Thursday, August 30, 2012

SFF Community - Groundwater Contamination

Good Morning Neighbor:

I hope this email finds you well!  Our community story continues to unfold and we all must remain vigilant with regard to the recent findings of toxins that are in and around the Philips Services Corporation facility.

I am attaching The Citizen News articles that followed the Fayette County Commissioner's meeting.  It has been further disclosed that there is ground water contamination which was never reported to our community via the EPD or PSC.  I am also attaching the actual chemical report that was submitted from PSC to the EPD.  Please keep in mind that this testing was conducted by Philip Services Corp and was not conducted by an outside source.  It should also be noted that this report was not requested by the Environmental Protection Division until after the March Commissioner's meeting.

At this time, there has been no contact made from any government official on any level to further inform our community.  I have forwarded all of this information as well to Stack and Associates to see if these recent findings might open up new legal avenues on our behalf.

May the doors that need to open in this atrocity continue to open and may truth and justice always stand!

Your neighbor,

Connie

Constance Biemiller Thomas
South Fulton and Fayette Community Task Force
Ph. 904-553-4336
FB Group - Environmental Neighbor

As Margaret Mead once said:

Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.





Monday, March 19, 2012

SF&F Community

Good Evening Neighbor:

We are moving forward with closing any loopholes with regard to the Phillip Services Corporation's possible application for a waste water permit in Fulton County.  PSC agreed six years ago to hold off with any permitting until this year and we must make sure this never happens.  I will be speaking before the Fayette County Commissioners this Thursday at 7pm and we would love to hear your comments with regard to this issue after the presentation.

It will be our goal to remind the commissioners and the citizens as to what we all suffered through the summer of 2006.  Capt. Pete Nelms from the Fayette Emergency Management office will also be speaking as to the impact this atrocity had on Fayette County residents.  

It is also important to note that PSC remains active on the EPA Superfund list - http://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0409886 and it is my understanding that PSC remains as an "Environmental Stressor" with regard to Fulton County zoning. 

I hope you all are doing well and I look forward to seeing you at the meeting this Thursday.  We must let them know we still remember and most of all We Are Still Here!!!

Your neighbor,

Connie

Constance Biemiller Thomas
South Fulton and Fayette Community Task Force
Ph. 904-553-4336
FB Group - Environmental Neighbor

As Margaret Mead once said:

Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.




Sunday, July 10, 2011

Community Email

Good Evening Neighbor:
 
Well, I thought my computer was fixed awhile back but shortly after my last community email it totally died.  So I purchased a MacBook Air and Apple was able to transfer all of my addresses and emails onto this computer last week so I am in heaven.  They talked about how ancient my IBook was but I had to stop them there - I said this little computer helped to shut down the operations of a corporation that brought harm to people and I will be forever grateful for its use.
 
I am extremely excited to share the article below.  I hope it will give you a great understanding of all we are accomplishing.  Our community story is making a difference in this world and I want you to know this. 
 

http://www.thecitizen.com/arti cles/06-29-2011/national-clear inghouse-chemical-exposure-fay ette-idea

 
The next step is to make sure congress expands Poison Control rather than cut it.  I am going to request that the National Conversation Leadership Committee hold a final gathering in D.C. so everyone might have a chance to attend this meeting and vocalize the importance of taking action on the final report.  This will also give us a chance to contact key congressional people and lobby for Recommendation 7.3.
 
Also, our Task Force will meet in the very near future to outline a strategy to make sure PSC is not allowed to apply for a new permit in 2012.  If you would like to be a part of our strategy team, please let me know. 
 
I hope you all are having a wonderful summer!
 
Your Neighbor,
 
Connie


Constance Biemiller Thomas
South Fulton and Fayette Community Task Force
Ph. 904-553-4336
FB Group - Environmental Neighbor

As Margaret Mead once said:

Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.




Sunday, April 03, 2011

Community Email

Good Evening Neighbor:

I am so glad to be back with my wonderful laptop that has all of my environmental email addresses - it is ready and running.  I pray that you all have been well.  There is so much to talk about and I have missed writing to inform everyone about the concerns of our neighbors and their environment.  If you joined my Facebook Environmental Neighbor Group, then you have been somewhat informed but there is nothing like this format for me.

I am using this short email as a test run and will be writing in-depth very soon.

