#superfund — Public Fediverse posts

#Omaha Is Home to a Massive #Superfund Site. Most Kids Living There Aren’t Tested for #Lead

by Chris Bowling, Flatwater Free Press
April 15, 2026

Excerpt: "For more than a century, smoke from a lead smelter and other factories deposited 400 million pounds of the #toxic metal across the city’s east side. That prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to begin investigating the pollution in 1999, and a few years later, the agency declared 27 square miles of east Omaha to be a Superfund site. Over more than two decades, the EPA and the city have dug up and replaced nearly 14,000 yards, from about a third of the site’s residential properties.

Faced with similar public health concerns about lead, 13 states, including #NewJersey, #Louisiana and neighboring #Iowa, have passed laws requiring universal #LeadScreening, meaning all kids would get a blood test before entering kindergarten.

But not #Nebraska."

Read more:
https://www.propublica.org/article/omaha-nebraska-lead-kids-blood-tests

#USPol #NebraskaPol #LeadPoisoning #SuperfundSite

Here's the story! (I guess they were waiting to post it after the 6pm news).

#EPA watchdog finds #BrunswickLanding is among #contaminated sites vulnerable to #SeaLevelRise, #flooding

Russ Reed, March 31, 2026

#BrunswickME - "The internal watchdog at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that about 100 of the nation's most #contaminated toxic waste sites, including one in #Maine, are in areas prone to #NaturalDisasters, posing a potential public health threat.

"The EPA's Office of Inspector General issued two new reports last week that are part of a series assessing the weather-related vulnerabilities of the 157 federal #Superfund sites prioritized for cleanup due to the serious risk they pose to public health and the environment. About 3 million Americans live within a mile of a Superfund site, while 13 million people live within 3 miles.

"Brunswick Landing, the site of the former #BrunswickNavalAirStation, is among the Superfund sites that were found to be at risk from multiple natural-disaster threats. According to the Inspector General, Brunswick Landing is one of 49 sites in coastal areas that are at risk from #SeaLevelRise or #StormSurge from hurricanes. Many of those sites are located near highly populated areas and important ecological locales like #ChesapeakeBay .

"Brunswick Landing is also one of 47 low-lying sites that are specifically prone to inland flooding from heavy rain. The Inspector General's review also found 31 sites in areas at high risk for wildfires."

Read more:
https://www.wmtw.com/article/brunswick-landing-concerns-epa-watchdog-report-maine/70899341

#WaterIsLife #ForeverChemicals
#Pollution #ClimateChange #Maine
#BrunswickExecutiveAirport #PFAS #PFASContamination

Here's the story! (I guess they were waiting to post it after the 6pm news).

#EPA watchdog finds #BrunswickLanding is among #contaminated sites vulnerable to #SeaLevelRise, #flooding

Russ Reed, March 31, 2026

#BrunswickME - "The internal watchdog at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that about 100 of the nation's most #contaminated toxic waste sites, including one in #Maine, are in areas prone to #NaturalDisasters, posing a potential public health threat.

"The EPA's Office of Inspector General issued two new reports last week that are part of a series assessing the weather-related vulnerabilities of the 157 federal #Superfund sites prioritized for cleanup due to the serious risk they pose to public health and the environment. About 3 million Americans live within a mile of a Superfund site, while 13 million people live within 3 miles.

"Brunswick Landing, the site of the former #BrunswickNavalAirStation, is among the Superfund sites that were found to be at risk from multiple natural-disaster threats. According to the Inspector General, Brunswick Landing is one of 49 sites in coastal areas that are at risk from #SeaLevelRise or #StormSurge from hurricanes. Many of those sites are located near highly populated areas and important ecological locales like #ChesapeakeBay .

"Brunswick Landing is also one of 47 low-lying sites that are specifically prone to inland flooding from heavy rain. The Inspector General's review also found 31 sites in areas at high risk for wildfires."

Read more:
https://www.wmtw.com/article/brunswick-landing-concerns-epa-watchdog-report-maine/70899341

#WaterIsLife #ForeverChemicals
#Pollution #ClimateChange #Maine
#BrunswickExecutiveAirport #PFAS #PFASContamination

Here's the story! (I guess they were waiting to post it after the 6pm news).

#EPA watchdog finds #BrunswickLanding is among #contaminated sites vulnerable to #SeaLevelRise, #flooding

Russ Reed, March 31, 2026

#BrunswickME - "The internal watchdog at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that about 100 of the nation's most #contaminated toxic waste sites, including one in #Maine, are in areas prone to #NaturalDisasters, posing a potential public health threat.

"The EPA's Office of Inspector General issued two new reports last week that are part of a series assessing the weather-related vulnerabilities of the 157 federal #Superfund sites prioritized for cleanup due to the serious risk they pose to public health and the environment. About 3 million Americans live within a mile of a Superfund site, while 13 million people live within 3 miles.

"Brunswick Landing, the site of the former #BrunswickNavalAirStation, is among the Superfund sites that were found to be at risk from multiple natural-disaster threats. According to the Inspector General, Brunswick Landing is one of 49 sites in coastal areas that are at risk from #SeaLevelRise or #StormSurge from hurricanes. Many of those sites are located near highly populated areas and important ecological locales like #ChesapeakeBay .

"Brunswick Landing is also one of 47 low-lying sites that are specifically prone to inland flooding from heavy rain. The Inspector General's review also found 31 sites in areas at high risk for wildfires."

