Sign On and Speak Out!

The EPA's proposed new regulations on mercury emissions from cement kilns are just that: proposed. They aren't law yet, so if you care about reducing levels of this potent neurotoxin, please take a moment to sign this petition drawn up by Friends of Hudson:

http://www.petitiononline.com/Merc1/petition.html

The cement kiln lobbyists have already started telling the EPA what they think. It is imperative that we also tell the EPA that we care about a meaningful reduction of mercury and other toxins from cement plants and support their efforts to put forward these new regulations. Please sign on - it only takes a minute and it will make a difference. Every signature counts.

You can also send an email to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson here:

http://action.earthjustice.org/campaign/mercury_0409?qp_source=homepage

One Step Forward by the EPA

On April 21, 2009, the EPA proposed new regulations to limit mercury and other pollutants from Portland Cement plants like Lafarge in Ravena, NY. These regulations came after a lengthy legal battle involving several states (including NY) and several environmental groups (including our friends at Friends of Hudson). According to the EPA, if these regulations become law it will result in a reduction in mercury of about 80 to 90% nationally. Hydrocarbons, hydrochloric acid, sulfer dioxide and particulate matter would also be reduced. These proposed regulations are set to become law in 2010 and will likely go into effect in 2013.

Existing plants would be allowed to emit 43 pounds of mercury per million tons of clinker produced. According to a 2008 report submitted by Lafarge to DEC, at about an annual 85% production rate, they produce 1,604,418 tons of clinker. Under the proposed new EPA terms, that amount of clinker would allow about 69 pounds of mercury to be emitted from Lafarge in Ravena.

To download the new EPA proposed guidelines, go to http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg/t3pfpr.html

Pooling Money for Testing

A special thanks to our friends at Advanced Pool Safety in Albany, NY who have made a whopping generous donation in support of Dr. Stone's mercury sampling study. To learn more about Advanced Pool Safety, please visit http://www.katchakid.com/.

Dr. Stone needs help to pay for lab fees to test soil and small wildlife this summer for mercury and other heavy metals. Please help if you can. Please call or email for more information.

THANK YOU!!

Thank You!

We would like to extend a big thank you to Dr. Ward Stone for coming to Ravena this past Friday. Dr. Stone shared many wonderful stories and, most importantly, talked about his new study of mercury and other hazardous substances in areas that may have been affected by nearly fifty years of toxic air emissions from the Lafarge Cement Plant in Ravena, NY.

Very little is known about the impact of all the toxins that have been emitted from the cement plant in Ravena for almost five decades. Dr. Stone’s study will be an important part of helping the public to understand precisely how these emissions can affect the health and welfare of our families and community

Dr. Stone’s efforts in studying environmental impacts is legendary. We are very excited and grateful for his participation.

We were also very pleased to welcome Assemblyman Tim Gordon and appreciate very much his support.

Dr. Ward Stone Begins Testing

A standing room only crowd packed the Ravena Fire House to learn first-hand about new plans to study soil, plant and animal life in Ravena and surrounding areas that are affected by pollution from the Lafarge Cement Plant. Dr. Ward Stone, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Wildlife Pathologist, has already begun collecting samples to test for mercury and twenty other possible contaminants.

Dr. Stone expects to present his results later on this year. “We will know the extent of pollutants and the variety of pollutants by early summer,” he stated, adding, “I am personally very concerned.”

The presentation was hosted by CASE this past Friday, April 3, 2009.

Dr. Stone discussed in depth his extensive experience with testing for environmental pollution, often against the grain of conventional wisdom as well as his superiors at the DEC. Undeterred, Dr. Stone has become well-known for uncovering public health risks that otherwise would have gone ignored and has become a champion for environmental causes. With questions surrounding the impact of decades of pollution from Lafarge’s cement operation and little scientific data available on the subject, Dr. Stone recognized the importance of investigating the issue. “It is amazing I haven’t been here earlier,” he stated.

Dr. Stone’s study will begin with soil samples, some of which he has already obtained, before expanding during warmer weather to include leaves, grass and bark along with small animals such as mice, shrews and voles, and various songbirds. Small mammals like mice, he noted, are particularly informative of localized data because they do not travel over a large area.

Dr. Stone addressed numerous questions from concerned residents from the Ravena area as well as communities across the river in Columbia and Rensselaer counties who are downwind of the plume that emanates from Lafarge’s smokestack. Particulate from the stack reportedly can drift over a 25 mile radius. The cement plant in Ravena was identified in 2007 by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as one of the worst mercury polluters in the nation. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that is particularly hazardous to children and developing fetuses.

Assemblyman Tim Gordon, whose district includes not only the Lafarge plant but many of the communities affected by its pollution, attended the meeting. He offered support to Dr. Stone and expressing willingness to contact the DEC to help secure funding for the study. “Clearly the community is very concerned about the emissions from the Lafarge plant and that is why the public continues to come out to these town meetings. It is important because it makes it very clear to Lafarge and to government officials that the people want straight answers,” he stated.

We believe Dr. Stone’s study will be an important starting point in assessing the environmental and health impacts from nearly five decades of toxic air emissions, including heavy metals, from the Ravena plant.

Susan Falzon, Director of Friends of Hudson, spoke about Lafarge’s proposal to modernize their plant by building a new kiln and smokestack and encouraged the audience to participate fully in the regulatory review process with the DEC. Friends of Hudson, a grassroots organization formed in 1999, has had extensive experience in the state’s permitting process with the St. Lawrence Cement project in Greenport, NY. Ms. Falzon discussed mechanisms for the community to ensure that its concerns receive the highest level of consideration by the DEC in the permit approval process for Lafarge in Ravena.

Dr Stone expressed his personal concerns over pollution from Lafarge, noting that his children have competed in sports at the RCS school campus, and as a parent, he has wondered just what is in the dirt on the playing fields there. He told the audience he believes that “it would be reasonable to look at the soil at the school to see what is happening.” So far, RCS officials have not agreed to allow testing. Dr. Stone also offered to split his samples with Lafarge representatives so that they could conduct their own tests for mercury and other possible contaminants. He asserted his hope that industries like the cement industry can stay in the United States and not move overseas, but stressed the importance of operating a clean plant, noting, “It is easy to make a mess in the environment, but it is very hard to clean it up.”