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Environmental Justice Showdown in West Oakland! Read press coverage in the San Francisco Bay Guardian:
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Read the Letter! The following letter was sent to Ed Lowry, Director of the State Department of Toxic Substances Control, on July 14, 1999: July 14, 1999 Ed
Lowry Dear Mr. Lowry, We want Caltrans and the State Department of Toxic Substances Control to protect community health during the excavation and cleanup of toxic contamination at the South Prescott Park site. We want a park, but we want the cleanup and the park to be safe. 1. Caltrans must remove more of the toxic contamination than currently planned: Caltrans' plan to cleanup lead at the park site to an average of 400 parts per million (ppm) will leave toxic hot spots as high as 840 ppm. The cleanup should remove all hot spots, with excavation of all areas with lead contamination above 400 ppm. 2. Temporary relocation must be offered to families living between 3rd & 5th streets who have young children, pregnant women, or people suffering from respiratory problems or other serious illnesses. The excavation of the lead, DDT, PCBs, chlordane, dioxin and other chemicals at the park site can be expected to result in emissions of toxic dust which may impact local residents. Caltrans must follow the precautionary principle and offer 24 hour relocation to residents who may be especially sensitive to toxic exposure, such as families with kids, pregnant women, and people with respiratory problems or other serious illnesses. Transportation for relocated residents and special accomodations for residents with disabilities must be provided. 3. Caltrans must implement effective dust control measures during excavation of the toxic chemicals and construction at the park site. Caltrans did not adequately control dust during construction of the Cypress Freeway as they had promised, and they have failed to control dust from the toxic contaminated park site in the past two years. We cannot allow similar problems during this project due to the presence of high levels of toxic chemical contamination in the soil that will be disturbed. Caltrans must agree to wash and decontaminate the homes on 3rd Street, and any homes in the adjacent area that are impacted by emissions, during excavation and construction. 4. Caltrans and government agencies must closely monitor and test the site before, during and after excavation and construction: Prior to the beginning of work, testing should be done to determine if the vinyl chloride known to be contaminating the area adjacent to the park site has reached or otherwise threatens the park site. Testing for dioxin in soil must also take place prior to excavation, as the presence of dioxin would require a change in the cleanup plan. Testing for vinyl chloride, lead, dioxin and other chemicals should take place during and after construction. 5. Independent oversight of cleanup: Caltrans should provide funding to allow the community to have independent monitoring and oversight of the excavation and construction work. 6. If park project is delayed, Caltrans must completely control dust emissions from the site. We want the toxic cleanup to proceed to remove this toxic threat from our community. However, if the cleanup and park project is delayed, Caltrans should agree to implement comprehensive and effective dust control to stop emissions of toxic contamination from the site until the work can safely proceed. We ask you to require Caltrans to implement these reasonable steps which are necessary to protect the health of our community. Please respond to these concerns immediately, as Caltrans is planning to begin construction any day. The health of our community is at risk, and we need your assistance now. We deserve a healthy community with environmental justice. Thank you. Sincerely, Renee Morrison |