Read more:
https://www.wmtw.com/article/brunswick-landing-concerns-epa-watchdog-report-maine/70899341

#WaterIsLife #ForeverChemicals
#Pollution #ClimateChange #Maine
#BrunswickExecutiveAirport #PFAS #PFASContamination

Here's the story! (I guess they were waiting to post it after the 6pm news).

#EPA watchdog finds #BrunswickLanding is among #contaminated sites vulnerable to #SeaLevelRise, #flooding

Russ Reed, March 31, 2026

#BrunswickME - "The internal watchdog at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that about 100 of the nation's most #contaminated toxic waste sites, including one in #Maine, are in areas prone to #NaturalDisasters, posing a potential public health threat.

"The EPA's Office of Inspector General issued two new reports last week that are part of a series assessing the weather-related vulnerabilities of the 157 federal #Superfund sites prioritized for cleanup due to the serious risk they pose to public health and the environment. About 3 million Americans live within a mile of a Superfund site, while 13 million people live within 3 miles.

"Brunswick Landing, the site of the former #BrunswickNavalAirStation, is among the Superfund sites that were found to be at risk from multiple natural-disaster threats. According to the Inspector General, Brunswick Landing is one of 49 sites in coastal areas that are at risk from #SeaLevelRise or #StormSurge from hurricanes. Many of those sites are located near highly populated areas and important ecological locales like #ChesapeakeBay .

"Brunswick Landing is also one of 47 low-lying sites that are specifically prone to inland flooding from heavy rain. The Inspector General's review also found 31 sites in areas at high risk for wildfires."

Read more:
https://www.wmtw.com/article/brunswick-landing-concerns-epa-watchdog-report-maine/70899341

#WaterIsLife #ForeverChemicals
#Pollution #ClimateChange #Maine
#BrunswickExecutiveAirport #PFAS #PFASContamination

Here's the story! (I guess they were waiting to post it after the 6pm news).

#EPA watchdog finds #BrunswickLanding is among #contaminated sites vulnerable to #SeaLevelRise, #flooding

Russ Reed, March 31, 2026

#BrunswickME - "The internal watchdog at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that about 100 of the nation's most #contaminated toxic waste sites, including one in #Maine, are in areas prone to #NaturalDisasters, posing a potential public health threat.

"The EPA's Office of Inspector General issued two new reports last week that are part of a series assessing the weather-related vulnerabilities of the 157 federal #Superfund sites prioritized for cleanup due to the serious risk they pose to public health and the environment. About 3 million Americans live within a mile of a Superfund site, while 13 million people live within 3 miles.

"Brunswick Landing, the site of the former #BrunswickNavalAirStation, is among the Superfund sites that were found to be at risk from multiple natural-disaster threats. According to the Inspector General, Brunswick Landing is one of 49 sites in coastal areas that are at risk from #SeaLevelRise or #StormSurge from hurricanes. Many of those sites are located near highly populated areas and important ecological locales like #ChesapeakeBay .

"Brunswick Landing is also one of 47 low-lying sites that are specifically prone to inland flooding from heavy rain. The Inspector General's review also found 31 sites in areas at high risk for wildfires."

Read more:
https://www.wmtw.com/article/brunswick-landing-concerns-epa-watchdog-report-maine/70899341

#WaterIsLife #ForeverChemicals
#Pollution #ClimateChange #Maine
#BrunswickExecutiveAirport #PFAS #PFASContamination

#US States want to #tax #fossilfuel companies to create #climatechange #superfund
As the costs of #globalwarming rise—in the form of home #insurance premiums, utility bills, health expenses, and record-breaking damages from #extremeweather—local advocates are increasingly pushing states to require that fossil fuel companies contribute to climate “superfunds” that would support mitigation and adaptation.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/01/states-want-to-charge-fossil-fuel-companies-for-climate-change-superfunds/

Attention, Richmond! The final United Heckathorn Superfund site community meeting is coming up on Wednesday, 1/28.

The discussion will focus on long-term cleanup plans & climate vulnerability. Come with questions for the experts!

Learn more & register: https://usepa.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/G-XAq38nSv2yRZKIC53KPg#/registration

#richmondca #richmond #unitedheckathorn #superfund #superfundsite #superfundcleanup #toxicwaste #bayarea #pollution #climatechange

#Wikipedia - #UnitedStates
See also: #Superfund

"Perhaps the best-known sacrifice zone in the United States is '#CancerAlley' in #Louisiana, an 85-mile stretch of land along the #MississippiRiver containing over 200 #petrochemical plants. Serious air and water quality violations have been documented since the 1970s, and elevated #cancer risk has been found. The region's population is disproportionately #Black and #LowIncome.

"Commentators including Chris Hedges, Joe Sacco, Robert Bullard and Stephen Lerner have argued that #corporate business practices contribute to producing #SacrificeZones and that these zones most commonly exist in low-income and minority, usually #AfricanAmerican communities. Sacrifice zones are a central topic for the graphic novel #DaysOfDestructionDaysOfRevolt, written by Hedges and illustrated by Sacco.

"In 2012, Hedges stated that examples of sacrifice zones included #PineRidge, South Dakota and #CamdenNJ. In 2017 a #WestCalumet public housing project in East Chicago, Indiana built at the former site of a lead smelter needed to be demolished and soil replaced to bring the area up to residential standards, displacing 1000 residents. In 2014, Naomi Klein wrote that 'running an economy on energy sources that release poisons as an unavoidable part of their extraction and refining has always required sacrifice zones."

