‘#ForeverChemicals’ Are Everywhere. What Are They Doing to Us?
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/16/magazine/pfas-toxic-chemicals.html
#pollution #health #toxicwaste

#PalisadesNuclearPlant has a long history of problems. And #Holtec a long list of violations. They were made for each other [sarc]

#Palisades #nuclear plant gets $150 million in #Michigan budget

By Sheri McWhirter, Jul. 03, 2023

"Michigan lawmakers included $150 million toward the effort to restart the Palisades nuclear plant as part of a record $81.7 billion state budget passed last week.

"State officials contributed the millions in taxpayer dollars toward #Holtec International’s effort to get the nuclear plant upgraded and fired back up to provide 800 megawatts of carbon-free, base load power as the energy sector transitions away from fossil fuels. If it happens, it would be the first nuclear plant nationwide to return to generating power after being decommissioned.

"The plant was closed last year when its fuel ran out and the owner sold the facility to Holtec. The new owner has now twice applied for federal money to help get the plant operational again.

"The Biden administration has a $6 billion fund within the U.S. Department of Energy intended to preserve the U.S. nuclear reactor fleet and energy sector jobs.

"[...] Power generation at nuclear plants does not generate greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change, like burning fossil fuels does. However, some #environmental advocates remain concerned about ecological #degradation from needed #uranium #mining and #radiation risk from #ToxicWaste nuclear plants produce."

https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2023/07/palisades-nuclear-plant-gets-150-million-in-michigan-budget.html

#UraniumMining #NuclearPlants #NuclearWaste

Unfortunately, the public comment period for this project has passed. But this editorial has good information in it.

EDITORIAL: Keep #PFAS out of recycled sewage sludge

By Gazette Editorial Board | June 9, 2023

"PFAS chemicals have recently been at the heart of health and environmental issues in Hoosick Falls, Petersburgh and other areas around the state, leading to legal action, tougher regulations and cleanup efforts.

"The chemicals have been linked to a variety of health issues, including kidney and testicular cancer, thyroid disease, colitis and high blood pressure.

"In most cases, the environmental contamination comes from the discharge of the compounds into the soil from manufacturers of products that use PFAS chemicals, such as #nonStick cooking material, #firefighting foam and stain-resistant #carpet.

"But those same dangerous chemicals may also be finding their way in greater amounts into our #soil, #groundwater and even #FoodSupply through their use in #fertilizers made from #sewage #sludge.

"It’s imperative that [#NewYorkState] do all it can to reduce PFAS chemicals into the environment, not add to them.

"That’s why groups like the #SierraClub and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York are among those concerned about an element of the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s draft Solid Waste Management plan that could nearly triple the amount of recycled sewage sludge used in fertilizer and applied to #farmland and home #gardens.

"According to an article in the Altamont Enterprise, the DEC projects that 425,585 tons of sewage sludge is expected to be recycled this year. In 2018, the amount recycled was just over 300,000 tons. By 2050, the amount of recycled sludge is expected to rise to 782,527 tons, the newspaper reported.

"The potential for that sludge to contain PFAS chemicals means that there could be an increase in PFAS’s making their way into the environment.

"DEC officials said they recognize the potential for PFAS chemicals to re-enter the environment through sludge and they’re taking steps to address it, including proposing sampling requirements for so-called biosolids recycled in New York state, a comprehensive risk assessment to determine a limit for biosolids recycling, and efforts to identify potential commercial and industrial sources of PFAS chemicals in biosolids.

"The public really needs to keep an eye on this effort to ensure that the state is doing all it can to avoid contributing to more of these chemicals entering the environment."

https://dailygazette.com/2023/06/09/editorial-keep-pfas-out-of-recycled-sewage-sludge/

#EPA #InformedConsent #PFOS #WaterIsLife #ToxicWaste #FoodProduction
#ChemicalManufacturers

I wrote about farms like this one when I did a story about #UnityMaine, the home of the #CommonGroundFair -- a celebration of #OrganicFarming in #Maine. It makes me so sad to see them having to go out of business because #MaineDEP and #EPAFail led to #sludge being marketed as "fertilizer".

