Superfund Communities across the US who achieved relocation for their families continue to advise Gainesville Koppers Victims and Refugees that relocation was achieved well after consent decrees were signed. They further stress that this is the time to begin really advocating loudly for our families’ relocation out of dioxin-arsenic-pah deathtrap contaminated homes.
Beazer East is certainly not a good neighbor- in fact, there are numerous instances where infamous Dow Chemical is a far better neighbor and citizen than Beazer East.
In July 2012, DOW Chemical offered to purchase 50 dioxin contaminated homes in Midland, Michigan to enable families near the Tittabawassee River Superfund Site to move out of harm’s way. Residents and government agencies did not initiate these offers- Dow undertook this humanitarian action on its own.
Contrast this with Beazer East’s cold-blooded treatment of residents in Gainesville’s Superfund Community: not only has Beazer East failed to reach out to families who need to evacuate their dangerously contaminated homes- residents, many with catastrophic illnesses known to result from chemical exposure, who contact Beazer East with buyout negotiation requests have been uniformly turned down by Beazer East representatives.
Dow Chemical also bought out homes on contaminated land near their Morrisonville, Louisiana plant in order to create a safety zone. Louisiana environmental officials noted that industrial facilities and residences do not mix. Likewise, superfund sites and residences do not mix. Dow executives said buyouts were a sensible approach to moving people out of harm’s way, and good citizenship.
Just this summer, chemical corporation Sasol North America announced plans to introduce a Voluntary Property Purchase Program in Mossville, Louisiana. Mossville residents have been fighting for relocation since at least the 1990’s, so this is huge news for this community whose health and property values have suffered for decades and yet was denied Superfund designation by EPA 2011.
There are many more precedents for relocation buyouts in contaminated communities, including Superfund Communities. Beazer East can choose to be a good neighbor in reality and introduce a buyout option so help their victims get their families out of toxic homes instead of perpetuating the collusion and coverup that will keep harming Gainesville families. In the meantime, Koppers Victims and Refugees will advocate ever more loudly for relocation out of dioxin-arsenic-pah contaminated deathtrap homes…
Sandra Watts Kennedy
President, Stephen Foster Neighborhood Association, Inc.
09/05/13 remarks to Gainesville City Commission
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