Toxic Mid Michigan

Toxic Mid Michigan

Please read the information at this link, as I could only take snippets. The link provides much more detail as to how bad this really is.

www.stlouismi.com...

1960’s: During the 1950s and 1960s Michigan Chemical Corporation grew into a complex of buildings and storages tanks that sprawled across the west side of the St. Louis peninsula. The company expanded out to Washington Street (M-46) and continued to pump millions of dollars into the area’s economy.

1970’s: By 1970, one of Velsicol Chemical Company’s significant products was a fire retardant labeled Firemaster. It contained a chemical compound called PBB – not to be consumed by man or beast. The company also produced Nutrimaster, a supplemental cattle feed. In 1973 a tragic mix-up occurred in the company’s shipping department that resulted in wide-spread concern for the health of citizens throughout the state.

1980’s: In 1982, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency made a deal with Velsicol. The company would pay $38 million and be absolved of future responsibility for the chemical contamination in St. Louis. The settlement was regarded as a very favorable one by the DNR.

Here is a list of Brownfields. Properties in St. Louis still contaminated. (At least the ones they will admit to.)

www.homefacts.com...

Here is a link to a more recent article, discussing the problem is still on going.
www.freep.com...

Now, why have I brought you all of this, besides the obvious environmental nightmare that it is?
Because this affects me directly.
My family is from St. Louis. All the way back to my Great Grandparents. This is both sides of my family.
My Grandfather on my mother’s side died from cancer. He lived in the town, and worked at the chemical factory for a short time.
My Father and his Father, both died of cancer.
I still have many family members that live in this town.

My mother has several health problems and is concerned about us girls. She told me about a man she went to school with, that is big in environmental study, that has looked into this extensively. There is even a facebook page devoted to first hand stories which unfortunately is apparently locked to the general public, but mom is a “member.”
The things she has told me so far, are just unfathomable. The number of people that have either died of cancer, or have been diagnosed with it is ridiculous.

The big slap in the slap in the face? The company was absolved of future responsibility.
None of these people, or families, can sue. There is no one left to be held accountable for the many, many deaths, attributed to cancer, caused by known toxic chemicals.

It boggles the mind to think that this could have happened in such a small, quaint community. And it really brings it home that since it did, how many other small communities are suffering the same fate, with no one taking responsibility?

And this is hearsay, but something to think about:
My mom told me that someone from Sparrow Hospital, (Lansing) told her that at one time, 80% of the cancer patients that they treated were from Gratiot county. The county St. Louis is in.

There and Midland, with Dow Chemical doing its thing. I went to CMU and lived in Mt. Pleasant while studying. Had some friends from your area and they said the same thing. They also said that there were a number of weird animal births there, and also in Alma, but besides stories told to me I have no evidence.

Star and flag for bringing this up.

Good luck

Peace

reply to post by lasertaglover


Well considering the last article talks about birds eating worms and dying, I wouldn't doubt their stories a bit.

reply to post by chiefsmom


It's kind of ironic, that Edmore, which isn't very far from there, has won awards for the best tasting water in the state...

reply to post by chiefsmom


Hey I live near you. I have a Cafe on M-20 and 5 mile Rd. in Midland. Its called Cozy Cafe. Stop by and see me. The good ole Pine River was nearly ruined by that plant.

reply to post by LoneGunMan


I'd love to!!!

And don't let them fool you, it is ruined. Your still not suppose to eat anything out of it.

reply to post by chiefsmom


I have some friends that live on the river, have all there lives (in fact one just walked in the door!) they know whats up with the river. Your post made my day neighbor!

reply to post by LoneGunMan


I havent been there, but every summer I pass through Midland on my way to Gladwin every weekend. I live in SE MI now and have family up there.

Btw, thread related somewhat, we hear rumors about DOW being bad for the environment throughout Midland...any truth to it?

Peace

reply to post by lasertaglover


The city where the biggest chemical company in the world began? Nah its just fine! They invented and produced agent orange here among a million other chemicals and compounds. It mainly all goes to Saginaw downstream from us. lol

It's also really sad that due to the contamination, they had to shut down the sulpher springs.
Mom said they were pretty popular.

the large corporations have become the new slave masters. what happened there in st.louis, is happening all over the US. but people are worried about street crime, so this type of crime gets little mention on corporate media, and the funding needed to crack down on these corporations is always not enough. in america, "wealth" is the true government

Your right, but like someone somewhere else said:
How fair is it that if some little individual gets caught dumping oil somewhere, off to jail they go?
Corporations dump stuff that is killing people, and a wee bit of money makes it all go away.

Yeah, thank god for the almighty dollar.

reply to post by chiefsmom


Our society does not care about the individual at all. Money is king, and compassion is the court jester.

Companies will do whatever they can get away with, and we let them get away with a lot. Michigan Chemical Company, DOW, BP, fracking companies, nuke plant operators...all identical. All killing us.

But so long as the Simpsons are on tv, all is well and ok.

What a legacy for my kids, and theirs. Be your best, and dont mind the adults screwing everything up.

Peace

Lived and taught near there for ten years. Finally moved north and was ultimately poisoned with this substance. It took many years to get my health back, but ended up with joints disintegrating and now have five replacements to keep going.

Grew up in the Frankenmuth area all kinds of dumps everywhere. I remember when the killed all the PCB posioned cows and then buried them near my cabin north of Mio. A mess everywhere you look over there GM has dumps everywhere in thr tri cities area

reply to post by sailormon


I'm so sorry.
Those are just some of the issue my mom is dealing with right now as well.

reply to post by mikell


The more I learn about all the toxins, from so many companies, I'm starting to wonder if anywhere in MI is safe.

reply to post by chiefsmom


Where to move is a quandary, as pollution can happen where one might least expect it. Oregonians fear harmful effects from timberland herbicides

For generations, humans tossed their waste without harmful effects on the environment (maybe getting sick from organic waste, but in general Mother Earth could keep clean). With the advent of the Chemical Age, it seems we literally did what the old saying said, "it's an ill bird that fouls its own nest".

We dumped in rivers and other water sources, we dumped on/in the ground, we tossed in the air. Easy for corporations, citizens were clueless about the chemicals.

Clueless until the 1960s, which resulted in citizen grass roots action by the 1970s.

Fortunately, you have Center for Health, Environment and Justice to help. (CHEJ was started by the woman who became an activist with Love Canal, her backyard.) And another organization, from your source, working directly ...

both noted that the speed of cleanup will be dependent on the federal dollars released each year to continue.

But Jane Keon, chairman of the Pine River Superfund Citizen Task Force, is thrilled. She helped begin the group in 1998 to formally push for a cleanup, and the group has continually met with city, DEQ and EPA officials since.

She laughs at the question: "Why am I still involved? I don't know. I don't like science; I don't like bureaucracy and politics and the law, but I guess it's just persistence. I want to see it through the end. I want to see it cleaned up."

She and others say the city -- a place enjoyed for its quiet and its summer blues festival -- can no longer be defined by contamination. People are out of patience. And it comes down to right and wrong

it comes down to right and wrong ...that says it all

Erin Brockovitch says to continue the pressure. ...it comes down to right and wrong