‘I don’t know how we’ll survive’: the #farmers facing ruin in #Maine’s ‘forever chemicals’ crisis

Maine faces a crisis from #PFAS-contaminated produce, which is causing farms to close and farmers to face the loss of their livelihoods

by Tom Perkins, 22 Mar 2022 06.05 EDT

"Songbird Farm’s 17 acres (7 hectares) hold sandy loam fields, three greenhouses and cutover woods that comprise an idyllic setting near Maine’s central coast. The small organic operation carved out a niche growing heirloom grains, tomatoes, sweet garlic, cantaloupe and other products that were sold to organic food stores or as part of a community-supported agriculture program, where people pay to receive boxes of locally grown produce.

Farmers Johanna Davis and Adam Nordell bought Songbird in 2014. By 2021 the young family with their three-year-old son were hitting their stride, Nordell said.

"But disaster struck in December. The couple learned the farm’s previous owner had decades earlier used PFAS-tainted sewage sludge, or '#biosolids', as fertilizer on Songbird’s fields. Testing revealed their soil, drinking #water, irrigation water, #crops, chickens and #blood were #contaminated with high levels of the #ToxicChemicals.

"The couple quickly recalled products, alerted customers, suspended their operation and have been left deeply fearful for their financial and physical wellbeing.

"'This has flipped everything about our lives on its head,' Nordell said. 'We haven’t done a blood test on our kid yet and that’s the most terrifying part. It’s fucking devastating.'"

Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/22/i-dont-know-how-well-survive-the-farmers-facing-ruin-in-americas-forever-chemicals-crisis

#EPA #InformedConsent #PFOS #WaterIsLife #ToxicWaste #FoodProduction

Just came across this...

From the State of #Maine:

Alternatives to #PFAS in #Food #Packaging [PDF]

"PFAS in Food Packaging
The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) invites stakeholder comment on the attached department rule concept draft language which would prohibit manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors from offering for sale or for promotional purposes in Maine certain types of food packaging to which per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been intentionally introduced, as authorized by Maine Revised Statutes, Title 32, Section 1733(3-B).
Maine law authorizes the Department to prohibit the sale of a food package to which PFAS have been intentionally introduced in any amount greater than an incidental presence if the Department determines that a safer alternative to the use of PFAS in a specific application to a food package is readily available in sufficient quantity and at a comparable cost, and that the safer alternative performs as well or better than PFAS in the specific application of PFAS to a food package.

In February 2021, the Washington State Department of Ecology (Washington DOE) published the Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances in Food Packaging Alternatives Assessment, identifying 4 types of food packaging that meet Washington’s statutory criteria for a prohibition:

Food Packaging Type and Alternative Identified as Safer

Wraps and liners - Wax-coated alternatives

Plates - Clay-coated and reusable alternatives

Food boats - Clay-coated and reusable alternatives

Pizza boxes - Uncoated alternatives

In May 2022, Washington DOE published a second alternatives assessment report, Safer Alternatives to PFAS in Food Packaging, which modified their process in two ways: first, by adjusting the concept of food packaging application to be more focused on its function rather than the package’s name; second, by relying on marketability to demonstrate cost and availability rather than direct price comparison of final products. This report identified safer alternatives for all five of the food packaging applications reviewed:

Food Packaging Type and Alternative

Bags and sleeves - Densified paper and wax-coated options

Bowls - Clay-coated, polylactic acid-coated, polylactic acid foam, and reusable options


Flat serviceware - Clay-coated, polylactic acid-coated, polylactic acid foam, and reusable options


Open-top containers - Clay-coated, densified paper, wax-coated, polylactic acid-coated, polylactic acid foam, aluminum, and reusable options


Closed containers - Clay-coated, polylactic acid-coated, polylactic acid foam, and aluminum options

Because language in Washington’s related law mirrors criteria for determination in Maine law, the Department proposes to rely on the conclusions in these reports that the safer alternatives identified perform as well as, or better, than PFAS in the specific applications of PFAS to the food package.
The Department requests written comment on this section of the Rule Chapter 80 Concept Draft by August 21, 2023.

