Posted - June 1, 2008

Fly Ash Dump Within 13-Mile Radius of McAdoo Associates Superfund Site

Have you ever noticed that government scientists are the last to know when a chemical has been causing health problems in an exposed population?

For example, some reports indicate that as early as World War I, U.S. soldiers referred to cigarettes as "coffin nails" and "cancer sticks." However, it wasn't until 1964 that the U.S. Surgeon General announced medical research showing that smoking was a definite cause of cancers of the lung and larynx (voice box) in men and chronic bronchitis in both men and women. It took government scientists years to confirm what many smokers had known almost 50 years!

The story with dibromochloropropane (DBCP) is similar. DBCP is a chemical used to kill worms that live in soil and plague a variety of crops. For years workers at a chemical facility in California knew that if you worked in the DBCP plant, you didn't have to worry about having children, that is, you became sterile. Finally in 1977, after years of research, government scientists "discovered" that workers in the DBCP plants were sterile. Holy Discovery, Batman!

The situation is no different here. In 2004, the Carbon County Groundwater Guardians uncovered an unusual cluster of people with polycythemia vera living on Ben Titus Road along the Still Creek Reservoir in Rush Township. Polycythemia vera is a rare bone marrow cancer occurring with a frequency of about one in 100,000 people per year in the general population.

The Carbon County Groundwater Guardians initially uncovered three and possibly four patients, including two in one household, among approximately one hundred or so people living in the area. It was obvious to us that there was a significant increase in the incidence of polycythemia vera in this area. We then wanted to know what was the cause of this increase.

There is a hazardous chemical waste dump known as the McAdoo Associates Superfund Site, a waste coal-burning plant and a fly ash dump located about one mile north and uphill of Ben Titus Road. There are five waste coal-burning plants, four Superfund sites and numerous fly ash dumps within a 13-mile radius of the McAdoo Associates Super fund site. The 13-mile radius encompasses parts of three counties: Luzerne, Schuylkill and Carbon.

More than four years and three studies by government scientists later, we are no closer to identifying the cause of the problem. In fact, it took the government scientists more than three years to confirm that there was a significant increase in the incidence of polycythemia vera in the three counties!

To their credit, the government scientists did identify the 13-mile radius area where individuals had a four and a half times greater risk of developing polycythemia vera compared to individuals residing in the three county region. Since the three county region already had an elevated polycythemia vera rate, individuals within the 13-mile radius had an approximate 15 times greater risk of developing polycythemia vera when compared to the national average!

Since government scientists are the last to know when a chemical has been causing health problems in an exposed population, the onus falls on us to prove what is the cause. With this in mind, we suspect that coal-fired plants are the problem or a significant part of the problem. We also suspect that the fly ash dumps and the Superfund sites are also contributing to the problem.

We must now try to prove that toxic emissions from the five coal-fired plants in 13-mile zone significantly contribute to or cause the increase in the incidence of polycythemia vera in this area. If we are able to prove the cause, the government scientists will conduct studies over a period of years and then officially "discover" what we have already proven. They will, of course, take credit for the findings.

Posted - June 3, 2008

The following is a press release from Dennis Baylor, an independent candidate for state senator in the 29th Senate District: Schuylkill and parts of Carbon, Monroe, Northampton, Lehigh and Berks counties. The makeup of the 29th Senate District is an example of gerrymandering, the anti-democratic process for providing an election advantage to one party.

Dennis Baylor - Independent Candidate for State Senate

On June 2, 2008, Dennis Baylor, an Independent candidate for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's 29th Senate seat, filed a civil action in Federal District Court, for the Middle District of Pennsylvania to stop the Pennsylvania's Department of State from unconstitutionally denying him his First Amendment rights of 'Free Speech' and 'Association' based on how the department assesses the validity of the signatures on petitions to access the November, 2008 general election ballot. The deadline for Political Body candidates to file Nominating Papers is August 1, 2008.