Your neighbor,

Connie



Constance Biemiller Thomas
South Fulton and Fayette Community Task Force
Ph. 904-553-4336
FB Group - Environmental Neighbor

As Margaret Mead once said:

Never underestimate the power of a few committed people to change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.




Monday, November 22, 2010

Make a Difference This Thanksgiving

Good Morning Neighbor:

I was recently given a refrigerator magnet that states - Try Organic Food... or as your grandparents called it "Food".  This statement is so very true - prior to WWII our food was not chemically laden as it is now.  And, of all people, we have Hitler to thank for our continued harm.  Chemicals were rapidly created for chemical warfare  during WWII and while finding it would kill humans, they also noticed it would kill insects so they kept them in use and marketed them as a pesticide.  

I would so encourage you and your family to buy organic products this Thanksgiving.  We must continue to have a voice with regard to our health and welfare as a community and vote with our dollar - granted it is a little more expensive to do so at times but you are truly defeating an enemy by doing so.  Research is becoming stronger and stronger showing the link between cancer and neurological problems with the introduction of these chemicals into our food supply.  These chemicals not only affect our children but their unborn children due to mutations in their DNA at present.  This is all frightening stuff for sure!!  It is truly up to us to continue the work of the "Greatest Generation" by making sure those that follow us are not further harmed.  

Wanting the very best for you and your family this Holiday Season,

Your neighbor,


Connie


Connie Biemiller Thomas
904-553-4336

As Margaret Mead once said:

Never underestimate a few committed people to change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. 




Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Community Email - Deadline Sept 20

Good Evening Neighbor:

Please take a moment today to vote Yes for Recommendation #1.  http://www.resolv.org/nationalconversation/comments/submit.aspx?WorkgroupID=4  

We must make sure that there is never another toxic incident in this Nation that leaves people not knowing how to get immediate care.  We must expand Poison Control to cover toxic events and this is exactly what Recommendation #1 does.  The deadline for public comment is this Monday - I need your help now!!!  The National Clearing House for Chemical Emergencies is not an option!!!

Your neighbor,

Connie

Connie Biemiller Thomas
770-314-6999

As Margaret Mead once said:

Never underestimate a few committed people to change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. 




Monday, September 13, 2010

Community Email - Your Turn!!

Good Morning Neighbor:

I write with great excitement this morning!  The Draft Recommendation for the National Clearing House for Chemical Emergencies is now up for view and for your public comment - http://www.resolv.org/nationalconversation/chemical.htm .   Please take the time to read this report and to give positive input recommending that Recommendation #1 be submitted to the highest of national authorities and to become immediately operational.  I say this with all ease  - because as you will see from reading the recommendation many of the resources are already in place through Poison Control - it now needs to be expanded.  

This cannot be done without you - so please do your part to make the National Clearing House for Chemical Emergencies a reality.  I have copied the recommendation below from the report for your ease in reading it.  It begins on page 16 in the overall report.  Please go to the Resolve website above to view the entire report and to make your comment - it is time for the citizens to have their voice heard with a demand for action!!

Your neighbor,

Connie

Connie Biemiller Thomas
770-314-6999

As Margaret Mead once said:

Never underestimate a few committed people to change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. 