"The Department intends to initiate formal rulemaking with the Board of Environmental Protection this fall to amend the existing Chapter 80 to incorporate these prohibitions. This will be a major substantive rulemaking subject to review by the legislature before final adoption.

"Please email Kerri.Malinowski@maine.gov with your name, affiliation, contact information, and comment in response to this request for stakeholder engagement."

Source: https://www.maine.gov/dep/safechem/packaging/SH%20notice_concept%20draft%20PFAS%20in%20food%20pckg_July2023.pdf

#PFOS #WaterIsLife #ToxicWaste #FoodPackaging

#Chemical companies’ #PFAS payouts are huge – but the problem is even bigger

#3M, #DuPont, #Chemours and #Corteva have agreed settlement in the billions for #polluting drinking #water with ‘forever chemicals’

by Tom Perkins, Aug 3, 2023

"“When the chemical giant 3M agreed in early June to pay up to $12.5bn to settle a lawsuit over PFAS contamination in water systems across the nation, it was hailed by attorneys as 'the largest drinking water settlement in American history', and viewed as a significant win for the public in the battle against toxic 'forever chemicals'.

“A second June settlement with the PFAS manufacturers DuPont, Chemours and Corteva tallied a hefty $1.1bn. But while the sums are impressive on their face, they represent just a fraction of the estimated $400bn some estimate will be needed to clean and protect the nation’s drinking water. Orange county, California, alone put the cost of cleaning its system at $1bn.

“‘While over a billion dollars is real money, it is a virtual drop in the bucket of potential utility costs to monitor, remove and dispose of these contaminants in accordance with anticipated federal regulations,' the American Municipal Water Association trade group said in a statement.

“Moreover, the two settlements include just over 6,000 water systems nationwide. Utilities that were not part of the suits but have PFAS in their systems can claim some of the settlement money, or they can sue the chemical manufacturers on their own.

“That means the settlements only represent the first wave of utility lawsuits to hit #ChemicalManufacturers, legal observers say. Because PFAS are so widely used and the scale of their harm is so great, chemical makers will get hit from a range of legal angles, and some suspect the industry’s final bill could exceed the $200bn paid by #BigTobacco in the 1990s.

“The number will be 'very large', said Kevin McKie, an attorney with the Environmental Litigation Group who represented a water management company in the 3M case. Though the 3M settlement does not cover all the nation’s costs, it is a strong start, he added.

“‘A good settlement is one where both sides walk away a bit frustrated’ is the old saying,' McKie said. 'Of course I would have liked a bit more money but I do believe they got as much as they could at this time, and there’s a lot more to go.'

“PFAS are a class of about 15,000 compounds used to make products across dozens of industries resistant to water, stains and heat. They are called 'forever chemicals' because they do not naturally break down, and are linked to #cancer, #KidneyDisease, #liver conditions, #immune disorders, #BirthDefects and other health problems.

“The chemicals are thought to be contaminating drinking water for over 200 million Americans. Tens of thousands of contaminated #PrivateWells are not included in the settlement. The chemicals are also widely used in thousands of consumer products from #DentalFloss to #cookware to #clothing, and have been found to #contaminate #food, #soil and #air.

“PFAS constantly cycle and accumulate throughout the environment, and removing them from water is costly. The highly mobile chemicals can slip through most utilities’ filtration systems. Granular activated carbon and reverse osmosis are considered the best options.

“Leaders in Stuart, Florida, which was the bellwether case in the 3M settlement, chose to take what they could get without further litigation. Bellwethers are cases that represent all the other plaintiffs in a multi-district lawsuit. Stuart estimated damages at up to $120m, and the city acknowledged the settlement would fall short.