According to the complaint Docketed at CV-08-1060, Mr. Baylor is also charging that the Department's practice of not "officially" recognizing third party candidacies until the August 1 deadline for them to file petitions to access the ballot, is discriminatory, and amounts to giving the major party candidates an impermissible head start in political races.

Mr. Baylor also claims that the pervasive practice of gerrymandering legislative districts unconstitutionally burdens First Amendment rights of 'Association' by geometrically expanding the media markets a candidate must reach due to the fracturing of "communities of interest".

A copy of Mr. Baylor's complaint is posted on his blog:
http://dennisbaylor.wordpress.com/

Posted - June 5, 2008

On June 4th, the Clean Air Council presented the Philadelphia premier of the Natural Resources Defense Council's (NRDC) film Crude Substitute: The Folly of Liquid Coal (click on Video Files on the left to view the film). America is facing critical choices about its energy future; how do we fulfill our energy needs AND combat global warming? The coal industry wants to turn coal into a liquid transportation fuel. But liquid coal would have devastating impacts on our economy, our communities and our environment.

After the film, the Schuylkill County residents featured in Crude Substitute, Evelyn Andrews, Sharon Chiao, and Dante Picciano, shared their personal experiences and answered questions. Dr. Picciano addressed the polycythemia vera cancer epidemic in the area and the proposed coal-to-oil plant's impact on the public heath and the environment. 6:30 p.m. The event was held at the Academy of Natural Sciences on Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

Crude Substitute: The Folly of Liquid Coal

The following is the text of Dr. Picciano's presentation:

As you have seen, a billion dollar coal-to-oil plant has been proposed for northeastern Pennsylvania. The plant would be located on a 75-acre site near Gilberton in Schuylkill County near the juncture with Luzerne and Carbon counties. Nearby communities include Frackville, Mahanoy City, Hazleton, McAdoo and Tamaqua. The population of this tri-county region is estimated at 527,000.

In 2004, a woman living on Ben Titus Road, in Rush Township, south of McAdoo, saw a story in a local newspaper for having well water tested. The story was placed by the Carbon County Groundwater Guardians. The woman called the Groundwater Guardians and asked to have her water tested because she was concerned about the fact that she and her husband were both suffering from polycythemia vera.

Polycythemia vera is a rare cancer of the bone marrow occurring in the general population with a frequency of approximately one in 100,000 people per year. The woman also noted that there was a third case and a suspected fourth case of polycythemia vera in nearby homes.

Ben Titus Road is about two miles in length with approximately 70 homes. A hazardous chemical waste dump, a waste coal-burning plant and a fly ash dump are located about one mile north, uphill of the road. The hazardous waste dump is known as the McAdoo Associates Superfund Site.

Since the initial discovery of the polycythemia vera cluster, there have been three studies of cancer and polycythemia vera rates by government agencies. The Pennsylvania Department of Health released two of the studies, the first in September 2004 and the second in December 2005.

In the first study, the Pennsylvania Department of Health found elevated rates of stomach, colon, larynx, thyroid, leukemias and uterine cancers in Luzerne County; mouth, colon, lung, cervical and uterine cancers in Schuylkill County; and melanoma in Carbon County.

In addition, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported more than a tripling of the polycythemia vera rate in Schuylkill County. The Pennsylvania Department of Health attributed all increases in the incidences of the cancers to life style, specifically smoking and diet.

In the second study, the Pennsylvania Department of Health found elevated rates of seven cancer types in Luzerne County; four cancer types in Schuylkill County; and one cancer type in Carbon County. In addition, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 68 cases of polycythemia vera in the tri-county region for 2001 to 2003.

Again, the Pennsylvania Department of Health attributed all increases in the incidences of the cancers to life style, specifically smoking and diet. The Pennsylvania Department of Health was partially correct. The increases can be attributed to life style but in these studies, the life style relates to living in an area contaminated with imported hazardous wastes and being exposed to a soup of toxic chemicals.

In October 2006, U.S. Senator Arlen Specter announced that a third study of polycythemia vera in this area would be performed. At the time of the announcement, Senator Specter stated, "This area has been a dumping ground. We understand your concerns and we share your concerns. When I hear about cancer, I'm especially concerned." Senator Specter added, "We'll do everything that can be done."

