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Letter concerning Sierra Pacific Industries' Toxic Mill Discharge
December 9, 2002
To: North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board
5550 Skylane Boulevard, Suite A, Santa Rosa, California 95403
Regarding: Pentachlorophenol and Dioxin Contamination at the Sierra-Pacific Industries Arcata Division Sawmill
Dear Chairman Massey and Boardmembers Moore, Cochran, Corbett, Giorgi, Grundy, Harmon and Wasson,
This letter is written to express the concern of the undersigned Humboldt County health care professionals regarding negotiations now underway to settle potential legal action by your Board against the Sierra-Pacific Industries (SPI) for discharges from its sawmill near Arcata of toxic waste including pentachlorophenol and dioxin into Humboldt Bay, its tributaries and local ground water sources.
Pentachlorophenol and dioxins, unintentional contaminants of pentachlorophenol, are highly toxic chemicals that persist in the environment for many decades. Both chemicals cause cancer and other serious health problems. The dioxins present at the site are recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization as extremely toxic even in trace amounts. Dioxins bioaccumulate and biomagnify through the food chain by persisting for many years in fatty tissues and are endocrine disruptors which cause serious reproductive abnormalities in developing organisms, including humans.
The legal action proposed by North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board involves decisions about the extent of cleanup activities that would be required to abate the pollution and return the SPI mill site to a condition that would no longer negatively impact human health and the local environment. These decisions cannot logically be made until information needed to make appropriate decisions is available. This information is not yet available.
It is our understanding that the California Department of Health Services and the Office of Environmental Health Hazards Assessment have begun the process of evaluating the human health risks associated with dioxins discharging from the SPI mill and the results of the preliminary evaluation are expected to be released in February 2003. We also understand that Sierra-Pacific Industries is currently under a Board order to conduct sediment and other environmental studies that will reveal the extent of the pollution and to complete human and ecological risk assessments. Furthermore, the Department of Fish and Game has indicated that there is evidence that tests need to be undertaken to determine if other toxic chemicals such as PCBs (highly toxic and persistent polychlorinated biphenyls) are present at the SPI mill and discharging into the Slough and Bay.
12/02
It is our position that it is not in the interest of public health to settle this action regarding the toxic waste at the Arcata Sierra Pacific Industry mill before studies have been completed regarding the extent of the pollution, human health risks and ecological impacts.
Sincerely,
| Ellen Taylor P.A.-C. | Ann Lindsay M.D. | |
| Martin Smukler M.D. | Alan Glasseroff M.D. | |
| Karl Verick R.N. | Gena Pennington M.D. | |
| Diane Dickenson M.D. | Robert Henriques M.D. | |
| Sarah Foster R.N. | Charles Vaughn R.N. | |
| Lorin Gardner R.N. | Anthony Boyce D.O. | |
| Bill Hunter M.D. | Lorraine Carolan P.A. | |
| Frank Zazueta M.D. | Ken Miller M.D. | |
| Kathleen Maguire C.D. | David Horowitz P.A.-C. | |
| Lynn Szabo P.A.-C. | Julie Ohnemus M.D. | |
| Chris Henderckz R.N. | Brandan Stark D.O. | |
| Gerald A. Alston M.D. | Deborah Sweitzer P.A. WHC | |
| Rebecca Zettler R.N. FNP | Lawrence Wieland M.D. | |
| Wendy Ring M.D. * | Richard Scheinman M.D.* | |
| Peter Nash M.D. * | Ellen Drury Nurse-Midwife R.N.* | |
| Connie Basch M.D.* | Norman Bell M.D.* |
*authorization for signature received by telephone or email
cc: Terry Farmer, District Attorney, Humboldt County; Paul Gallegos, District Attorney-Elect, Humboldt County; Board of Supervisors, Humboldt County; State Senator Wesley Chesbro; Assemblyperson Virginia Strom-Martin; Bill Lockyear, Attorney General