“‘I don’t think we’ll ever get close to that much net to the city, so I think there is no making us whole,' Stuart’s city manager told the New York Times.

“Among those utilities going at it alone is the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) near Wilmington, North Carolina, which sits on the #CapeFear River about 75 miles downstream from a Chemours PFAS manufacturing plant. It cost the utility about $46m to develop a granular activated carbon system to remove PFAS, and officials estimate an additional $5m in annual operational costs.

“The utility declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation, but in a late June op-ed, the CFPUA director Kenneth Waldrop explained the motivation for not joining the settlements: 'The information currently available suggests that the proposed settlement, when divided among thousands of other utilities with similar needs, would be insufficient to meet the needs of our community.'

“The utility has a 'strong case' against Chemours which has the reserves to cover the full cost, Waldrop added. There is generally support for that approach among Wilmington-area residents, said Emily Donovan, a public health advocate who lives in the region.

“‘This is not our fault, but it has been made our problem, and the community mostly understands what’s going on,' she said.

“The settlements also drew unlikely opponents in 22 state attorneys general who urged the judge to reject the 3M settlement because it 'does not adequately account for the pernicious damage that 3M has done in so many of our communities', said the California attorney general, Rob Bonta.

“Beyond water utility settlements, chemical makers face personal injury suits. Most US states will also probably sue over #contamination of #lakes, #rivers and other #NaturalResources #Minnesota alone found eliminating PFAS contamination from its wastewater could run to $28bn.

“Local water systems that are not made whole will need help from the federal government, which 'basically abandoned public water infrastructure a long time ago', said Oday Salim, director of the Environmental Law and Sustainability Clinic at the University of Michigan.

“‘Any amount of money that gets shifted to the victims is helpful,' he added.
“The government could implement an excise tax on PFAS to help cover costs, McKie said, and he noted the chemical manufacturers are taking a significant hit. By some estimates, 3M’s PFAS liabilities may soar to as much as $30bn as claims roll in.
“‘That’s a pretty big chunk of the total size of their corporation,' McKie said."

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/03/chemical-companies-pfas-payouts-forever-chemicals

#EPA #EPAFail #PFOS #WaterIsLife #ToxicWaste #ChemicalIndustries #ForeverChemicals

2022: #Maine bans use of sewage sludge on #farms to reduce risk of #PFAS poisoning

Sludge used as crop #fertilizer has #contaminated #soil, #water, #crops and #cattle, forcing #farmers to quit

by Tom Perkins, Thu 12 May 2022 11.00 EDT

"Maine last month became the first state to ban the practice of spreading PFAS-contaminated sewage sludge as fertilizer.

"But it’s largely on its own in the US, despite a recent report estimating about 20m acres of cropland across the country may be contaminated.

"Most states are only beginning to look at the problem and some are increasing the amount of sludge they spread on farm fields despite the substance being universally contaminated with PFAS and destroying livelihoods in Maine.

"'Maine is at the forefront of this because we’ve seen first-hand the damage that sludge causes to farms,' said Patrick MacRoy, deputy director of the non-profit Defend Our Health Maine. The new law also prohibits sludge from being composted with other organic material.

"PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of chemicals used across dozens of industries to make products resistant to water, stains and heat. Though the compounds are highly effective, they are also linked to #cancer, #KidneyDisease, #BirthDefects, decreased #immunity, #liver problems and a range of other serious diseases.

"Sewage sludge is a semi-solid mix of human excrement and industrial #waste that water treatment plants pull from the nation’s sewer system. It’s expensive to dispose of, and about 60% of it is now lightly treated and sold or given away as 'biosolid' fertilizer because it is high in plant nutrients.

"Maine and #Michigan are the only two states that are routinely checking sludge and farms for PFAS, and both are finding contamination on farms to be widespread.

"Maine’s legislature banned the practice of spreading sludge as fertilizer in April [2022] after environmental officials discovered astronomical levels of PFAS in water, crops, cattle and soil on farms where sludge had been spread, and high PFAS levels have been detected in farmers’ blood.

