Health, Science and Cement

• Nine of the United States are suing the EPA for failing to regulate toxins from Cement plants. This article is mostly legal, but contains a lot of health impact information.
• A member sent an overview of studies linking cancer to cement plants.
• We now have a complete copy of the 1985 reclamation plan and related documents viewable online here. Note: These images are hi-res scans of old documents dating back to the '50s, so viewing with dial-up will be slow.
• In response to letters from a local Citizen, the county opened a web site WRT the Hanson Expansion As of June 26th, this is not in Google yet - please use the link above.
  

• Download the notice of Hansons new activity:
  NOTICE OF PREPARATION OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT FOR THE HANSON QUARRY RECLAMATION PLAN AMENDMENT (note: this is a ".doc" file)

• Type in our zip code and access information on the largest polluters in Santa Clara county.

• This site by the Clean Air Task Force provides information on the health impacts of diesel soot.

• This is the 2007 report card from the American Lung Association for our county. Noteworthy is our F grade for particle pollution.

• A summary of nationwide scientific studies on the adverse health effects of particulates even at exposure levels below current standards. In other words, our standards are not sufficiently stringent.

Hansen is the largest single source pollution point in
Santa Clara County.

They release THOUSANDS of tons of pollutants such as Nitrogen Oxide,
Sulfur Dioxide and Carbon Monoxide as well Benzene and Dioxin which
are known carcinogens as well as mercury. And, because of the coal
burning, they release tons of particulate particles which are of the
size that neither get absorbed into your body, nor exhaled. They
lodge in your lungs with their toxic load. All in all not a very
healthy situation and most people in Cupertino don't realize that they
essentially have the equivalent of a coal burning power plant in their
backyard.

And while they abide by the laws that govern them, Hansen been
grandfathered on several emissions regulations and definitely doesn't
use the best technology that is available for "scrubbing," only what
they have to.

When they tried to burn tires to substitute for coal, the tests showed
increases in releases of Dioxin. Had the community not made such a
big stink about it and generated tons of negative PR, they would have
gone right ahead and done it and made the air around here even more
toxic.

Here are some URL's on the past efforts:

Definitely read this first one. It was in response so a PR effort
Hansen had talking about the environmental benefits of cement houses.
Talk about hypocrisy!!!

http://www.community-newspapers.com/archives/cupertinocourier/02.02.00/l
etters-0005.html


http://www.community-newspapers.com/archives/cupertinocourier/04.09.97/o
p.kaiser.html


http://www.community-newspapers.com/archives/cupertinocourier/06.18.97/T
ireBurning.html


http://www.community-newspapers.com/archives/cupertinocourier/09.24.97/T
ireBurning.html


http://www.community-newspapers.com/archives/cupertinocourier/02.11.98/C
itizensAirWatch.html


http://www.community-newspapers.com/archives/cupertinocourier/20050323/c
u-news1.shtml