Dear Editor
Good grief! It was with total incredulity and shock that I read Saturday’s article about Olin’s latest effort to avoid their financial responsibility for perchlorate clean-up in our valley. Their latest assertion is that at least some of the contamination is caused by mushroom farms! UNBELIEVABLE! If it were not so scary, it would be hilarious.
My “Perchlorate” folder goes back to February 2003, and the metamorphosis of Olin’s position on their responsibility is absolutely fascinating over the three years.
On 2/6/03, Peter Forest of Olin said (in the Dispatch) that in his opinion, “Olin may not be totally responsible for all the perchlorate contamination farther from the original source. ‘It could come from flares along the railroad tracks’ (yeah, we see thousands of them daily), ‘from residue from methamphetamine labs’, (yeah, we all have those!), ‘and from ammonium nitrate imported from Chile.'” (Yeah, blame another country.)
Then, on 2/18/03 (in the Dispatch) – “Olin Corp. has voluntarily accepted responsibility for the perchlorate problem since it first discovered the chemical in well water as early as 2000. California state law also requires the polluting company for pay for the results of the pollution and for its cleanup.” A little later in the article, “Olin has been providing bottled water for everyone whose well was being tested and permanently for those whose wells test positive.” Hmmmm……
Now they propose to clean perchlorate to a level nearly twice the public health goal, and discontinue providing drinking water to the innocent victims of their negligent dumping of toxic waste. And they’re trying to get out of their responsibility by alleging that a portion of the contamination is caused by the bleach. I wouldn’t be surprised if their next allegation is that WE poisoned our own water by using bleach when we wash white laundry, because that’s just as ridiculous. If it’s the mushroom farms, how come their contamination level was “a tiny fraction of that discovered at the factory site?”
Everyone who thinks Olin is looking for scapegoats, please raise their hands.
Elaine Jelsema, Gilroy