 
IV. ACTION RECOMMENDATIONS  776 
 777 
RECOMMENDATION #1: The federal government should establish an office or program whose 778 
goal would be to serve as a coordinating agency, unifying and integrating the efforts of federal, 779 
state, local, and tribal government agencies with responsibilities related to preventing, preparing 780 
for, responding to, recovering from, and mitigating chemical emergencies, and serving as a central 781 
program charged with creating consistency and avoiding redundancy of information on chemical 782 
emergencies on the national, state, local, and tribal levels. 783 
 784 
Establishing an Office of the Chemical Emergencies Coordinator could accomplish a variety of goals. 785 
First, this office would exist to integrate the often disparate data developed by federal agencies before, 786 
during, and after a chemical emergency, and proactively disseminate it to planners, responders, and where 787 
appropriate, the general public via a National Clearinghouse for Chemical Emergencies. Secondly, the 788 
work group envisions this office as having a role in community outreach and volunteer training on 789 
personal and community responsibilities and roles in chemical emergency prevention, preparedness and 790 
response.  791 
 792 
Ideally, this office would establish a National Clearinghouse for Chemical Emergencies. In part, the 793 
Office should collect, develop and disseminate toxicological informational tools. The Office would be 794 
charged with receiving reports of chemical emergencies and guiding timely response through referrals to 795 
agencies of jurisdiction (for instance through public health, first response, first receiver and poison center 796 
channels). In addition, this office would be responsible for ensuring that responders at all levels have 797 
access to real-time information on regional resources and response capabilities.  798 
 799 
The recommended Clearinghouse could emulate the national Poison Control System, already partially 800 
funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).  Advantages of using the existing 801 
hotline structure for access include: 802 
 803 
 Immediate access to medical toxicologists 804 
 Availability of specialists in poison information trained to collect exposure data 805 
 Real-time response and staff trained in risk communications with professionals/public 806 
 Alignment with academic resources  807 
 Public and professional familiarity with the existing phone number and service 808 
 Economies of scale 809 
 Robust regional knowledge of response partners and public health agencies 810 
 811 
A structure utilizing one or more regional poison control centers might form the backbone of the 812 
emergency reporting and response system under this Office. The availability of clinical toxicologists and 813 
other specialists may yield high quality interpretation of exposure data (often incomplete in the literature, 814 
or requiring collection from several esoteric sources), provide real-time treatment recommendations for 815 
first responders and first receivers, and direct access to the system for the public and other professionals. 816 
Poison control center personnel routinely capture, record and report emergency events, exercises and 817 
drills, and engage in related public health notifications and risk communications for the public. 818 
Mechanisms for raising awareness of services already exist, and modest enhancement in function and 819 
dedicated funding of one or more poison control centers to adopt this important function would shorten 820 
turn-around time for the creation of this Office and to endow it with functionality. Re-branding of poison 821 
control centers should be advertised to the public, chemical industry and professionals. Moreover, contact 822 
data for the Office and for the Poison Control system (1-800-222-1222) should be included on all MSDS 823 
sheets and similar chemical datasheets. In addition, web searches of terms such as "chemical emergency," 824 
should yield this site among the first listed. The website should be easy to navigate to find the needed 825 
information and, if additional assistance is needed, there should be the option to chat with a live operator. 826 
 827 
Because there are many potential actors involved with preventing, preparing for, responding to, 828 
recovering from, and mitigating chemical emergencies, with varying skills, education and training, it will 829 
be difficult to develop such a clearinghouse without a unifying body. Thus this recommendation focuses 830 
first on the establishment of an Office of the Chemical Emergencies Coordinator whose goal would be to 831 
coordinate and integrate the efforts of all relevant federal government agencies.  832 
 833 
In addition, there are multiple local, state, tribal, and federal agencies and NGOs at all levels, who have 834 
the resources and expertise to assist communities and industries during a chemical release. Another goal 835 
of this Office would be to establish outreach and volunteer training programs to promote and support 836 
individual and community preparedness (e.g., public education, training sessions, demonstrations), 837 
including preparedness of those with functional needs. This would allow agencies and NGOs at all levels 838 
to have a centralized location to report efforts so that duplication is avoided and stakeholders can follow 839   
the process. A comprehensive, easily accessible website should also be established for this service, with 840 
an eye toward providing ongoing education with regard to chemical release and its prevention.  841 
 842 
The Department of Health and Human Services, in coordination with the Department of Homeland 843 
Security, the National Response Center, and other appropriate agencies should be considered as key 844 
resources during the establishment of this office. The Office may draw upon other resources such as 845 
medical toxicologists, clinical toxicologists, or basic science toxicologists (available through 846 
organizations such as the American College of Medical Toxicologists, American Academy of Clinical 847 
Toxicology, American Association of Poison Control Centers, the Society of Toxicology and other 848 
organizations), the chemical industry, industrial hygienists, academia, ATSDR, OSHA, NIOSH, EPA and 849 
others.    850 
 851 
Although establishment of the Office of the Chemical Emergencies Coordinator could be led by DHHS, it 852 
might be more effective if it is established as an independent entity, and not under the ownership or 853 
control of any one agency. In addition, the Office of the Chemical Emergencies Coordinator should work 854 
free from political persuasion, with major funding coming from a pool of contributions by all relevant 855 
federal agencies or funding triggered by a federal emergency declaration.  856