Residents Worry About Rocket Fuel in the Inland Empire's Drinking Supply
The Black Voice News, News Report, Cheryl Brown, Posted: May 07, 2005
FONTANA, Calif.-- Residents are suffering from high incidences of thyroid disease, cancer and low learning levels, attention deficit disorders, and learning disabilities because of rocket fuel in the water, charged Penny Newman, Executive Director of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice.
"Polluters need to provide replacement water and clean up the water," said Newman.
Forum host and guest speaker State Senator Nell Soto was strong in her response as she urged the audience of 100 in February to get involved, saying, "They won't pay attention until we start working together. Public pressure is going to be the only thing that will work. Start a revolution!"
At the highest risk are pregnant women, infants, children and those whose immune systems have been compromised. "In Norco, there have been clusters of thyroid problems, and other illnesses," said one participant who was asking for help for her community.
"The area with the highest number of incidents is the Wiley Labs located just 1500 feet from two schools. The people affected are unrelated to each other and as new people move in they are becoming ill. We have been documenting the cases. In one case the family had a case of thyroid cancer and the next person who moved in the same house also had thyroid problems," said the woman.
The community forum, held at the Fontana City Hall, focused on the high incidence of rocket fuel in the entire Inland Empire's drinking water. State Senators Nell Soto and Gloria Negrete McCloud were there to support the grassroots movement to clean up the drinking water.
Perchlorate is the primary ingredient in rocket fuel and is emerging as the major contaminate in California and in the nation. Because of the high number of military and aerospace contractors and manufacturers of explosive chemicals in the Inland Empire there is widespread contamination in the water, milk and lettuce of about 16 million Californians. West Valley Water District director Alan Dryer said, "the water companies want to sell clean water but we have no money to clean it up and we are not working together to go after money from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)."
He said that they don't even have the tools to measure the amount of pollution in the water. Supervisor Josie Gonzales took issue with presenters and said her approach is to clean up the problem. "We need to focus on the clean-up, not the money it costs to do it," she said. However she was met with opposition. "It is the responsibility of the polluters not the taxpayers to clean up the water," said Newman. Gonzales said that time was of the essence.
Sujatha Jahagirdar |
Environment California Research & Policy Center representative Sujatha Jahagirdar summed up the problem and said that the Santa Ana Water Quality Board has not issued a fine. "The government agency that is charged with clean water hasn't issued a fine to any of the companies who are the polluters. If the polluters are put into the Superfund the water will be cleaned up," she said. Jahagirdar said that the company Kerr-McGee Industries has almost single handedly polluted the entire Southern California region. "It is paramount no matter where we live," she said.
Senator McCloud said her research found that a plume of perchlorate is in her district near Pomona, (where the GE Iron Company used to be) over to the Big Chino Aquifer and is meeting the San Bernardino/Riverside plume at about a rate of 3 feet a day.
The issue of the standard of what is the safe level of water was discussed. Jahagirdar said that California doesn't have a safe standard and that setting the standard is political. "The companies that pollute are trying to convince the government to agree on a standard that is dangerously high.
Massachusetts, she said, "has the nation's best standard. It is one part per billion." The California Department of Health Services is unofficially moving toward recommending the very high rate at six parts per billion" she said.
"In setting the final perchlorate standard, the state should use the weight of scientific evidence, including experiments showing the damage to infant rats when exposed to small amounts of perchlorate in the womb," said Jahagirdar. According to Jahagirdar, the study that was done used grown men and not pregnant women or children. "They gave some grown, healthy men perchlorate laced water for two weeks and another group clean water, they (perchlorate) were not affected," she said.
The study done by Environment California Research and Policy Center recommends, in addition, the State of California, local governments and water suppliers should hold responsible parties fully liable for cleanup and for supplying replacement drinking water to affected communities.
Congress should not exempt the Department of Defense. Secondly, Congress should reinstate Superfund fees for polluting industries to ensure that contamination caused by now-bankrupt companies will be cleaned up. Federal and State Agencies should require American Pacific, Kerr-McGee Chemical and other responsible parties to accelerate clean-up of perchlorate contamination currently leaking into the Colorado River and local aquifers.
Our choice in setting a health standard for perchlorate is a choice between protecting the financial interests of a handful of companies and government agencies, or protecting California children, recommended the report. According to the presenters the water is contaminated and hurting us and the ones who are hurt the most are people who cannot afford bottled water.
”What can the community do? Sign the petitions, get involved, and help save the children. We need to protect all people. Those who can afford bottled water and those who can't," said Penny Newman. For information call (951) 360-8451.
________________________________________________________________________
This author developed this piece as part of an environmental fellowship
program run by NCM with funding from the William and Flora Hewlett
Foundation's New Constituencies for the Environment initiative.
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