"#Contamination from PFAS-tainted sludge has already poisoned well water on around a dozen farms, and has forced several Maine farms to shutter. The state is investigating about 700 more fields where PFAS-contaminated sludge was spread in recent years. Farmers have told the Guardian that many of their peers with contaminated land won’t alert the state because they fear financial ruin.

"Maine also approved the creation of a $60m fund that will be used to help farmers cover medical monitoring, for buyouts and for other forms of financial assistance.

"'Folks have been left out to dry without any real help so we’re grateful to see that,' MacRoy said. The sludge legislation comes after Maine last year enacted the nation’s first ban on non-essential uses of PFAS in products. It goes into effect in 2030.

"In Michigan, environmental officials have downplayed the detection of PFAS in sludge and on farms, and although the state prohibits highly contaminated sludge from being spread, it allows higher levels of the chemicals in sludge than Maine. State regulators have also identified PFAS polluters and required them to stop discharging the chemicals into the sewers.

"Questions remain about whether that’s enough to keep PFAS out of Michigan’s food supply. Instead of implementing a wide-scale program to test livestock, crops and dairy, the state identified 13 farms it considered most at risk and has claimed contamination on other farms isn’t a risk.

"Michigan is ahead of most other states. In #Virginia, environmental regulators are considering permitting an additional 6,000 acres worth of sludge to be spread and have so far resisted public health advocates’ calls to test for PFAS and reject new sludge permits.

"In #Alabama, the state’s department of environmental management said in 2019 that 'the best use of biosolids is as a [fertilizer].'

"Even as the crisis unfolds in Maine, officials in Alabama are increasing the amount of out-of-state sludge that’s imported and spread on fields or landfilled, and the state in 2020 updated its biosolids rule to 'encourage' the use of #biosolids as fertilizer. Alabama does not test sludge for PFAS."

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/12/maine-bans-sewage-sludge-fertilizer-farms-pfas-poisoning

#EPA #EPAFail #InformedConsent #PFOS #WaterIsLife #ToxicWaste #FoodProduction

#Farmers Deceived About #Sewage #Sludge Safety

April 2, 2010

"On March 27th [2010] Citizens for Sludge-Free Land sent a letter to the #Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and US #EPA Region 3 that information provided to Virginia landowners about using sewage sludges as #fertilizer is deceptive. Land application permits are being granted in several Virginia counties without informing farmers of the serious risks associated with this practice. The VA code specifies, that to be valid, these permits can only be granted with the #InformedConsent of the landowner.

"The Federal #CleanWater Act defines sewage sludge as a #pollutant. Most of the pollutants that sewage treatment plants remove from wastewater concentrate in the resulting sludge. Exempt from #hazardous and solid waste laws, sludge is being spread on #agricultural land, despite mounting scientific evidence and field reports that using this contaminated waste as a cheap fertilizer is neither safe, beneficial, nor sustainable.

"The Virginia Cooperative Extension Service as well as Nutri-Blend Inc., the company that needs permits to spread sludge, are failing to provide landowners with the necessary facts, so they can make an informed decision whether or not to treat their land with sludge. The widely distributed Extension Service biosolids fact sheets-- although deceptively dated May 9, 2009-- provide out-dated, inaccurate, incomplete, and in some cases, misleading information. They overstate the alleged benefits and totally ignore the known risks and recent documented evidence of adverse health and #environmental impacts linked to sludge use. The fact sheets and brochures give the illusion that land applying sewage sludge, a complex and variable mixture of #HumanWaste and thousands of industrial #chemicals, many of which are #toxic and persistent, is a safe and normal agricultural practice.