The third study was conducted by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Pennsylvania Department of Health and was released in October 2007. In the third study, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry reported 131 suspected cases of polycythemia vera in the tri-county region for 2001 to 2005.

In addition, the agency identified an area within a 13-mile radius of the McAdoo Associates Superfund Site where individuals had a four and a half times greater risk of developing polycythemia vera than for individuals residing in the three counties. Since the three counties already had an elevated polycythemia vera rate, individuals within the 13-mile radius had an approximate 15 times greater risk of developing polycythemia vera when compared to the national average. The report also concluded that the study results strongly suggested that environmental exposures led to the development of the polycythemia vera.

After the results of the third study were announced, a representative from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry stated, "the agency would continue to follow up by studying … the cancer within the area." A representative from the Pennsylvania Department of Health stated, "We are committed to doing additional work and study."

It has been several months and nothing has been done to find the exact cause of the polycythemia vera epidemic in the tri-county area or to reduce or eliminate our exposure to the causative agent or agents.

It should be noted and emphasized that the proposed coal-to-oil plant would be located within the 13-mile epicenter of the polycythemia vera epidemic. There are already: five waste coal-burning plants, four Superfund sites and numerous fly ash dumps within the 13-mile zone. Any additional environmental insults can only increase the health problems to the innocent people in this damaged area.

This area is already an environmental disaster. We need to start cleaning up the mess. If for no other reason, it would be wrong to build a coal-to-oil plant anywhere in northeastern Pennsylvania to further contaminate the area with toxic emissions and to increase the health risks for a defenseless population.

Posted - June 9, 2008

A Truckload of Political Promises on Property Tax Reform

An article entitled, "Argall's June legislative report TV program focuses on property tax elimination" was recently published in the Lehighton Times-News (www.tnonline.com). The article indicated that the program highlighted Rep. David Argall's ongoing efforts with Rep. Sam Rohrer (R-Berks) to eliminate school property taxes. Rep. Rohrer is the prime sponsor of House Bill 1275 and Rep. Argall is a cosponsor of the bill. I believe that Rep. Keith McCall also supports House Bill 1275.

The bill would generate the necessary funds to replace the property tax revenues by expanding the sales tax to cover additional items and services and by increasing the personal income tax from 3.07 to 3.92 percent. Only school property taxes would be eliminated. County/municipal property taxes would remain the same.

Before you voice your support for House Bill 1275, you should know that page 151 of the 218-page bill provides for a Public Transportation Reserve Fund comprised of $75,000,000.00 plus 4.4% of additional revenues that are generated by taxes. This dedicated funding for mass transit (Philadelphia-SEPTA) seems unnecessary and is an obstacle to support. The sponsors should make it a clean bill. They should remove this mass transit funding. They should devote every penny generated by the broadened sales tax and the increase in the personal income tax to property tax relief.

Don't be fooled by the politicians' pre-election attempt at property tax reform. The S.T.O.P plan (Senate Bills 717 and 718) is still the best plan (www.grandoldusa.com). It eliminates all property taxes, both school and county/municipal.

Posted - June 16, 2008

Below are two stories on fly ash. The first story is a June 10, 2008 editorial from the Roanoke Times in Virginia. The second story is our September 19, 2005 letter to editor. Both stories show the nonsensical policies of state regulatory agencies with fly ash dumping.

 

Fly Ash Dump in Pennsylvania

Editorial: Fly ash regulations don't make sense

The Roanoke Times
http://www.roanoke.com
June 10, 2008

State and federal environmental regulators need to rethink how they handle coal waste.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality may care whether fly ash -- the residue left over from burning coal to generate electricity -- is put in the ground simply to get rid of it or if it is put in the ground for a "beneficial purpose," such as creating a level space for construction.

But the purpose of the fly ash makes no difference to nearby groundwater. In either case, it can become contaminated by leaching heavy metals and other toxins.

