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Dioxin Contamination Issues in Midland
2005 Updates
Dow/DEQ Framework
On Wednesday, January 19, 2005, the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality (MDEQ) announced that they, with the
assistance of Michigan Lt. Governor John D. Cherry, had reached
a
framework agreement
with The Dow Chemical Company on the dioxin issue. (Click
here for MDEQ press release on January 19 announcement.)
This is positive news for the Midland community as this
agreement addresses two major concerns that had been strongly
voiced by Midland residents:
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The first is how the MDEQ and Dow were planning to proceed
with Interim Response Actions (IRAs), or short-term
activities, to immediately address health concerns in specific
areas of mid-Michigan.
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The second is how the community-wide contamination
issue will finally be resolved from a regulatory
perspective.
Interim Response Activities Decided
1000 ppt Versus 90 ppt
In regard to the IRAs, MDEQ had previously announced the
intent to undertake soil studies in four residential areas of
Midland using a criteria of 90 parts per trillion (ppt) to
determine health. The City of Midland, and over 1500 of its
residents, had objected to this criteria as being
unscientifically calculated and much lower than necessary to
protect human health.
Under the "framework" agreement, the number of Midland
neighborhoods to be affected by interim response activities has
been reduced to three and the residential contact criteria to be
used is 1000 ppt. This is the level of concern used by the
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a
federal agency associated with the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention in Atlanta, GA.
The City believes the 1000 ppt IRA level is protective of
human health and agrees that properties exceeding this amount
pose a risk that should be mitigated.
Midland
Areas to Undergo Cleanup Efforts
The three Midland neighborhoods currently undergoing cleanup efforts
include the following:
Corning Lane
A neighborhood east of Corning Lane
A neighborhood north of the Dow Michigan Operations plant
Four Midland Daycare Centers
Offered Cleanup Options
When the framework agreement between the MDEQ and Dow was
decided upon, the MDEQ also insisted that four State-licensed
daycare homes outside of the three Midland priority neighborhood
areas be offered mitigation assistance such as wood chips to
cover non-turf covered / bare soils and vacuuming of house dust.
The City strongly believed that these daycare centers were
no different than many family-occupied homes adjacent to them
and located throughout many other areas of the city. There is no
known difference in the dioxin level of their soils and,
therefore, they offer no additional risks to small children
living or being cared for there. However, the MDEQ made it a
non-negotiable IRA requirement, and Dow refused to include the
centers in any regulatory agreement or plan since there is no
factual basis to justify their inclusion.
Since this appeared to be a "deal breaker" for the framework
agreement, the City offered - and the MDEQ and Dow accepted - to
assist in mitigation efforts for the four daycare facilities.
Dow agreed to fund these mitigation efforts. From the City's
perspective, there was too much for Midland residents to gain
from the framework agreement to let it fail over the MDEQ's
illogical position on the daycare homes.
In August 2005, the four daycares received a letter from the
City of Midland and were offered a meeting with a City
representative and a representative of the company that Dow has
hired to perform all interim response activities to date - AKT
Peerless Environmental Services. Of the four daycares contacted,
two accepted cleanup services, which have been completed as of
November 2005. Two centers did not receive those services, as
they are no longer operating as daycare centers.
Planned Cleanup for Other
Mid-Michigan Areas
Other areas of mid-Michigan
slated for cleanup are included in the final
framework document.
Timeline for Interim Response
Actions
According to the MDEQ framework document, IRA work plans for remediation of dioxin contamination
in the above areas must be completed/in place by December 31, 2005.
Framework Agreement Provides that MDEQ Won’t Continue to
Rely Solely on 90 ppt Level
The City was similarly concerned about the use of the 90 ppt
level in developing a comprehensive solution to the dioxin
problem across the entire city. At a
May 26,
2004 community meeting at the Midland Center
for the Arts, many Midland citizens strongly advocated the use
of scientific studies of the actual risks of dioxin in Midland
soils to determine a "site specific" exposure level that was
safe for them. (View results of a
resident response survey
of audience members taken during the community meeting.)
Instead, the MDEQ will provide time for the ongoing independent
scientific studies (such as the bioavailability work
funded by Dow) to be completed so that they can be considered in
concluding what levels of dioxin in Midland soils are safe.