"The information provided to landowners deceptively downplays the health risks of exposure to odors, odorant compounds, endotoxins, bacteria-laden dusts, and toxic gases at land application sites that can cause severe and permanent #lung damage. Nor are farmers told that typical sludges generated in industrialized urban areas contain not only pathogens, but also #PCBs, #dioxins, #carcinogens, #pharmaceuticals, flame retardants [#PFAS], and hormone disrupting chemicals that can damage developing organisms in parts per trillion. Many of these pollutants do not break down once they are applied to land. Worse, partial breakdown products are often more toxic than the parent material. Yet federal regulations require testing and standards for only nine toxic metals. Perhaps most important, the information provided to farmers fails to disclose that the National Academies of Science has indicated that while there are serious health concerns associated with many of the constituents of sewage sludge, there is too much uncertainty to scientifically predict the true health and environmental risks, when this complex waste mixture is applied to land.

"Finally, farmers are not told that sludge-exposure has been linked to illnesses, human deaths, livestock mortalities, groundwater pollution, and permanently degraded land. Unless there is a true and accurate disclosure of all the risks associated with this practice, there can be no true consent.

"Without informed consent, the state should not be issuing permits."

Link to archived web page (TY @internetarchive!):
https://web.archive.org/web/20221227022631/https://organicconsumers.org/press/farmers-deceived-about-sewage-sludge-safety

#PFOS #ChemicalIndustries #ToxicWaste #WaterIsLife #ForeverChemicals

Per coverage at the time, #Donziger and his team argued that a company #Chevron purchased dumped “18 billion gallons of #ToxicWaste … leading to 1,000-plus #deaths from #cancer and to #EcologicalDamage beyond repair.” In a landmark 2013 victory, courts in #Ecuador ordered Chevron pay $9.5 billion in damages.

2/10

https://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Living-Green/2009/0529/chevron-fights-massive-lawsuit-in-ecuador

Boo hoo... Profits are down! Make them clean up their mess before they go bankrupt!

#NorfolkSouthern Lifts Ohio #Derailment Cost to Over $800 Million

Story by Esther Fung, July 27, 2023

"Norfolk Southern raised its estimate on costs associated with the #EastPalestine, Ohio, train derailment to $803 million, a move that sent its profit sharply lower in the second quarter.

"The updated cost forecast Thursday was more than double the estimate that the Atlanta-based railroad operator provided earlier this year.

"Executives said that the bulk of the costs are from the #environmental clean-up, and added that there may be additional legal costs, fines and penalties in the coming quarters. These are difficult to estimate, they said."

Source:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/norfolk-southern-lifts-ohio-derailment-cost-to-over-800-million/ar-AA1erbZX?rc=1&ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=236f7a64104246acbb1a6b5f4829a24d&ei=7

#ToxicWaste #Safety #TrainSafety #Polluters #Pollution #ChemicalIndustries #Ohio

On July 24th, I'll be speaking at #LaborFest 2023 on a panel about #toxicwaste hot spots, #whistleblowers, and public health in the SF Bay Area.

The Zoom registration is open! Reserve your spot & join us on Monday night!

https://laborfest.net/event/from-silicon-valley-to-hunters-point-whistleblowers-workers-residents/

In 1964 three young scientists with no nuclear physics experience were asked to design a nuclear bomb. They had no access to classified materials, only publicly available information. They failed to make a bomb but did produce a substance that was later marketed as ‘Kraft Singles’ cheese slices.

#nuclearphysics #nuclear #atomicbomb #bomb #design #engineering #science #history #toxicwaste #QI #notQI

The #WhiteMesa uranium mill, located just a mile outside of #BearsEars, has 700 million pounds of #ToxicWaste stored in ponds on-site -- an ecological sword of Damocles that's already hanging over the monument.

https://thehill.com/policy/equilibrium-sustainability/598471-uranium-mill-adjacent-to-bears-ears-has-become-a/

The U.S. has spent decades eradicating lead from paint, gasoline and pipes. A WSJ investigation reveals a hidden source of lead contamination that has not been addressed. #pollution #ToxicWaste #lead https://www.wsj.com/articles/lead-cables-telecoms-att-toxic-5b34408b?reflink=share_mobilewebshare

A new 100-page report raises alarm over #Chevron’s impact on planet

by Genevieve Belmaker, Laurel Sutherland on 28 October 2021

- An independent expert report has determined that of the 70 ongoing cases in 31 countries against Chevron, only 0.006% ($286-million) in fines, court judgements, and settlements have been paid. The company still owes another $50.5-billion in total globally.

