in 1994. They used to produce weapons-grade plutonium for our nuclear weapons programme. Nowadays, they only provide radiation services for exported agriculture products. Or so they say...

 

Secondly, we have a plant operated by Hernic, where they take chromium out of the rough ore. Their one waste product is chromium hexaflouride, the same crap that made Erin Brokovich famous. This is so bad that quite a few farmers downstream from the Hernic plant have given up farming - the groundwater kills their produce.

 

Everybody reckons that things with Pelindaba and Hernic is A-OK, but we'll only see any permanent side-effects ten or twenty years down the line when people start keeling over from all kinds of cancers. So, what I want to do is to distribute a few thousand flyers around town with a couple of questions to see if there are trends forming. What questions should I include? I have never conducted research like this in my life. Any ideas?

 

I, for one, have stopped drinking the local water. I exclusively drink water that I personally bottle on my friend's farm from a borehole that lies safely upstream from both these two polluting companies. I want to devise a completely safe regimen, but I can't think of all the possible pitfalls here.

[Cedars]

Within a 10 kilometer radius of my house there are some seriously worrying things...

 

This is so bad that quite a few farmers downstream from the Hernic plant have given up farming - the groundwater kills their produce.

 

So, what I want to do is to distribute a few thousand flyers around town with a couple of questions to see if there are trends forming. What questions should I include? I have never conducted research like this in my life. Any ideas?

 

I, for one, have stopped drinking the local water. I exclusively drink water that I personally bottle on my friend's farm from a borehole that lies safely upstream from both these two polluting companies.

 

Before sending flyers, check out the ground water/surface water of these farmers. By this I mean find their source of water. While their complaints may be real, their potential pollutant may have nothing to do with these two plants. Most of the ground water contamination in my state is thru farming practices themselves. Of this contamination, its either herbicides or fertilizers (I cant remember exactly) which account for the majority of contaminated wells. Pesticides were a minimal impact when discussing farming source chemical contaminants. Manure remains the primary source of farming contaminants in general but this is generally runoff rather than ground water (if I remember right).

 

Talk to someone/research how things move around in your/their soils. My own soil is almost impossible for a contaminate to move thru and into the groundwater. There is a 3' layer of glacial melt soil (I cant remember the exact name) which is almost like a layer of concrete. On top of that is yellow clay. I know this information from the geologists which were involved with my own pursuit of a polluter.

 

You will need to know depths of wells and what aquafers the water is being tapped from. Drilling our well (140') we hit 3 pools of water. Neighbors to the north hit 5 in their 380' deep well. And each of these pools move seperatly from the others. Well drillers often know exactly what the names of the aquafers are and whos wells tap which ones. Once you get that information, you could probably contact a hydrologist at a good university for more detailed information.

[Phileas Fogg]

So, what I want to do is to distribute a few thousand flyers around town with a couple of questions to see if there are trends forming. What questions should I include? I have never conducted research like this in my life. Any ideas?

My advice: better to keep quiet. You have no evidence. It's just rumors, personal emotions and doubts. What I gather from bits and pieces of information I just read, is that in your country they may pass legislation to make it a punishable offence to spread "allegations which result in unnecessary panic or incitement". You don't want to break the law.... :confused:

 

I would make some serious consideration about this. Then I would study some law. Then I would think again; - what is the right way, and the right forum for discussion.

[Mercedes Benzene]

I, for one, have stopped drinking the local water. I exclusively drink water that I personally bottle on my friend's farm from a borehole that lies safely upstream from both these two polluting companies. I want to devise a completely safe regimen, but I can't think of all the possible pitfalls here.

 

Yeah... that's a really smart idea. You should get your local water analyzed... It would be interesting to see what exactly contaminates your water.

[pgrmdave]

Our water isn't affected by human problems - there's little industry out here, but our water did contain abnormally high levels of uranium (4 - 20 times the legal limit) for years. They only found out a few years ago, and shut down those wells that were affected. Yay for years of uranium enriched water...

[Mercedes Benzene]

Our water isn't affected by human problems - there's little industry out here

 

Little industry in New Jersey! HA!

That cracks me up. :confused:

[pgrmdave]

You'd be surprized at what you find in NJ - more malls, toxic waste sites, and horses than any other state. We have quite a lot of agriculture, and the populated places are packed against the cities (NYC and Philly). The population density ranges from about 200 / sq.mi. in the least populated county to 13,000 in the most populated.

