The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will accelerate its scientific review of dioxins and take a leadership role in the ongoing cleanup of the Michigan Dow Dioxin site, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced on Tuesday.
Dioxins, a class of hundreds of chemicals that are difficult to remove
from water and soil, are produced by industries that incinerate waste
or manufacture chemicals and pesticides. The Dow Chemical site in
Midland, Michigan contains significant dioxin contamination that
extends for 50 miles down the Tittabawassee and Saginaw Rivers and into
the Saginaw Bay.
Jackson committed to releasing a draft report on the scientific review by
December 31, 2009 and a final report and assessment by the end of 2010.
The draft report, which will be subject to public comment and
peer review, will address the latest science on the issue and respond
to concerns raised by the National Academies of Science in 2006 about a
previous EPA draft dioxin assessment.
In a letter to community members affected by the contamination, Administrator Jackson announced that EPA, working closely with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, will take lead responsibility for cleanup efforts in significant portions of the Saginaw Bay watershed under the federal Superfund program.
“EPA is stepping up our commitment to this site, in partnership with
the state of Michigan, so that we can accelerate this cleanup and deal
with the pressing threats to human health and the environment,” said
EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We are also redoubling our efforts
to provide guidance on the science of dioxin health effects to inform
cleanup decisions at this site and protect other communities, in
Michigan and across the country, facing dioxin contamination.”
EPA has developed milestones and schedules for achieving a comprehensive and expeditious cleanup and will present them at a public meeting in Michigan on June 17.
As one part of its overall cleanup plan, EPA will continue to negotiate an agreement requiring Dow (NYSE: DOW) to sample the rivers and bay for dioxin contamination and identify options for cleanup. Administrator Jackson pledged an unprecedented degree of transparency during these negotiations so the public has a full opportunity to be heard.
While EPA hopes to work cooperatively with the company, Jackson said that the agency will not hesitate to use all tools at its disposal–including a wide range of penalties and sanctions–to ensure Dow Chemical upholds its responsibility to clean up this site. If Dow fails to meet its responsibilities, EPA will conduct the cleanup at the company’s expense.
To provide more immediate guidance at the Dow site and elsewhere, the administrator also said that, based on a comprehensive review of state cleanup levels and the relevant science, EPA will announce interim cleanup goals by the end of the year and would review a Dow-funded study on dioxin exposure by September 30.
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