This notice from the EPA was just released regarding remediation of leaking fuel tanks in Indiana. The leakage contaminates ground water that is the source of drinking and household use. The toxins in fuel are often carcinogenic and very dangerous. Here is the notice:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 09-OPA128
EPA awards more than $4 million in Recovery Act funds to clean up underground petroleum leaks in Indiana
EPA: Funds help create jobs and protect Indiana's land and water.
Contact: Karen Thompson, 312-353-8547, thompson.karen@epa.gov
(Chicago, Ill - July 16, 2009) In an effort to protect people where they live, work, and play, EPA announced the distribution of more than $4 million to Indiana under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to assess and clean up underground storage tank petroleum leaks. The greatest potential hazard from a leaking underground storage tank is that the petroleum or other hazardous substances seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater, the source of drinking water for nearly one-third of all Americans.
"We're providing immediate growth opportunities for communities across the nation, as well as long-term protection from dangerous pollution in the land and water," said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "EPA is putting people to work by serving our core mission of protecting human health and the environment."
This money is part of $197 million appropriated under the Recovery Act to address shovel-ready sites nationwide contaminated by petroleum from leaking underground storage tanks. The funds will be used for overseeing assessment and cleanup of leaks from underground storage tanks or directly paying for assessment and cleanup of leaks from federally regulated tanks where the responsible party is unknown, unwilling or unable to finance, or the cleanup is an emergency response.
EPA regional underground storage tank programs will enter into a cooperative agreement with Indiana Department of Environmental Management in July 2009. The cooperative agreement will include more detailed descriptions of state spending plans.
"The Recovery Act support for underground storage tank cleanup is a great investment in environmental protection and will provide long-term economic benefits for Indiana," said Bharat Mathur acting regional administrator in Chicago.
President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on February 17, 2009, and has directed that the Recovery Act be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability. To that end, the American people can visit Recovery.gov to see how every dollar is being invested.
Learn more about EPA's implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: http://www.epa.gov/recovery/
With this EPA notice as background please continue reading to find out how your back yard may be vulnerable to toxic infiltration from leaking fuel tanks even as you read this.
Those of you who live in Door County near Fish Creek and Ephraim should be very happy to hear that a new 12,000 gallon gasoline tank for leaded aircraft gas is in the process of being installed underground at the Ephraim-Gibraltar Airport off HWY 42 and Maple Grove Road.It will replace an 1,100 gallon above ground mobile fuel tank. Once installed this tank will be preparing to leak sometime in the future. This double walled tank is supposedly leak proof. As an engineer and materials scientist this is impossible. All tanks made by man will eventually leak as corrosion, vibration, freeze-thaw cycles and other factors enlarge small inherent defects into small leaks that gradually become larger. This leaded fuel tank will contain enough leaded gasoline to contaminate all water supplies in the Town of Gibraltar (including Fish Creek) and Village of Ephraim when it leaks and contaminates ground water and aquifers, despite the political assurances that you may get to the contrary.
The shore residences will find toxic gasoline chemicals in the bay, as fish and other wild life suffer and die. The EPA and WI Department of Natural Resources had better have an emergency plan in place along with the WI DOT (who authorized and funded the tank with our tax dollars. The fuel in the tank will be dispersed by individual pilots who need to gas up. Spillage will be uncontrolled but supposedly retained by by appropriate barriers. Of course the concrete barriers will also leak and gradually the uncontrolled and unmonitored spillage will contaminate the ground water also. Get your reverse osmosis water purification systems now if you haven't got one yet.
This is another example of "earmark" giveaway of tax dollars to a special interest group who in this case own private aircraft that occasionally fly in and out of Northern Door County, and serves about 35 aircraft owners who hanger their aircraft at the airport. This and thousands of other boutique airports like it are given grants by the Federal and State governments from our collective tax dollars for their own use. The Ephraim-Gibraltar Airport has received well over one million dollars over the past 5 years and is slated to receive about the same for the next 3 years unless the budget axe falls as it should.