Related link:
The Spread of Sacrifice Zones
By David Swanson, June, 2012
https://cdn.countercurrents.org/swanson090612.htm

#BigOil #BigOilAndGas #SacrificeZones #SEZs #HumanRights #HumanRightsFreeZone #Pollution #EnvironmentalDegradation #EnvironmentalRacism #EconomicSacrificZones #WaterIsLife #Industries #IndustrialUse #PollutionSacrificeZones
#GlobalSacrificeZones #CorporateColonialism

King City Asbestos Processing Plant near King City, California. 2007 vs. today. Asbestos processing operations were discontinued in 2002, so the plant must have been razed between 2002 and 2007.

I bet that one tree could tell some tales.

Courtesy Google Maps Street View.

#GoogleStreetView #ThenAndNow #KingCityCalifornia #CattlemenRoad #LandscapeChange #IndustrialSite #TimeComparison #AsbestosPlant #EPA #SuperFund

CPH Daily Bulletin 9/11/2025

#California Environmental Groups Decry Worst Legislative Year in Memory

https://davisvanguard.org/2025/09/california-environmental-deregulation-2023/

#Environment #Pollution #SuperFund #Abundance

As the Richmond Shoreline Alliance has pointed out, a full cleanup of the United Heckathorn Superfund site is needed to resolve the problem at its source--and avoid compounding consequences later https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/08/05/cleanup-of-toxic-richmond-waterway-creates-divisions/
#richmondca #richmond #pollution #superfund #superfundsite #epa

EPA outlines next steps for J.H. Baxter site cleanup in Oregon

EUGENE, Ore. — Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) presented…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Environment #Cleanup #Contamination #environmental #EPA #J.H.Baxter #oregon #risk #Science #Superfund
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/17539/

From 2017: As Catastrophic #Flooding Hits Houston, Fears Grow of #Pollution from #OilRefineries & #Superfund Sites

#DemocracyNow, August 28, 2017

"A catastrophic storm has hit Houston, the nation’s fourth-largest city and home to the largest refining and #petrochemical complex in the United States. The crisis began on Friday when Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Rockport, Texas. It was the most powerful hurricane to strike the state in more than 50 years. Much of the damage has been caused by the massive rainfall, with parts of Texas already receiving 30 inches of rain. That could top 50 inches in the coming days. Entire highways in Houston are now underwater. The storm has caused five reported deaths, but the death toll is expected to rise. Thousands of people are still stranded in their homes, waiting to be rescued. Meanwhile, the city of Dallas prepares to turn its convention center into a mega-shelter to host 5,000 evacuees. The National Weather Service released a statement on Sunday saying, 'This event is unprecedented and all impacts are unknown and beyond anything experienced.' We speak with Bryan Parras, an organizer for the #BeyondDirtyFuels campaign with the #SierraClub in Houston, Texas. He helped found the #EnvironmentalJustice group t.e.j.a.s."

Listen / watch: https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/28/as_catastrophic_flooding_hits_houston_fears

#TEJAS #TexasFlooding #ClimateChange #SuperfundSites #BigOilAndGas #Pollution #ClimateCatastrohe

The United Heckathorn Superfund site in Richmond continues to house dangerous pollutants, including DDT, right along #SFBay shoreline. It's time to clean it up!

This Thursday, join us at EPA's latest community discussion on Zoom. The meeting will focus on the health & ecological risk assessments of the site.

We encourage all Richmond residents to join the meeting and put pressure on EPA officials to properly clean up the pollution!

Register here: https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0902440

#sanfrancisocbay #richmond #richmondca #richmondcalifornia #pollution #superfund #bayarea

Attention, Richmonders! The United Heckathorn Superfund site is a major source of pollutants contaminating #SFBay & the Richmond shoreline. The site was supposed to be cleaned up in the 90s, but that effort failed.

The EPA is working on a plan to get the site cleaned up and is holding a series of meetings to raise awareness and hear community concerns.

The next meeting will be held on Zoom on Wednesday, 5/21 from 6:30-8:00pm. The discussion will focus on why the first cleanup was ineffective.

Visit the link below to learn more and to register!

#richmondca #sfbay #sanfranciscobay #bayarea #pollution #superfund #superfundsite

https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0902440

Nicholas Triolo walked 20 miles around America's largest #Superfund site. Read about this journey in an adapted excerpt from "The Way Around: A Field Guide to Going Nowhere," from Milkweed Editions:

https://longreads.com/2025/04/24/butte-montana-mining-superfund/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

#Longreads #Books #Environment #Nature #Butte #Montana #Water

Attention #Richmond residents! A Superfund site known as #UnitedHeckathorn is a major source of DDT and other pollutants contaminating the Bay and shoreline. The site was supposed to be cleaned up in the 90s, but that effort failed. We want to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

On 4/23 the #EPA will host a Zoom call to engage with the community where they will describe why the last cleanup failed and the plan to move forward.

Please bring your questions for EPA and state officials! https://usepa.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/8SlhuBdVTZ-xuoEGnusbZA#/registration

#richmondca #superfund #superfundsite #bayarea #sfbay #sanfranciscobay

Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act of 2025 w/

Fatima Iqbal-Zubair of
California Environmental Voters

Christina Scaringe
Center for Biological Diversity Climate Law Institute

The Make Polluters Pay Plan would require big polluters to pay a fee based on their share of the past 20 years of carbon pollution that's been emitted into the atmosphere. The money would then be used to deal with the impacts of climate change and costs of transitioning to a clean energy future.

Topics to include:
· What's in SB 684/AB 1243
· What it would mean for California
· What we can do

Co-Sponsored by:
Chalice Climate Action Team
and Conejo Climate Coalition

Free! Saturday, April 5th – 7 p.m. PT (via Zoom):

https://chaliceuu.breezechms.com/form/4ba096537414251667454167946824547214745378318583803095951466228698

#energy #climate #superfund #co2 #climateemergency

THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL EVERYBODY!