For instance, monitoring wells near the landfill for Dominion Virginia's Deep Creek power plant show high levels of arsenic in the ground water.

Fly ash from the same power plant was used to create an 18-hole golf course in Chesapeake -- but no monitoring wells or other safeguards are required because DEQ officials determined the golf course was a "beneficial purpose."

Because of that designation, whatever impact the fly ash buried beneath the golf course may be having on the nearby environment will go unknown.

Thankfully, DEQ is re-examining that nonsensical policy at a meeting Thursday. That meeting will come two days after an oversight hearing by the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. At that hearing, representatives will question whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should re-examine federal regulations regarding the disposal of fly ash.

In Giles County, residents protested a fly ash fill along the New River that will be used to create a construction site.

Controversy over that project wasn't enough to get the General Assembly to force a change in DEQ regulations.

Instead, residents had to wait for the dumping to begin before they could even ask a judge to empanel a grand jury to determine whether the dump consitutes a public nuisance.

The public is not served by a policy that treats the same material differently depending on whether it is being discarded or used for fill.

In either case, those who dump it should be held to the same standards -- and required to monitor nearby groundwater for contamination.

Nothing else makes sense.

---

PA DEP's hypocrisy with fly ash dumping

September 19, 2005

To the Editor:

On August 23, 2005, an accident at PPL's coal-fired power plant at Martins Creek, Lower Mount Bethel Township, resulted in the discharge of 100 million gallons of fly ash slurry from a storage basin. Before the discharge was stopped, fly ash-contaminated water flowed across roads and fields and into the Delaware River. The exact amount of fly ash that entered the river has not yet been determined. A slick of grayish fly ash slime has moved down the Delaware as far south as Milford, NJ.

After the discharge, the City of Easton and the Easton Suburban Water Authority imposed mandatory water restrictions for every purpose except fire protection and absolutely necessary consumption. Water samples taken on August 25 showed 252 parts per billion (ppb) of arsenic at the PPL boat launch site and 16.2 ppb at Easton. Arsenic is a poison and known human carcinogen. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the current safe drinking water standard for arsenic is 50 ppb and will be lowered to 10 ppb in January 2006.

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Northeast Regional Director Mike Bedrin said the fly ash leak was "certainly a major release" into the river and noted that a state aquatic biologist would assess the impact of the spill. DEP spokesman Mark Carmon stated "PPL is going to face some type of enforcement action once we get this sorted out. It's a major spill. There's no doubt about it."

PPL has commissioned Normandeau Associates of New Hampshire to provide an independent review of the environmental assessment and cleanup. In addition, PPL has requested the Academy of Natural Sciences to act as an independent source of guidance and review for scientifically assessing the environmental effects of the spill.

Tracy Carluccio of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network described the leak as an "environmental disaster" and stated "We are concerned that the fly ash disaster will not only have short-term environmental impacts, but will have long-term environmental impacts as well."

Meanwhile, 300,000 tons of fly ash per year are being dumped into an unlined mine pit within our communities. DEP insists that the dumping is safe and that there is no reason to be concerned about fugitive fly ash dust in our air or the potential contaminants in our groundwater. In fact, DEP labels the dumping of fly ash into mines as "beneficial use."

Is there something different about the fly ash that was discharged into the Delaware River as compared to the fly ash that is being dumped in our communities? We are certain that DEP will argue that the situations are not comparable. In fact, we anticipate a response to this letter from a DEP deputy secretary for fly ash propaganda. First, we will be called misinformed fear-mongers. After the name calling, DEP will say that Pennsylvania's mining operators have safely used coal ash to reclaim mining sites for over 20 years and that DEP has accumulated water-monitoring data throughout this time period with no evidence of groundwater contamination or other problems. However, independent scientists have come to opposite conclusions when they examined DEP's own data.

DEP will also argue that using fly ash to reclaim mines will reduce life-threatening safety hazards. We would point out to DEP that more people die yearly in swimming pools than die in abandoned mine sites. Using DEP's logic, the swimming pools should be reclaimed with fly ash.