[Boerseun]

By this I mean find their source of water. While their complaints may be real, their potential pollutant may have nothing to do with these two plants.

Everything's pointing in that direction, though. There have been intensive farming for more than 120 years around my town, but only since the opening of the chromium plant have the farmers downstream battled like they do now. So much so that a few months ago, the town council actually posted a warning to the farmers saying "If the borehole water is orange, don't drink it!" :lightning Where in the world have you heard of such brash idiocy? And if you follow the topography, all the farmers battling with water problems are downstream, tapping into the same aquifer.

We have a nature program here called 50/50, and they investigated the story more than a year ago. Also, another program called Carte Blanche made for a local subscription channel investigated, and everything pointed to the chromium plant. And lo and behold, a few weeks after airing, that was the end of it. There was more interesting things going on than a slow cancer developing in a tiny town in the North West Province.

 

Scary things are happening here...

[Mercedes Benzene]

Scary things are happening here...

 

Yeah... sounds like you need an EPA.

[InfiniteNow]

B -

 

Why do you think people drank beer in the first place? It killed the bad bacteria and preserved the water for future consumption well before filters and reverse osmosis and the like. Granted, nuclear waste is another story, but if you're drinking enough beer you won't care anyway. :eek2:

 

 

Let us know what you find my friend. :lightning

[Cedars]

Everything's pointing in that direction, though. So much so that a few months ago, the town council actually posted a warning to the farmers saying "If the borehole water is orange, don't drink it!" :eek_big:

 

You need documentation of this.

 

And if you follow the topography, all the farmers battling with water problems are downstream, tapping into the same aquifer.

 

Topography and ground water flowage may or may not be the same. You will still need to prove any allegations.

 

We have a nature program here called 50/50, and they investigated the story more than a year ago. Also, another program called Carte Blanche made for a local subscription channel investigated, and everything pointed to the chromium plant. And lo and behold, a few weeks after airing, that was the end of it. There was more interesting things going on than a slow cancer developing in a tiny town in the North West Province.

 

Scary things are happening here...

 

Yes. You could try to find original transcripts/videos of these programs.

 

Now back to your original post. Suggestions for questions:

 

1. Has the quality of your well water changed and if so, how? (please describe)

2. When did you notice a change and is it continuing?

3. Are there times when this change is worse/better? (please describe)

4. What effects (if any) has this changed ground water/well water exhibited on plants and/or animals?

5. Has there been any positive/negative change in the health of crops/livestock/persons in contact with the well/ground water?

 

 

Interesting web site and I have no idea why the usa was interested in s.african mining/reporting:

 

http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-TRI/1999/February/Day-23/tri4318.htm

 

PDF file. One state of chronium lists it as orange plates (whatever that means) There may be helpful information for you here when/if pursuing further proofs.

http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/le/chromium.pdf

 

While not knowing the politics of your area, one mistake we made when taking on a polluter was (under advice from a lawyer) rejecting the states attempts to get involved with our case. We probably could have solved the problem much faster. In the end, it was the unlimited resources of the state (testing and knowledge) which forced the polluter to clean up the area we were focused on. And it was a nightmare for the people involved and years and years of stress.

[Boerseun]

Thanks for the link! Very interesting reading...

 

But now things are getting curiouser and curiouser...

 

The EPA was petitioned to remove chromium mined in the Transvaal region of South Africa from its list of hazardous materials. Seeing as all chromite mining have ceased in the US in the 1960's, the US is dependent on chromium from imports. And most of the chromium mines (and the refinery in my hometown) belongs in large part to American companies.

 

The only reason I can see for this being the case, is that US investors will not be happy if the companies they invest in spoil the environment by extracting and handling environmentally hazardous materials. It doesn't look too good on the company's prospectus, if you catch my drift. So, what better way to 'clean up' your company's act than by petitioning the EPA to remove 'chromite mined in the Transvaal region of South Africa' from the list of materials deemed hazardous by it? Remove it from the list, and you can tell your investors that you don't deal in hazardous materials.

 

It doesn't change the risk to the locals, though.

 

Besides - they say in the EPA assessment that chromite from Transvaal doesn't seem to leach Cr(6) and is therefore safe. This is bullsh*t! A few months ago, tests done by the Agriculture Research Board (ARB) conclusively proved the increase in chromium hexaflouride (Cr(6)) downstream from the plant, and present in what was left of the crops on those farms. And there was only one possible source for it. The chrome plant.