I'm listening to Alex Wagner's podcast from a couple of weeks ago talking about how the #DisasterPresidency is decimating the #EPA.

And I think…

They're also trying to shutdown #FEMA.

…and the #NIH.

…and put a lunatic in charge of #HHS.

…and ignored/dismissed #Covid.

…and are ignoring #BirdFlu. And #Measles.

…and dismiss #ClimateChange.

…and defunding #Superfund toxic waste cleanup.

…and in his first term, repealed laws against dumping toxic coal ash.

@bud_t @w7voa
I don't know if the people dismantling everything good/helpful/positive about the federal gov't think this far ahead (doubtful), but…

…to put all this stuff back after #DonnieDumbass does away with it… #VOA, #FEMA, thousands of #IRS agents, #Superfund Cleanup, #DeptOfEducation, etc…

…it's going to cost SO much money just to put everything back, #Republicans are going to run on "#Democrats want to explode the size of government" for the next two decades. 🤬

I came across this EPA report on the 2011 New Idria Mercury Mine remediation when researching my latest YouTube video. It is complete with photos and I found it quite fascinating.

https://semspub.epa.gov/work/09/1158974.pdf

#NewIdria #SuperFund #EPA

Hochul signed

"Under the new state law, companies responsible for the bulk of emissions from 2000 to 2018 will be on the hook for some $3 billion a year over the next 25 years.

Hochul’s signature makes #NewYork the second state with such a law, following Vermont, but the Empire State is far larger, more populous and a major center of American and international financial power."

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5056675-hochul-new-york-climate-change/
#superfund

"#NewJersey is home to numerous oil and natural gas facilities. They would be charged fees to help the state fight the effects of #ClimateChange under a bill being considered in the Legislature.

The measure, to be discussed Thursday in a state Senate committee, aims to create a Climate #Superfund similar to the [Federal Superfund created] to clean up toxic waste by charging petroleum and chemical companies an extra tax to fund ongoing cleanups."

https://whyy.org/articles/new-jersey-climate-change-fossil-fuels/

This is #PicnicPond in #BrunswickMaine. It is closed to the public because of #PFAS contamination, but there is plenty of #Wildlife in the area, and the pond empties into #HarpswellCove / #CascoBay.

Image source and more info about Picnic Pond:
https://maineanencyclopedia.com/brunswick-landing/

#Stormwater #Environment #PFASPollution #BrunswickLanding #BrunswickNavalAirStation #CascoBay #PollutionRunoff #OceansAreLife #WaterIsLife #WebOfLife #Superfund #PFOS

'Foam is being blown by the wind here, there, and everywhere': #BrunswickMaine #PFAS clean-up continues

Within a mile of the #BrunswickLanding are three bodies of water that make up the local storm water systems, which the DEP said have likely been contaminated.

Author: Pearl Small
Published: 9:44 PM EDT August 21, 2024

BRUNSWICK, Maine — "Three days after an accidental spill of more than 1,000 gallons of foam containing PFAS at the Brunswick Executive Airport, foam was still seen flying through the air on Wednesday as crews including #CleanHarbors and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection attempted to clean it up.

"'Foam on these ponds is being blown by the wind here, there, and everywhere,' Suzanne Johnson, who sits on Brunswick's #restoration advisory board, said. Johnson said this situation was one of her worst fears for the town. Although the DEP has said they have reason to believe the spill will not affect the town's drinking water, there are other #environmental concerns at stake.

"'This stuff is a forever chemical. It doesn't go away. So, the foam dissolves, but the chemical is still there,' Johnson said. Within a mile of the Brunswick Landing are three bodies of water that make up the local storm water systems, which the DEP said have likely been contaminated with the foam. Those three sources are natural ponds filled with #fish and plant life.

"'Open water body sources was the #StormWater system for this property. This chemical spewed directly into those open bodies of water,' Johnson said. The path takes the foam directly into two ponds that lead to a source called #PicnicPond, which eventually connects to #HarpswellCove.

"'I believe the areas connected to the discharge are already closed,' [but still teeming with #wildlife] Melanie Loyzim, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner, said at a press conference on Wednesday. The ponds are mostly unreachable by people because they've already been listed as #superfund sites and blocked off by the town due to past PFAS contamination. Loyzim said those levels will likely increase now. 'What we focus on is reducing exposure and preventing people from being exposed,' Loyzim said. [But who cares about wildlife or #CascoBay?!]

https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/public-safety/brunswick-pfas-clean-up-continues-firefighting-foam-maine-airport/97-f55d5e3d-7bf1-4761-9ea4-3594c0a5ada9

#PFASPollution #WaterIsLife
#OceansAreLife #PollutionRunoff #WebOfLife #PFOA

#LandBack at #Barnhart:
Contextualizing the Re-occupation of #BarnhartIsland in Shared Legacies of Struggle

From #TurtleIsland to #Palestine, the struggle at #Akwesasne is rooted in the shared struggle of all #OppressedPeoples of the world who are opposing the illogic of #SettlerCapitalism and the endless violation of the #lands and #waters that our current economic system necessitates.

By Jennifer Lee
June 25, 2024

"On May 21, 2024, a group of eight Kanien’kehá:ka (#Mohawk) community members from Akwesasne were arrested at Niionenhiasekowa:ne (Barnhart Island). Certain individuals among the '#Akwesasne8' had originally gone to Barnhart to exercise their right to build a hunting and gathering shelter on their own territory, in part to protest an ongoing land claim settlement that threatens to hand over Kanien’kehá:ka title to this island, among other traditionally held territories, to New York State. The settlement is being negotiated between New York entities and three Akwesasne government councils.