This information is presented as a public disclosure that your elected officials generally prefer to keep quite.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Senator Feingold Listening Session
Yesterday Wisconsin's Senator Russ Feingold convened one of his regular listening sessions to receive input from Wisconsin residents. The Session was held at Sevastopol's new Town Hall in Door County, Wisconsin. Over 100 people attended and everyone who wanted to voice their opinion or ask a question was called upon by Senator Feingold to do so. Those of you who have participated in one of these sessions have experienced a unique aspect of how Senator Feingold represents all residents of Wisconsin and does so in an open serious way. This is an example of how Democracy should work and engage all citizens. Ask your Senators in your state to replicate Senator Feingold's method of reaching every state citizen. If you are a Wisconsin resident make it a point to attend a Sen. Feingold session in your county. He holds a session in every Wisconsin county annually.
Health care was the main subject brought up by the participants and Sen. Feingold responded by strongly supporting the need to provide health care for every citizen. He also stated that President Obama needed to hear from every citizen supporting a public option for health insurance coverage. Your inputs during the Congressional August recess will help provide support for a more affordable health care option. Tell your House of Representatives member and Senators that you support an affordable public option for health care coverage. Sen. Feingold reiterated the value and importance of your inputs and how they will influence the eventual legislation.
The topic that I submitted to Sen. Feingold concerned how environmental man made toxins and health issues intersect, and what can be done to minimize diseases caused by these toxins and carcinogenic man made chemicals. Sen. Feingold was very interested and stated that he was starting to examine and legislate similar issues. He promised to send me information concerning his work on this issue. These will be discussed in future blogs.
For your information my input to Senator Feingold is reproduced below. Please read it and take appropriate action yourself. Thanks.
____________________________________________________________________________________
July 11, 2009
Senator Russ Feingold
Wisconsin, USA
Subject: Prevention of Diseases and Deaths by Eliminating Toxic and Carcinogenic Man Made Chemicals from the Environment
Dear Senator Feingold,
Thank you for taking your time today to communicate with some of your constituents in Wisconsin. The purpose of my input is to encourage you to lead an effort in Congress to stop the production and dissemination of man made toxic and carcinogenic chemicals that have caused and continue to cause millions of our people to suffer and die from preventable diseases.
The health care debate in Congress is focusing on supplying affordable health care for all. This is commendable. However, coverage alone is a band aid unless we do something to prevent debilitating and deadly diseases caused by environmental man made chemicals.
Thousands of man made toxic substances contaminates water, land, air, and foods as we unwittingly assume that our government is doing everything reasonable to assure a safe environment. We believe that cancer and other diseases that kill even infants are natural occurrences. Many if not most are caused by man made carcinogenic chemicals that have poisoned our bodies and those of child bearing mothers and their babies as well. Most of the toxic and carcinogenic man made chemicals have been developed and dispersed for use during the previous 75 years.
Your legislative actions to protect the water supplies of our country is vital, and must result in the protection of mankind’s’ most essential chemical compound, water. This requires legislation to prevent the abuse and misuse of land and water supplies. However, unless water contamination by toxic and carcinogenic man made chemicals is prevented the waters essential to all life will instead continue to be harbingers of disease and death as well.
You and your staff are undoubtedly informed by the annual reports that are provided Congress concerning man made toxic and carcinogenic chemical that are continuously released into the environment and the diseases that they can cause. These reports include the “Annual Report on Carcinogens “(known as ROC) now in its 11th edition that is compiled and published by the National Institute of Health. Another report is the Center for Disease Control “National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals” published this June.
The Environmental Protection Agency prepares an annual Report, “Toxic Release Inventory Report” (known as TRI) that details the environmental toxins and bio- accumulative carcinogenic substances spewed from industrial and military sources in our nation. This report vastly underestimates the actual chemical contamination since it did not include individual releases of less than 2,500 pounds annually (recently decreased to 500 pounds) and also does not include commercial and home use discharges into our environment. The underestimated more than 4 billion pounds of toxic and carcinogenic man made chemicals into air, land, and water (eventually all these chemicals are carried into and by water) discharged in 2007 is equal to over 1,000 pound of man made toxins and carcinogenic chemicals for every man, women, and child living in our country now, and being carried in their mother’s wombs awaiting birth with contaminated blood.
As you and your staff also undoubtedly are aware our country’s municipal water supplies are under the surveillance of the EPA for purity and quality. Review of the EPA standards will show you that a very small number of chemicals are regulated compared to the many thousands that are actually in use. The ROC report includes over 250 carcinogenic man made chemicals compared to approximately 100 regulated by drinking water standards. The TRI includes over 750 bio-accumulative carcinogenic man made chemicals in the latest report. Why are so many toxic chemicals unregulated that are known to contaminate water, land, air, and foods? This question requires immediate investigation and remedial action.