- The largest of those payout judgements is for $9.5 billion in environmental damages representing 30,000 plaintiffs in #Ecuador where the oil damage is so severe, it’s known as the “Amazon Chernobyl”.

- #Brazil, #Argentina, and #Venezuela are amongst a number of countries in #Africa, #Asia, the #MiddleEast, #LatinAmerica and beyond where there are ongoing litigations against Chevron. In the U.S. alone, there are 13 ongoing litigations against Chevron.

- The same day the report was released, international #HumanRights lawyer #StevenDonziger, lead attorney on the #Chevron #Ecuador case, was imprisoned. His incarceration came after nearly two years of house arrest in New York City and an intense legal battle for his freedom.

#PeopleNotProfits #Pollution #ToxicWaste #EnvironmentalPollution #EnvironmentalRacism #ClimateActivists #Texaco #OilPollution

Read more:
https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/a-new-100-page-report-raises-alarm-over-chevrons-impact-on-planet/

Free After 993 Days: #Environmental Lawyer #StevenDonziger on Leaving House Arrest & His Fight with #Chevron

#DemocracyNow, April 26, 2022

"We speak with human rights and environmental lawyer Steven Donziger, who was released Monday from nearly 1,000 days of house arrest as part of a years-long legal ordeal that began after he successfully sued Chevron on behalf of 30,000 Ecuadorian Amazonian Indigenous people. Donziger calls his misdemeanor sentencing and arrest 'a retaliation play by Chevron and some of its allies in the judiciary,' meant to intimidate other #HumanRights advocates and lawyers from pursuing #EnvironmentalJustice. 'Chevron tried to use me as what I would say is a weapon of mass distraction so people wouldn’t focus on the environmental crimes they commited in #Ecuador,' continues Donziger, who says, 'I didn’t really understand freedom until it was taken away.'

#PeopleNotProfits #Pollution #ToxicWaste #EnvironmentalPollution #EnvironmentalRacism #ClimateActivists #Texaco #OilPollution
Read more:
https://www.democracynow.org/2022/4/26/steven_donziger_freedom_chevron_ecuador_amazon

2021: Lawyer Who Battled #Chevron Over #Amazon #OilSpills Found Guilty of Contempt

In the protracted fight for accountability in #Ecuador’s Amazon, #StevenDonziger is a victim of #corporate retaliation, supporters say.

by Gabriela Barzallo, August 31, 2021

#Environmental lawyer Steven Donziger spent 25 years helping fight a million-dollar legal battle in the Ecuadorian Amazon against oil giant Chevron. But on July 26, a U.S. federal judge found him guilty of six counts of criminal contempt of court for withholding evidence in a long, complex legal fight.

"Having already served more than 700 days of house arrest, Donziger now awaits sentencing. He faces six months in jail as the culmination of a process he and his lawyers have called 'a charade.' Donziger was a fundamental part of the team of lawyers that sued Chevron in the early 1990s for toxic dumping in the Ecuadorian Amazon. After the case concluded in the affected communities’ favor in 2011, Chevron #countersued Donziger in the United States for alleged fraud in the Ecuadorian courts.

"'This is an outrageous decision,' Donziger said of his conviction. 'I see it as an attack on #HumanRights lawyering by the fossil fuel industry. It’s a violation for the rule of law and for our democracy."