"Presently, the settlement negotiations would require the extinguishment of Mohawk title to Barnhart Island, which would be effectuated through an act of Congress. By asserting their right to the land, the #Akwesasne8 have sent a clear message to both negotiating parties. Barnhart Island, like all other territories illegally stolen and swindled from their community, is not for sale—particularly not by collaborationist band and tribal council entities that purport to represent the full community but that were in fact historically imposed upon it at gunpoint.

"The fact that a group of eight community members was surrounded within just a few hours by approximately 35 police agents (including both border patrol agents and state troopers) is a clear indication of the strategic significance of this island to the interests of settler-capital. As Taiewennahawi (Marina Johnson-Zafiris), one of the eight arrestees, explains in her article 'Akwesasne and the History of #Hydropower,' the Moses-Saunders #hydrodam, located at the east end of Barnhart Island, is one of the many dams along the St. Lawrence Seaway that has supplied 'cheap' electricity to an unending procession of heavily #polluting factories since the 1950s.

"For decades, dirty plants like #Alcoa, #GeneralMotors, and #ReynoldsMetals harnessed the immense power of the #Kaniatarowanenneh (#SaintLawrenceRiver) at the Moses-Saunders dam to manufacture aluminum, a cheap, abundant, and malleable building material that requires vast amounts of power to extract and process. Not only was hydropower-fueled aluminum production critical to New York’s economic development, it was central to the national pride and independence of so-called #Québec. Eager to assert its autonomy from Anglophone capital in the 1960s, the province began damming rivers on #Indigenous land in a frenzy of hydropower nationalism.

"Upstream on the St. Lawrence, the aluminum plants at Akwesasne used a #toxic #sludge containing polychlorinated biphenyls (#PCBs) as a hydraulic fluid during the production process. These PCBs were manufactured by the infamously litigious #corporation #Monsanto, which continues to evade public #accountability for discharging this known #carcinogen into the St. Lawrence River and onto Kanien’kehá:ka soil. The #carcinogenic soup was left exposed on the very grounds where the children of Akwesasne played and where families grew their vegetables. Today, Akwesasne sits downstream and downwind of three heavily #polluted #superfund sites, and residents of Akwesasne report that almost everyone they know has a friend or family member suffering from a rare #cancer, #MetabolicSyndrome, or #autoimmune disorder. Rare, life-threatening illnesses exist at Akwesasne at rates that the public would never consider normal or acceptable in any non-Indigenous community.

"Dana-Leigh Thompson, one of the Akwesasne 8, lived about 3,000 feet from the PCB #dumpsite of the #GeneralMotors (#GM) factory for a decade. She calls what is happening to the community nothing short of an '#environmental #genocide.'"

Read more:

https://magazine.scienceforthepeople.org/online/land-back-at-barnhart/#easy-footnote-15-16285

#EnvironmentalRacism #Ecocide

#LandBack at #Barnhart:
Contextualizing the Re-occupation of #BarnhartIsland in Shared Legacies of Struggle

From #TurtleIsland to #Palestine, the struggle at #Akwesasne is rooted in the shared struggle of all #OppressedPeoples of the world who are opposing the illogic of #SettlerCapitalism and the endless violation of the #lands and #waters that our current economic system necessitates.

By Jennifer Lee
June 25, 2024

"On May 21, 2024, a group of eight Kanien’kehá:ka (#Mohawk) community members from Akwesasne were arrested at Niionenhiasekowa:ne (Barnhart Island). Certain individuals among the '#Akwesasne8' had originally gone to Barnhart to exercise their right to build a hunting and gathering shelter on their own territory, in part to protest an ongoing land claim settlement that threatens to hand over Kanien’kehá:ka title to this island, among other traditionally held territories, to New York State. The settlement is being negotiated between New York entities and three Akwesasne government councils.

"Presently, the settlement negotiations would require the extinguishment of Mohawk title to Barnhart Island, which would be effectuated through an act of Congress. By asserting their right to the land, the #Akwesasne8 have sent a clear message to both negotiating parties. Barnhart Island, like all other territories illegally stolen and swindled from their community, is not for sale—particularly not by collaborationist band and tribal council entities that purport to represent the full community but that were in fact historically imposed upon it at gunpoint.

"The fact that a group of eight community members was surrounded within just a few hours by approximately 35 police agents (including both border patrol agents and state troopers) is a clear indication of the strategic significance of this island to the interests of settler-capital. As Taiewennahawi (Marina Johnson-Zafiris), one of the eight arrestees, explains in her article 'Akwesasne and the History of #Hydropower,' the Moses-Saunders #hydrodam, located at the east end of Barnhart Island, is one of the many dams along the St. Lawrence Seaway that has supplied 'cheap' electricity to an unending procession of heavily #polluting factories since the 1950s.

"For decades, dirty plants like #Alcoa, #GeneralMotors, and #ReynoldsMetals harnessed the immense power of the #Kaniatarowanenneh (#SaintLawrenceRiver) at the Moses-Saunders dam to manufacture aluminum, a cheap, abundant, and malleable building material that requires vast amounts of power to extract and process. Not only was hydropower-fueled aluminum production critical to New York’s economic development, it was central to the national pride and independence of so-called #Québec. Eager to assert its autonomy from Anglophone capital in the 1960s, the province began damming rivers on #Indigenous land in a frenzy of hydropower nationalism.

