TWO RIVERS downstream of Dow Chemical's flagship plant in Midland, Mich., are polluted from the chemical maker's past operations. The company and federal and state regulators have long concurred on that fact. They also agree there's cleanup work to be done, at Dow's expense.
From there, they diverge.
According to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Environmental Protection Agency, Dow has been dragging its feet on the cleanup. DEQ and EPA both say the pollution in and along the rivers poses risks to human health and the environment.
For its part, Dow says state regulators overstate the risks from the pollution, which is composed of chlorinated furans and dioxins from the company's manufacturing of chlorine and chlorinated compounds in decades past. These toxic chemicals, commonly referred to as dioxins, are linked to cancer and other health issues, such as developmental problems and diabetes.
Dow believes that the contamination downstream of its plant poses no imminent threat to human health or the environment because there is little chance for exposure, John C. Musser, spokesman for Dow's Michigan operations, tells C&EN. Although there are some hot spots, areas with high concentrations of dioxin contamination, they are buried at least a foot deep in the riverbed, or 3 to 10 feet below the bank's surface, he says.
Dow says any cleanup activities must be tailored to specific areas along the river. Cleanup should be targeted to areas where there is a "realistic probability of exposure," Musser says.
In 2003, Dow reached a framework with the state requiring the company to look at dioxin contamination downstream of its plants and manage the pollution to reduce or eliminate exposure where possible. But the agreement has not settled the situation...
Full Story: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/86/8632cover.html