#PeopleNotProfits #Pollution #ToxicWaste #EnvironmentalPollution #EnvironmentalRacism #ClimateActivists

Read more:
https://nacla.org/news/2021/08/25/ecuador-chevron-donziger

2020: #Chevron is refusing to pay for the '#Amazon #Chernobyl' – we can fight back with citizen action

The lawyer challenging the oil company’s #ToxicWaste dump in #Ecuador is under house arrest. We need a boycott

by Alec Baldwin and Paul Paz y Miño

"In 2001, #Chevron acquired #Texaco, including all of its assets and civil liabilities. One of those liabilities was the “Amazon Chernobyl”, a 1,700-square-mile #EnvironmentalDisaster in Ecuador that Texaco created through a disregard – and an attitude that local #Indigenous groups have called racism – for the health of the region’s peoples. Texaco, the sole operator of the fields from 1964 to 1992, eventually admitted that it deliberately discharged 72bn litres of #toxic water into the environment, which ended up in the #water supply, and gouged 1,000 unlined waste pits out of the jungle floor. According to several Indigenous witnesses, including Humberto Piaguaje, a leader of the Ecuadorean #Secoya people, the company actually claimed that the oil wastes were medicinal and 'full of vitamins'.

"Studies have shown thousands of excess cases of cancer deaths and other health problems in the region.

"Chevron insists that Texaco is only responsible for a portion of the damage, has 'already cleaned up its share' and attributes any remaining pollution to Ecuador’s state-owned national oil company. The government of Ecuador has been clear, in turn, that Chevron is liable for all of the damage."

#PeopleNotProfits #Pollution #ToxicWaste #EnvironmentalPollution #EnvironmentalRacism #OilPollution

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/17/chevron-amazon-oil-toxic-waste-dump-ecuador-boycott

#StevenDonziger: The man who stood up to an oil giant, and paid the price

Rex Weyler
26 February 2020

"The link between #ecological protection and #HumanRights is evident in #Ecuador’s #Amazon basin, where massive #OilPollution has destroyed #forests and #farms and left some of the world’s poorest people with #BirthDefects and a #cancer epidemic. In 1993, Ecuador’s Frente de Defensa de la Amazonía (FDA), representing 30,000 victims of #Chevron’s toxic oil waste, asked Donziger to help them win compensation for what is likely the largest oil-related human disaster in history."

#PeopleNotProfits #Pollution #ToxicWaste #EnvironmentalPollution #EnvironmentalRacism
Read more:
https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/28741/steven-donziger-chevron-oil-amazon-contamination-injustice/

Jury returns $63M verdict after finding #Chevron covered up toxic pit on #California land

A California jury has returned a $63 million verdict against Chevron after finding the oil giant covered up a toxic chemical pit on land purchased by a man who built a house on it and was later diagnosed with a blood cancer

ByThe Associated Press
June 8, 2023, 5:49 PM

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- A California jury has returned a $63 million verdict against Chevron after finding the oil giant covered up a toxic chemical pit on land purchased by a man who built a house on it and was later diagnosed with a blood cancer.

Kevin Wright, who has multiple myeloma, unknowingly built his home directly over the chemical pit near Santa Barbara in 1985, according to his lawsuit.

Starting in 1974, Chevron subsidiary Union Oil Company of California had operated a sump pit for oil and gas production, a process that left the carcinogenic chemical #benzene on the property, court papers said.

Wright bought the land and built the house in 1985. Nearly three decades later, he was diagnosed with the cancer that attacks plasma cells in the blood and can be caused by benzene exposure, court documents said.

The jurors in Santa Barbara on Wednesday returned the $63 million verdict, said Jakob Norman, an attorney for Wright. Norman called the case a “blatant example of #EnvironmentalPollution and #corporate malfeasance.”

Chevron said #UnionOilCompany would appeal the judgment.

“We strongly disagree with the jury’s decisions to award compensatory and punitive damages," Chevron said in a statement Thursday.

Wright’s cancer is in remission, his attorneys said, but he regularly undergoes chemotherapy treatments to hold the illness at bay.

“They cut corners, and my life was turned upside down as a result,” Wright said in a statement provided by his attorneys. “Chevron’s continued denial of the harm they caused is a shameful reminder that this company values only profits, not people.”

#PeopleNotProfits #Pollution #ToxicWaste
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/jury-returns-63m-verdict-after-finding-chevron-covered-99951867