"Upstream on the St. Lawrence, the aluminum plants at Akwesasne used a #toxic #sludge containing polychlorinated biphenyls (#PCBs) as a hydraulic fluid during the production process. These PCBs were manufactured by the infamously litigious #corporation #Monsanto, which continues to evade public #accountability for discharging this known #carcinogen into the St. Lawrence River and onto Kanien’kehá:ka soil. The #carcinogenic soup was left exposed on the very grounds where the children of Akwesasne played and where families grew their vegetables. Today, Akwesasne sits downstream and downwind of three heavily #polluted #superfund sites, and residents of Akwesasne report that almost everyone they know has a friend or family member suffering from a rare #cancer, #MetabolicSyndrome, or #autoimmune disorder. Rare, life-threatening illnesses exist at Akwesasne at rates that the public would never consider normal or acceptable in any non-Indigenous community.

"Dana-Leigh Thompson, one of the Akwesasne 8, lived about 3,000 feet from the PCB #dumpsite of the #GeneralMotors (#GM) factory for a decade. She calls what is happening to the community nothing short of an '#environmental #genocide.'"

Read more:

https://magazine.scienceforthepeople.org/online/land-back-at-barnhart/#easy-footnote-15-16285

#EnvironmentalRacism #Ecocide

#LandBack at #Barnhart:
Contextualizing the Re-occupation of #BarnhartIsland in Shared Legacies of Struggle

From #TurtleIsland to #Palestine, the struggle at #Akwesasne is rooted in the shared struggle of all #OppressedPeoples of the world who are opposing the illogic of #SettlerCapitalism and the endless violation of the #lands and #waters that our current economic system necessitates.

By Jennifer Lee
June 25, 2024

"On May 21, 2024, a group of eight Kanien’kehá:ka (#Mohawk) community members from Akwesasne were arrested at Niionenhiasekowa:ne (Barnhart Island). Certain individuals among the '#Akwesasne8' had originally gone to Barnhart to exercise their right to build a hunting and gathering shelter on their own territory, in part to protest an ongoing land claim settlement that threatens to hand over Kanien’kehá:ka title to this island, among other traditionally held territories, to New York State. The settlement is being negotiated between New York entities and three Akwesasne government councils.

"Presently, the settlement negotiations would require the extinguishment of Mohawk title to Barnhart Island, which would be effectuated through an act of Congress. By asserting their right to the land, the #Akwesasne8 have sent a clear message to both negotiating parties. Barnhart Island, like all other territories illegally stolen and swindled from their community, is not for sale—particularly not by collaborationist band and tribal council entities that purport to represent the full community but that were in fact historically imposed upon it at gunpoint.

"The fact that a group of eight community members was surrounded within just a few hours by approximately 35 police agents (including both border patrol agents and state troopers) is a clear indication of the strategic significance of this island to the interests of settler-capital. As Taiewennahawi (Marina Johnson-Zafiris), one of the eight arrestees, explains in her article 'Akwesasne and the History of #Hydropower,' the Moses-Saunders #hydrodam, located at the east end of Barnhart Island, is one of the many dams along the St. Lawrence Seaway that has supplied 'cheap' electricity to an unending procession of heavily #polluting factories since the 1950s.

"For decades, dirty plants like #Alcoa, #GeneralMotors, and #ReynoldsMetals harnessed the immense power of the #Kaniatarowanenneh (#SaintLawrenceRiver) at the Moses-Saunders dam to manufacture aluminum, a cheap, abundant, and malleable building material that requires vast amounts of power to extract and process. Not only was hydropower-fueled aluminum production critical to New York’s economic development, it was central to the national pride and independence of so-called #Québec. Eager to assert its autonomy from Anglophone capital in the 1960s, the province began damming rivers on #Indigenous land in a frenzy of hydropower nationalism.

"Upstream on the St. Lawrence, the aluminum plants at Akwesasne used a #toxic #sludge containing polychlorinated biphenyls (#PCBs) as a hydraulic fluid during the production process. These PCBs were manufactured by the infamously litigious #corporation #Monsanto, which continues to evade public #accountability for discharging this known #carcinogen into the St. Lawrence River and onto Kanien’kehá:ka soil. The #carcinogenic soup was left exposed on the very grounds where the children of Akwesasne played and where families grew their vegetables. Today, Akwesasne sits downstream and downwind of three heavily #polluted #superfund sites, and residents of Akwesasne report that almost everyone they know has a friend or family member suffering from a rare #cancer, #MetabolicSyndrome, or #autoimmune disorder. Rare, life-threatening illnesses exist at Akwesasne at rates that the public would never consider normal or acceptable in any non-Indigenous community.

"Dana-Leigh Thompson, one of the Akwesasne 8, lived about 3,000 feet from the PCB #dumpsite of the #GeneralMotors (#GM) factory for a decade. She calls what is happening to the community nothing short of an '#environmental #genocide.'"

Read more:

https://magazine.scienceforthepeople.org/online/land-back-at-barnhart/#easy-footnote-15-16285

#EnvironmentalRacism #Ecocide

#LandBack at #Barnhart:
Contextualizing the Re-occupation of #BarnhartIsland in Shared Legacies of Struggle

From #TurtleIsland to #Palestine, the struggle at #Akwesasne is rooted in the shared struggle of all #OppressedPeoples of the world who are opposing the illogic of #SettlerCapitalism and the endless violation of the #lands and #waters that our current economic system necessitates.

