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MARIETTA— “The preliminary results of the first comprehensive environmental study of manganese-exposed adults in the U.S. were discussed during a public meeting Thursday evening at Marietta College.
The results showed those who live within 2.5 miles of Eramet on Ohio 7 are exposed to higher levels of manganese and they also scored worse on neuropsychological tests
Still, the overall results do not indicate there are negative health effects from airborne and blood manganese in Marietta residents.
About 50 people attended the meeting, including Marietta residents Beth and Toby Eddy. The couple said they were a little uneasy going into the meeting because they didn’t know what to expect, but they felt relieved at the end.”
— Ashley Hill, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
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 MARIETTA — “New information from a long-awaited study on the effects of airborne manganese is set to be presented later this month to those in the Marietta area.
Rosemarie Bowler, a neuropsychologist from San Francisco State University, will be in town June 24, along with others involved in the study, which was recommended by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and funded through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
‘We’re coming to Marietta to give feedback to the community on our preliminary results,’ Bowler said.
The presentation is scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. at Marietta College and will include time for questions.”
— Kate York, Marietta Times
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 School playground across from the Lanxess Plant (Steve Lerner) ADDYSTON — “A plastics company cited several years ago for releasing harmful gasses into the air around an elementary school will donate $750,000 to the school district; in exchange the district is dropping a lawsuit filed late last year against the company and the plastics plant’s current owner.
Three Rivers Local Schools chose to evacuate and close Meredith Hitchens Elementary School on River Road in 2005 after the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency advised against teaching children there because of dangerous emissions coming from the plastics plant across the street, including high levels of butadiene, a known human carcinogen.
In December the 2,000-student district filed a lawsuit against the plant’s current owner Ineos Abs USA Corp. and former owner, Lanxess Corp.”
— Carrie Whitaker, Cincinnati Enquirer
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CLEVELAND — At Cleveland’s biggest Earth Day event this past Sunday, Earthfest at the Zoo, eighty-seven Cleveland area neighbors signed a letter to Shelly Asphalt and Kokosing Asphalt encouraging them to work on solutions to their pollution problems.
One hundred and fifty children, teenagers, and adults decorated orange construction cone hats and wore these hats around the event to show their support of these asphalt plants cleaning up. In addition, Ohio Citizen Action handed out 225 free wildflower seed packets made by Ohio Citizen Action phone canvasser Jane Sandlin.
Many thanks to all the volunteers that stood at the table to talk with Northeast Ohio neighbors about the pollution problems and the current campaign aimed to work with Shelly and Kokosing on making changes.
— Liz Ilg, Cleveland Campaign Director, Ohio Citizen Action
Long-delayed plan for Columbus Steel Drum to cost $1.35 million; public hearing this week
 COLUMBUS — “The list of toxic, cancer-causing pollutants that foul the soil and water in and around Columbus Steel Drum in Gahanna is as long as it is old.
After 18 years of tests and legal battles, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and company officials say they finally have a plan to clean up the 38-acre plant and a nearby stream.
Both are polluted with dozens of toxic metals and compounds – including PCBs, vinyl chloride, arsenic and lead – that spilled and leaked at the plant, which opened in 1971…
Environmental advocates consider it a prime example of how a company can delay government orders for years.
‘It’s amazing,’ said Teresa Mills of the Buckeye Environmental Network. ‘That’s an extremely long time for that contamination to be underground.’”
— Spencer Hunt, Columbus Dispatch
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 Public warning sign along Dicks Creek in Middletown. (Scott Dye/Sierra Club) MIDDLETOWN — “AK Steel is seeking a permit to use an air stripper to assist with the cleanup of Dick’s Creek and Monroe Ditch.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will hold an information session and public meeting later this month to discuss the air stripper, which would be used to remove airborne pollution transferred when contaminated water is extracted from landfills at AK Steel’s Middletown Works.
The hearing will take place at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 23, the Middletown Council Chambers, 1 Donham Plaza.
The equipment will be used as part of the larger cleanup efforts that the company agreed to as the result of a suit brought by Ohio EPA, U.S. EPA and joined by the Sierra Club.”
— Jessica Heffner, Middletown Journal
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Campaign aims to persuade steelmaker to cut emissions faster
 HAMILTON, Ontario — “Katie Stiel is taking on Big Steel in Hamilton. The recent Environment Hamilton recruit is co-ordinator of the non-profit organization’s new Good Neighbour Campaign, with the stated aim of persuading steelmaker ArcelorMittal Dofasco to cut air emissions of cancer-causing chemicals faster than the company now plans.
‘The overall goal is to open lines of communication between industry and the community,’ Stiel said in an interview this week. ‘One reason for the campaign is that a lot of volunteers and area residents coming to us expressed concern about industrial pollution — black fallout, smell and noise.’
‘We decided we needed a different approach and adopted this idea originated by Ohio Citizen Action (an 80,000-member pollution-fighting group). Instead of using an iron fist, we are saying: ‘We need jobs. We want you to be there, to be our neighbour, but we want you to be as good as you can be.’”
— Eric McGuinness, Hamilton Spectator
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 Robert Indian, Ohio Department of Health COLUMBUS — “[Robert Indian, chief of the Ohio Department of Health's comprehensive cancer-control program] said that in the 15 years he’s investigated cases such as these, he’s never found a definitive link between cancer cases and any toxic substance or pollutant. He said there are so many other factors, including lifestyle choices, that make investigations difficult. ‘To find it, to say, ‘Aha! I’ve found the smoking gun!’ is everyone’s dream,’ Indian said. ‘It just doesn’t match up to reality.’
Environmental advocates disagree. Teresa Mills of the Buckeye Environmental Network said officials don’t want to link cancers to businesses. ‘These studies are inconclusive by design,’ Mills said.”
— Spencer Hunt, Columbus Dispatch
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MARIETTA – “The shutdown of Eramet Marietta’s No. 18 ferromanganese furnace due to an operational incident Sunday evening will apparently impact the company’s production schedule for an as-yet undetermined period of time.
On Monday Eramet officials declared a ‘force majeure event’ – an unanticipated and uncontrollable incident that may affect the company’s ability to fulfill its contracts.
‘When there’s an inability to deliver a product, a force majeure declaration provides some protection for the company and allows us to set the wheels in motion to allocate some portions of the product to our customers,’ said Joy Frank-Collins, spokeswoman for Eramet Marietta.
She said no timeframe has been established for how long the force majeure declaration will remain in effect,”
— Sam Shawver, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
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MARIETTA – “An incident at Eramet over the weekend has left one furnace off line and started an internal investigation.”
“Eramet spokes people tell us that at roughly 8:00 Sunday night a “incident” caused damage to furnace number 18. Officials at the plant say they are not able to characterize the incident as an explosion, but property damage did result.”
“Eramet has launched an internal investigation into the incident. No injuries were reported.”
- Erin Pulsanti, WTAP News
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