The Martins Creek incident clearly shows the environmental problems with fly ash and DEP's hypocrisy with the fly ash dumping in our communities.

Dr. Dante Picciano
Tamaqua, PA

Posted - June 18, 2008

Senator Fumo's Victorian Mansion

Pennsylvania State Senator Vince Fumo owns a 27-room Victorian mansion in Philadelphia. The home has six bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, a six-floor elevator, seven fireplaces, three kitchens, a whirlpool bath, a custom-built vault, a billiard room, wine cellar, shooting range, gas lamps, heated sidewalks and an underground tunnel.

It seems that Senator Fumo has decided to sell the mansion to help pay for his legal defense against a 139 count federal indictment for conspiracy, fraud, obstruction of justice and filing false tax returns. Senator Fumo originally listed the home for $7 million, but has subsequently lowered his asking price to $6 million.

Don't worry about Senator Fumo going homeless. He will still have three other homes: a $1.1 million house down at the shore at Margate, a $2 million home in Ft. Lauderdale and a half million dollar farm outside of Harrisburg.

Senator Fumo pays $6,611 a year in property taxes because the $6 million house is assessed at $250,000 or about four percent of its apparent market value. A house valued at $6 million would have an annual property tax bill of $165,000.

When Senator Fumo's original asking price of $7 million caused a public uproar, the Philadelphia Board of Revision of Taxes promised to come up with answers about why the valuation was so low. However, answers were not forthcoming because the Board said that it had lost Fumo's file.

In March, the Board decided to reassess Senator Fumo's home to $1 million but Senator Fumo has appealed the reassessment. If the reassessment is upheld, Senator Fumo's property tax bill will be $25,201 next year. However, there is a very good chance that Senator Fumo will win his appeal since his property was singled out for reassessment.

The moral of the story is that if you want property tax reform, run for the Pennsylvania Senate. Of course, the property tax reform will be for you personally and will not impact other homeowners.

Do you really think that Senator Fumo cares about property tax reform for Pennsylvania's property owners? Do you think that any of the 50 state senators or any of the 203 state representatives or the governor cares about property tax reform for Pennsylvania's property owners? If you do, you should vote these political aristocrats back for another term. It is your property, it is your money and remember it is your vote.

Posted - June 23, 2008

In our immediate area, we are represented at the federal level by Congressmen Tim Holden and Paul Kanjorski. We are represented at the state level by Senators Jim Rhoades and Ray Musto and Representatives Dave Argall, Neal Goodman, Tim Seip, Keith McCall and Todd Eachus.

What have these gentlemen done for us? They all claim that they have obtained grants, tax subsidies or incentives for some feel good or cosmetic project such as downtown beautification, sidewalk replacement or facade improvement. They also take credit for earmarks or some form of corporate welfare benefits for a select few.

What are they doing about the most important problems facing the people in this area?

1. What are they doing about the cost of heating oil?

2. What are they doing about property tax reform?

3. What are they doing about the cost of gasoline?

4. What are they doing about the cost of prescription drugs?

5. What are they doing about the cost of health care?

6. What are they doing about rising food costs?

7. What are they doing about repairing the bridges and highways?

In my opinion, they aren't doing anything about the most important problems facing the people in this area.

If the costs of heating oil, gasoline, prescription drugs, health care and food continue to rise, most people, especially those on low or fixed incomes, will suffer immensely this coming winter. Some people will have to choose between heating oil and food or between gasoline and prescription drugs or between health care and property taxes. Now is the time to act, not after it is too late. In fact, these problems should have been addressed years ago.

We don't need our representatives spending their time debating whether or not we should regulate dog kennels or smoking in public places. We need our representatives to work on the seven problems listed above.

Do you really think that any of these elected representatives cares about the cost of heating oil, property tax reform, the cost of gasoline, the cost of prescription drugs, the cost of health care, the cost of food or bridge and highway repair? If you do, you should vote these political aristocrats back for another term. It is your life, your property, your money and it is your vote.

If I have failed to offend any other local career politician, I apologize for the unintentional omission.