A further point requiring investigation and action is related to the potential for synergistic harm caused by even trace amounts of toxic substances. The EPA purity standards for drinking water are set as if only one toxic contaminant exists by itself. This Alice in Wonderland approach defies all logic and scientific knowledge about biological organisms and humans. We become a cocktail of carcinogenic substances with every glass of water and our liver and circulatory systems, etc. cannot separate one toxin from another in our bodies. This utterly senseless approach to establishing water quality standards must be replaced with a reality based system that considers all toxic chemicals and their synergistic health dangers.
Your staff would also be well advised to discuss the water purity question with managing directors of Municipal Water and Sewerage Treatment facilities and you will discover that the water purification technology used in the USA today cannot remove the deadly trace chemicals that pass through and that we consume. The technology is obsolete and must be replaced with effective and costlier technology that is being used in several European countries. Furthermore, sewerage treatment processes now in use in the USA cannot remove deadly trace chemicals that end up discharged into lakes, oceans, or landfills and continuously increase the toxic burden carried into domestic water supplies.
Our nation’s municipal water and sewerage treatment plants must be re engineered and built to protect our people from diseases that are burdening our health care system and escalating medical treatment costs as well. A Roosevelt WPA type program is absolutely essential and will save billions if not trillions of dollars in future health care costs while providing millions of productive jobs and eventually eliminate needless diseases, deaths, and suffering caused by toxic water-borne chemicals.
The issues discussed in this letter demand immediate action that surpasses the global warming problem. Both are of great concern but millions of people are contacting cancer and other debilitating diseases this very moment because we have ignored the ongoing contamination of our planet with man made toxic and carcinogenic disease-causing chemicals that we then attempt to ameliorate by medical treatments. Unless prevention by elimination of these deadly man made chemicals is achieved we will continue our endless treadmill journey of treatment of avoidable diseases caused by toxic and carcinogenic chemicals that we permit to be developed, commercialized, and used world wide.
Thank you again for your contributions to our country and state. You are the best Senator in our country and our state and nation will always be grateful.
Yours Truly,
Zalman P. Saperstein
3155 Gibraltar Road
Fish Creek, WI 54212
920-839 2811
zeepsap@gmail.com
P.S. Attached is a copy of my book pertaining to this subject, “A Drinker’s Guide to Pure Water: Is your Water Safe?” Please share this with your staff and others as you see fit.
Health care was the main subject brought up by the participants and Sen. Feingold responded by strongly supporting the need to provide health care for every citizen. He also stated that President Obama needed to hear from every citizen supporting a public option for health insurance coverage. Your inputs during the Congressional August recess will help provide support for a more affordable health care option. Tell your House of Representatives member and Senators that you support an affordable public option for health care coverage. Sen. Feingold reiterated the value and importance of your inputs and how they will influence the eventual legislation.
The topic that I submitted to Sen. Feingold concerned how environmental man made toxins and health issues intersect, and what can be done to minimize diseases caused by these toxins and carcinogenic man made chemicals. Sen. Feingold was very interested and stated that he was starting to examine and legislate similar issues. He promised to send me information concerning his work on this issue. These will be discussed in future blogs.
For your information my input to Senator Feingold is reproduced below. Please read it and take appropriate action yourself. Thanks.
____________________________________________________________________________________
July 11, 2009
Senator Russ Feingold
Wisconsin, USA
Subject: Prevention of Diseases and Deaths by Eliminating Toxic and Carcinogenic Man Made Chemicals from the Environment
Dear Senator Feingold,
Thank you for taking your time today to communicate with some of your constituents in Wisconsin. The purpose of my input is to encourage you to lead an effort in Congress to stop the production and dissemination of man made toxic and carcinogenic chemicals that have caused and continue to cause millions of our people to suffer and die from preventable diseases.
The health care debate in Congress is focusing on supplying affordable health care for all. This is commendable. However, coverage alone is a band aid unless we do something to prevent debilitating and deadly diseases caused by environmental man made chemicals.
Thousands of man made toxic substances contaminates water, land, air, and foods as we unwittingly assume that our government is doing everything reasonable to assure a safe environment. We believe that cancer and other diseases that kill even infants are natural occurrences. Many if not most are caused by man made carcinogenic chemicals that have poisoned our bodies and those of child bearing mothers and their babies as well. Most of the toxic and carcinogenic man made chemicals have been developed and dispersed for use during the previous 75 years.