 

Could it be that the EPA approved the petition and removed South African chromite from its list of hazardous materials simply in order to enable a few investors to be hoodwinked, to invest money in good faith without being told the nature of the operation?

 

This is getting interesting. Maybe I will be assassinated by someone from Hernic Ferrochrome before I get to die of cancer by drinking the water here.

[Cedars]

It doesn't change the risk to the locals, though.

 

Besides - they say in the EPA assessment that chromite from Transvaal doesn't seem to leach Cr(6) and is therefore safe. This is bullsh*t! A few months ago, tests done by the Agriculture Research Board (ARB) conclusively proved the increase in chromium hexaflouride (Cr(6)) downstream from the plant, and present in what was left of the crops on those farms. And there was only one possible source for it. The chrome plant.

 

Could it be that the EPA approved the petition and removed South African chromite from its list of hazardous materials simply in order to enable a few investors to be hoodwinked, to invest money in good faith without being told the nature of the operation?

 

This is getting interesting. Maybe I will be assassinated by someone from Hernic Ferrochrome before I get to die of cancer by drinking the water here.

 

The one thing that allowed us to pursue the polluter was the laws did not allow for polluters to be exempt from liability even though the pollution occured before the Clean Air & Water act. What I was reading in the links I gave you, indicated one reason this was being allowed (the petition to remove) was there was no 'proof' this mining created a problem. I would guess if it can be shown to be different, the company liability would be in effect. But that would depend on s. africas own position on environmental issues and pollution.

 

You might want to explore the Union Carbide/Bhopal India incident for ideas on pursuit of claims.

 

Another avenue would be to contact those tv programs for followup on their previous story. But you will need additional information (such as exploring the EPA link and associations with this removal petition).

 

If you can get more information, you may also attempt to enlist the help of some of the enviro groups to begin a letter writting campaign. And there is always the politics within s. africa. If you cannot find support from there, you might be able to find a candidate who will support your cause.

 

As far as assasination, well I cant say yes/no. But character assassination is a distinct possiblity.

 

I learned alot via the polluter lawsuit I was involved in. Dont assume everyone working for the company is a bad guy. Lawyers have their jobs within the corporate structure and will probably trigger the most stress and desperation when fighting the building. It only takes one or two honest geologists/workers to turn a case around.

[LJP07]

There is a mine near where I live that produces Iron Ore and Zinc I think,... there are huge clouds coming out of one of the towers on it, would this be detrimental to health in any way?

[cwes99_03]

You'd be surprized at what you find in NJ - more malls, toxic waste sites, and horses than any other state. We have quite a lot of agriculture, and the populated places are packed against the cities (NYC and Philly). The population density ranges from about 200 / sq.mi. in the least populated county to 13,000 in the most populated.

 

 

Wow! Dave, have you ever visited the midwest?

You say that there is a lot of agriculture, but 200 people/sqare mile means that each person would own an average of approximately 3 acres. I grew up on a small farm in Illinois on 5 acres, and my dad farms 1500. There were a total of 4 people living in the square mile that my family lived in.

[cwes99_03]

There is a mine near where I live that produces Iron Ore and Zinc I think,... there are huge clouds coming out of one of the towers on it, would this be detrimental to health in any way?

Clouds of what? Is it a steam tower? Large amounts of water are used in the processing of just about anything along with large levels of heat. If it were a large cloud of dust then I'd say there might be a bit more to worry about, however Iron and Zinc themselves aren't really poisonous. Chromium too is a necessary part of your diet, but it is the form of chromium 6 that is poisonous in even mildly small quantities.

 

Boer, check out these sites.

 

A new in-situ method to clean Chromium-6 out of groundwater.

 

This site containst info about the PG&E case made famous by Erin Brokovic as well as information about expert witnesses.

 

A letter from a couple of professors from the University of Missouri here in the states that may contain some names of people (Restoration Ecology group) to contact about the health affects of Chromium-6 on South African farming.

 

Might I also suggest checking how the following countries deal with the problem since they also mine chromium.

 

Chromium is mined as chromite (FeCr2O4) ore. Chromium ores are mined today in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Finland, India, Kazakihstan and the Philippines.