By Jennifer Lee
June 25, 2024

"On May 21, 2024, a group of eight Kanien’kehá:ka (#Mohawk) community members from Akwesasne were arrested at Niionenhiasekowa:ne (Barnhart Island). Certain individuals among the '#Akwesasne8' had originally gone to Barnhart to exercise their right to build a hunting and gathering shelter on their own territory, in part to protest an ongoing land claim settlement that threatens to hand over Kanien’kehá:ka title to this island, among other traditionally held territories, to New York State. The settlement is being negotiated between New York entities and three Akwesasne government councils.

"Presently, the settlement negotiations would require the extinguishment of Mohawk title to Barnhart Island, which would be effectuated through an act of Congress. By asserting their right to the land, the #Akwesasne8 have sent a clear message to both negotiating parties. Barnhart Island, like all other territories illegally stolen and swindled from their community, is not for sale—particularly not by collaborationist band and tribal council entities that purport to represent the full community but that were in fact historically imposed upon it at gunpoint.

"The fact that a group of eight community members was surrounded within just a few hours by approximately 35 police agents (including both border patrol agents and state troopers) is a clear indication of the strategic significance of this island to the interests of settler-capital. As Taiewennahawi (Marina Johnson-Zafiris), one of the eight arrestees, explains in her article 'Akwesasne and the History of #Hydropower,' the Moses-Saunders #hydrodam, located at the east end of Barnhart Island, is one of the many dams along the St. Lawrence Seaway that has supplied 'cheap' electricity to an unending procession of heavily #polluting factories since the 1950s.

"For decades, dirty plants like #Alcoa, #GeneralMotors, and #ReynoldsMetals harnessed the immense power of the #Kaniatarowanenneh (#SaintLawrenceRiver) at the Moses-Saunders dam to manufacture aluminum, a cheap, abundant, and malleable building material that requires vast amounts of power to extract and process. Not only was hydropower-fueled aluminum production critical to New York’s economic development, it was central to the national pride and independence of so-called #Québec. Eager to assert its autonomy from Anglophone capital in the 1960s, the province began damming rivers on #Indigenous land in a frenzy of hydropower nationalism.

"Upstream on the St. Lawrence, the aluminum plants at Akwesasne used a #toxic #sludge containing polychlorinated biphenyls (#PCBs) as a hydraulic fluid during the production process. These PCBs were manufactured by the infamously litigious #corporation #Monsanto, which continues to evade public #accountability for discharging this known #carcinogen into the St. Lawrence River and onto Kanien’kehá:ka soil. The #carcinogenic soup was left exposed on the very grounds where the children of Akwesasne played and where families grew their vegetables. Today, Akwesasne sits downstream and downwind of three heavily #polluted #superfund sites, and residents of Akwesasne report that almost everyone they know has a friend or family member suffering from a rare #cancer, #MetabolicSyndrome, or #autoimmune disorder. Rare, life-threatening illnesses exist at Akwesasne at rates that the public would never consider normal or acceptable in any non-Indigenous community.

"Dana-Leigh Thompson, one of the Akwesasne 8, lived about 3,000 feet from the PCB #dumpsite of the #GeneralMotors (#GM) factory for a decade. She calls what is happening to the community nothing short of an '#environmental #genocide.'"

Read more:

https://magazine.scienceforthepeople.org/online/land-back-at-barnhart/#easy-footnote-15-16285

#EnvironmentalRacism #Ecocide

#LandBack at #Barnhart:
Contextualizing the Re-occupation of #BarnhartIsland in Shared Legacies of Struggle

From #TurtleIsland to #Palestine, the struggle at #Akwesasne is rooted in the shared struggle of all #OppressedPeoples of the world who are opposing the illogic of #SettlerCapitalism and the endless violation of the #lands and #waters that our current economic system necessitates.

By Jennifer Lee
June 25, 2024

"On May 21, 2024, a group of eight Kanien’kehá:ka (#Mohawk) community members from Akwesasne were arrested at Niionenhiasekowa:ne (Barnhart Island). Certain individuals among the '#Akwesasne8' had originally gone to Barnhart to exercise their right to build a hunting and gathering shelter on their own territory, in part to protest an ongoing land claim settlement that threatens to hand over Kanien’kehá:ka title to this island, among other traditionally held territories, to New York State. The settlement is being negotiated between New York entities and three Akwesasne government councils.

"Presently, the settlement negotiations would require the extinguishment of Mohawk title to Barnhart Island, which would be effectuated through an act of Congress. By asserting their right to the land, the #Akwesasne8 have sent a clear message to both negotiating parties. Barnhart Island, like all other territories illegally stolen and swindled from their community, is not for sale—particularly not by collaborationist band and tribal council entities that purport to represent the full community but that were in fact historically imposed upon it at gunpoint.

"The fact that a group of eight community members was surrounded within just a few hours by approximately 35 police agents (including both border patrol agents and state troopers) is a clear indication of the strategic significance of this island to the interests of settler-capital. As Taiewennahawi (Marina Johnson-Zafiris), one of the eight arrestees, explains in her article 'Akwesasne and the History of #Hydropower,' the Moses-Saunders #hydrodam, located at the east end of Barnhart Island, is one of the many dams along the St. Lawrence Seaway that has supplied 'cheap' electricity to an unending procession of heavily #polluting factories since the 1950s.

"For decades, dirty plants like #Alcoa, #GeneralMotors, and #ReynoldsMetals harnessed the immense power of the #Kaniatarowanenneh (#SaintLawrenceRiver) at the Moses-Saunders dam to manufacture aluminum, a cheap, abundant, and malleable building material that requires vast amounts of power to extract and process. Not only was hydropower-fueled aluminum production critical to New York’s economic development, it was central to the national pride and independence of so-called #Québec. Eager to assert its autonomy from Anglophone capital in the 1960s, the province began damming rivers on #Indigenous land in a frenzy of hydropower nationalism.