Your legislative actions to protect the water supplies of our country is vital, and must result in the protection of mankind’s’ most essential chemical compound, water. This requires legislation to prevent the abuse and misuse of land and water supplies. However, unless water contamination by toxic and carcinogenic man made chemicals is prevented the waters essential to all life will instead continue to be harbingers of disease and death as well.
You and your staff are undoubtedly informed by the annual reports that are provided Congress concerning man made toxic and carcinogenic chemical that are continuously released into the environment and the diseases that they can cause. These reports include the “Annual Report on Carcinogens “(known as ROC) now in its 11th edition that is compiled and published by the National Institute of Health. Another report is the Center for Disease Control “National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals” published this June.
The Environmental Protection Agency prepares an annual Report, “Toxic Release Inventory Report” (known as TRI) that details the environmental toxins and bio- accumulative carcinogenic substances spewed from industrial and military sources in our nation. This report vastly underestimates the actual chemical contamination since it did not include individual releases of less than 2,500 pounds annually (recently decreased to 500 pounds) and also does not include commercial and home use discharges into our environment. The underestimated more than 4 billion pounds of toxic and carcinogenic man made chemicals into air, land, and water (eventually all these chemicals are carried into and by water) discharged in 2007 is equal to over 1,000 pound of man made toxins and carcinogenic chemicals for every man, women, and child living in our country now, and being carried in their mother’s wombs awaiting birth with contaminated blood.
As you and your staff also undoubtedly are aware our country’s municipal water supplies are under the surveillance of the EPA for purity and quality. Review of the EPA standards will show you that a very small number of chemicals are regulated compared to the many thousands that are actually in use. The ROC report includes over 250 carcinogenic man made chemicals compared to approximately 100 regulated by drinking water standards. The TRI includes over 750 bio-accumulative carcinogenic man made chemicals in the latest report. Why are so many toxic chemicals unregulated that are known to contaminate water, land, air, and foods? This question requires immediate investigation and remedial action.
A further point requiring investigation and action is related to the potential for synergistic harm caused by even trace amounts of toxic substances. The EPA purity standards for drinking water are set as if only one toxic contaminant exists by itself. This Alice in Wonderland approach defies all logic and scientific knowledge about biological organisms and humans. We become a cocktail of carcinogenic substances with every glass of water and our liver and circulatory systems, etc. cannot separate one toxin from another in our bodies. This utterly senseless approach to establishing water quality standards must be replaced with a reality based system that considers all toxic chemicals and their synergistic health dangers.
Your staff would also be well advised to discuss the water purity question with managing directors of Municipal Water and Sewerage Treatment facilities and you will discover that the water purification technology used in the USA today cannot remove the deadly trace chemicals that pass through and that we consume. The technology is obsolete and must be replaced with effective and costlier technology that is being used in several European countries. Furthermore, sewerage treatment processes now in use in the USA cannot remove deadly trace chemicals that end up discharged into lakes, oceans, or landfills and continuously increase the toxic burden carried into domestic water supplies.
Our nation’s municipal water and sewerage treatment plants must be re engineered and built to protect our people from diseases that are burdening our health care system and escalating medical treatment costs as well. A Roosevelt WPA type program is absolutely essential and will save billions if not trillions of dollars in future health care costs while providing millions of productive jobs and eventually eliminate needless diseases, deaths, and suffering caused by toxic water-borne chemicals.
The issues discussed in this letter demand immediate action that surpasses the global warming problem. Both are of great concern but millions of people are contacting cancer and other debilitating diseases this very moment because we have ignored the ongoing contamination of our planet with man made toxic and carcinogenic disease-causing chemicals that we then attempt to ameliorate by medical treatments. Unless prevention by elimination of these deadly man made chemicals is achieved we will continue our endless treadmill journey of treatment of avoidable diseases caused by toxic and carcinogenic chemicals that we permit to be developed, commercialized, and used world wide.
Thank you again for your contributions to our country and state. You are the best Senator in our country and our state and nation will always be grateful.
Yours Truly,
Zalman P. Saperstein
3155 Gibraltar Road
Fish Creek, WI 54212
920-839 2811
zeepsap@gmail.com
P.S. Attached is a copy of my book pertaining to this subject, “A Drinker’s Guide to Pure Water: Is your Water Safe?” Please share this with your staff and others as you see fit.
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