[CPEO-BIF] Ithaca Journal's (NY) welcome to Assembly Committee

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

TCE hearing: Why are we here today?

Ithaca Journal (NY)
EDITORIAL 
April 21, 2005

Good morning Chairman Tom DiNapoli, Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton and the
rest of the state Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee. 

First, thank you for coming to town to hear testimony about local soil
contamination issues, most notably the still growing investigation into
the release of trichloroethene -- the now infamous substance called TCE
-- into the ground on the hillside overlooking the city of Ithaca's
south side. The weight and the light this committee's public hearing
will bring to this insidious public health threat is desperately needed. 

That said, there's a question that has been nagging at us for more than
11 months since local environmental watchdog Walter Hang stood at the
corner of South Cayuga Street and South Hill Terrace and woke us all up
to the threat from a chemical considered dangerous to nerve, kidney,
liver and heart function: 

How did it all come to this? 

Research by Hang and documents he helped The Journal obtain show that
Tompkins County officials were sparring with Morse Chain as far back as
the early 1960s about problems with oil and other chemicals leaking off
the site and into the ground and area steams. Why didn't our public
officials step in then to aggressively protect public health? 

...

For the entire editorial, see
http://www.theithacajournal.com/news/stories/20050421/opinion/2117219.html

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org
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