"Upstream on the St. Lawrence, the aluminum plants at Akwesasne used a #toxic #sludge containing polychlorinated biphenyls (#PCBs) as a hydraulic fluid during the production process. These PCBs were manufactured by the infamously litigious #corporation #Monsanto, which continues to evade public #accountability for discharging this known #carcinogen into the St. Lawrence River and onto Kanien’kehá:ka soil. The #carcinogenic soup was left exposed on the very grounds where the children of Akwesasne played and where families grew their vegetables. Today, Akwesasne sits downstream and downwind of three heavily #polluted #superfund sites, and residents of Akwesasne report that almost everyone they know has a friend or family member suffering from a rare #cancer, #MetabolicSyndrome, or #autoimmune disorder. Rare, life-threatening illnesses exist at Akwesasne at rates that the public would never consider normal or acceptable in any non-Indigenous community.

"Dana-Leigh Thompson, one of the Akwesasne 8, lived about 3,000 feet from the PCB #dumpsite of the #GeneralMotors (#GM) factory for a decade. She calls what is happening to the community nothing short of an '#environmental #genocide.'"

Read more:

https://magazine.scienceforthepeople.org/online/land-back-at-barnhart/#easy-footnote-15-16285

#EnvironmentalRacism #Ecocide

#Vermont becomes 1st state to enact law requiring #OilCompanies pay for damage from #ClimateChange

By LISA RATHKE
Updated 3:00 PM EDT, May 31, 2024

"Last July’s flooding from torrential rains inundated Vermont’s capital city of #Montpelier, the nearby city #Barre, some southern Vermont communities and ripped through homes and washed away roads around the rural state. Some saw it as the state’s worst natural disaster since a 1927 flood that killed dozens of people and caused widespread destruction. It took months for businesses — from restaurants to shops — to rebuild, losing out on their summer and even fall seasons. Several have just recently reopened while scores of homeowners were left with flood-ravaged homes heading into the cold season."

Read more:
https://apnews.com/article/vermont-climate-change-superfund-oil-companies-b6565729f23e85eed4d3da44b04ae2e5

#BigOil #BigOilAndGas #ClimateCrisis #ClimateCatastrophe #Accountability #ExxonKnew #BigOilKnew #MakePollutersPay #Superfund #SuperfundSites

Jan 8 2024 - I just filed my #CERCLA / #Superfund Whistleblower complaint against #Apple & request for de novo hearing ☑️

I already got the: "Thank you for contacting the Department of #Labor Office of Admin Law Judges..." reply ☑️

I hiked through the snow to the mailbox & Apple's been served via paper & email ☑️

📄 Request for De Novo Hearing with Office of Administrative Law Judges + Request to Amend to Add #RCRA & Clean Air Act Whistleblower Retaliation: https://gjovik.co/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/US-DOL-OALJ-Gjovik-v-Apple-CERCLA-RCRA-CAA.pdf

‘Extremely toxic chemical’ found in many products may be banned by EPA. What is #TCE?

Brendan Rascius
Tue, October 24, 2023

"The Environmental Protection Agency (#EPA) proposed a ban on #trichloroethylene (TCE), a #cancer-causing chemical found in consumer and industrial products.

"The proposed near-total ban — part of the #Biden administration’s 'moonshot' initiative to eradicate cancer — would take effect next year, following a period for public comment, according to an Oct. 23 EPA news release.

"'The science is loud and clear on TCE,' EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe said in the release. 'It is a dangerous toxic chemical and proposing to ban it will protect families, workers, and communities.'

"TCE is a colorless, liquid chemical compound that is manufactured primarily as a cleaning #solvent, according to the National Cancer Institute.

"It’s typically not found in products marketed to consumers, but among the household products it is used in are #CleaningPipes, #PaintRemovers, #Carpet Cleaners, #ToolCleaners, #SprayAdhesives and #BrakeCleaners, officials said.

"Industrially, it’s used to #degrease metal materials found in aircraft and as a refrigerant. It’s also employed in the manufacturing of battery separators found in #ElectricVehicles.

"The chemical compound is 'extremely toxic' and has been linked to adverse health effects, the EPA says.

"The agency has found that TCE causes #NonHodgkinsLymphoma and liver and kidney #cancer, officials said. It also damages the #ImmuneSystem, the central nervous system, reproductive organs and puts fetal development at risk.

"'These risks are present even at very small concentrations of TCE,' officials said.

"'TCE is also associated with Parkinson’s disease and possibly other neurodegenerative diseases,' Briana De Miranda, a professor specializing in toxicology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told McClatchy News.

"Exposure to the chemical can occur in a number of ways, the most common of which is via inhalation, De Miranda said.

"'If people work with TCE they may inhale it through its vapor phase or off gassing of the liquid,' De Miranda said. 'If people live or work where it contaminates the soil or ground water, they could inhale TCE via vapor intrusion into buildings.'

"It can also be ingested orally, including through #contaminated drinking water, and through the skin, though this is less common, De Miranda said.

"Exposure often occurs at #Superfund sites, which are swaths of land across the country that are designated as contaminated by the EPA. These include manufacturing centers, processing plants, #landfills and #mines."

Read more:
https://news.yahoo.com/extremely-toxic-chemical-found-many-164645595.html

We have this beautiful little lake about ten minutes from where we live, right outside the city of #Syracuse, but it is a toxic cesspool that you can't even swim in. What kind of morons would allow this to happen? Truly a shame.

https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0203382

#SuperfundSite #Superfund #environmentalism #pollution #environment