These decisions are not expected to be completed until the first
quarter of 2006.
Blood Test Results from U-M Dioxin Study Sent to Tittabawassee Floodplain and Midland Area
Participants (March 2005)
On March 10, 2005, local participants in a University of
Michigan-led study of human exposure to dioxins in the
Midland-Saginaw area heard a progress report and had some
questions answered by the study’s leader, Dr. David Garabrant,
at the Freeland Elementary School.
The meeting followed the release of blood test results to
about 265 participants from Midland, Saginaw and the
Tittabawassee floodplain in February 2005.
The $15 million study began in the fall of 2004, and is
designed to determine whether the elevated levels of dioxins in
area soils have also caused elevated levels of dioxins in
residents' bodies. The results of local testing will be compared
with those of residents from Jackson and Calhoun counties, areas
which historically have little to no dioxin in soils.
Tests are done on participants’ blood, plus samples of dust
and soil that are taken from their property. The U-M study looks
merely at the level of human exposure to dioxins, not the
chemical byproduct’s effect on health.
During the March 10 community meeting, Dr. Garabrant
explained the results of blood tests from this first group of
participants, but did not draw conclusions as to their meaning,
saying that it is too early to do so. The results will be
explained after the study is finalized, sometime in late 2006.
Preliminary results of dust sampling of local participants’ properties
were sent out beginning in June 2005, and soil test results are
expected to be ready to send to participants in June. Testing in
Jackson and Calhoun counties is expected to be completed by
September 2005.
Soil & Dust Test Results
Being Mailed to U-M Dioxin Study Participants (June 2005)
At a June 9, 2005 meeting in Freeland, Michigan, U-M
exposure study leader Dr. David Garabrant announced that
results from soil and dust samples taken in Saginaw and
Midland are being mailed to residents who participated in the
study.
Participants have been given the option of finding out the
level of dioxins found on their properties. If property owners
want to see those results, and the results are found to be above
the State’s residential contact criteria of 90 ppt, they are
required by law to disclose that information to potential
buyers. They also must not move soil in a way that could spread
any possible contamination.
Although property owners who asked to see the test results
will know how much dioxin was found on their property, ranges
won’t be made available to the public until the study is
complete in 2006.
The team of researchers working on the U-M study is still
gathering samples from test areas in Jackson and Calhoun
counties.
Legislation Aimed at Hazardous
Waste Facilities Label Vetoed by Gov. Granholm
(December 2005)
Despite bi-partisan support in the Michigan House of
Representatives and Senate, legislation that would have required
testing before potentially contaminated residential properties
are labeled hazardous waste facilities was vetoed by Gov.
Jennifer Granholm on Dec. 27, 2005.
The law first passed in the Michigan House of Representatives on
June 29, 2005, before going to the Senate for consideration. The
Senate had approved it on Dec. 7.
First introduced by State Rep. John Moolenaar and State Sen.
Mike Goschka on April 13, 2005, the "Homeowner Fairness Bill"
would have required that the “facility” label be withheld unless
specific testing of a property had revealed contamination levels
above State-set standards. For example, in the case of dioxin,
the level would have needed to be above the State’s contact criteria of
90 parts per trillion before a homeowner’s property would be
labeled as a facility.
There was an exception to this: if homeowners wanted the
label applied to their property, they could request it if excess
concentrations of one or more contaminants were found in areas
surrounding their property.
The legislation also would have required that the Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) develop a scientific,
site specific risk assessment in establishing pollution
criteria.
Had it passed, the legislation would not have removed State
requirements that property owners disclose contamination
information to potential buyers. However, it would have helped remove
the negative stigma and stopped potential losses in market value
that can result when an untested property is labeled as
“hazardous.”
Gov. Granholm's veto letter can be found via the following
link:
To view the vetoed bill in its entirety, click on the link
below:
Midland Area Soils
Remedial Investigation Work Plan (MS RIWP) (December
2005)
As required by the Framework Agreement between
Dow and the MDEQ and Dow's hazardous waste management facility
operating license, Dow in December 2005 submitted to the DEQ a
remedial work plan for Midland area soils. Click on the link
below to access this document.
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