Good to see the newly elected Congresswoman Nanette Barragan continuing her fight for environmental justice. Congresswoman Barragan successfully fought big oil while serving on the Hermosa Beach City Council. Her actions resulted in millions of lost revenue for the city in favor of the residents HEALTH. Due to recent findings of hexavalent chromium or chromium 6, a chemical which is listed by the EPA as a human carcinogen (cancer), Rep. Barragán is hosting a community Town Hall on Monday, May 15, 2017 at 6:30PM at the Douglas F. Dollarhide Community Center, located at 301 N. Tamarind Ave., Compton, CA. She plans to bring this issue up as one of the topics of discussion.
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Related: Compton Elections: City faces new environmental issues
The 2016 Annual Report of on AB 2588 Air Toxics “Hot Spots” Program list several Compton businesses that could be the source of the increased findings of hexavalent chromium. Those businesses are: Bowman Plating, Owens Corning and Demenno/Kerdoon (DK).
Related: Oil Recyclers Receive Fine of $400,000 for Toxic-Waste Violations
Demenno/Kerdoon have been funding Compton politicians for decades. Former Compton Bulletin editor Alison Jean Eaton regularly wrote of the $5,000 campaign contributions made to both incumbents and their challenger, every election cycle.
Related: 6 Companies Charged in Crackdown on Polluters
Current District 3 councilwoman Tana McCoy co-hosts the joint City of Compton/DK clean ups and received $500 this election cycle for her re-election. Would her opponent Tomas Carlos condone DK’s activity?
DK regularly holds waste cleanup events at the Compton Creek. When Compton recently received a fine of nearly $160k due to allegations that raw sewage and other pollutants were spilled into Compton Creek at least eight times from 2010 to 2013, DK stepped in and clean it up.
Have we put two and two together yet?
The city of Compton lost their bond ratings four years ago, which includes bonds for sewer repairs. These kinds of illegal dumping helps to further corrode the pipes.
Has a reporter ever asked DK what the process is to “recycle” used motor oil and anti-freeze? Most oil workers are adamant you CAN NOT.
Here is an excerpt of when Latino residents first started grumbling about contaminants in their water and alleging DK was involved.
They are “sensitive receptors,” the scientific term for people in the path of pollutants.
“I’m in bed most of the time. I’ve been hospitalized with asthma and emphysema,” said the only elderly woman in the group.
“One of my sons has a lot of asthma,” said one young woman.
“She says her daughter has a stomach ailment and . . . a rash,” said another woman, translating for a Spanish-speaking participant.
They blame DeMenno-Kerdoon, an oil refinery in the center of their neighborhood, for their health problems. And with a grant from the state they hope to mount a campaign to get rid of the refinery. About half of those in the group did not speak English. None had been to college, and many did not have high school educations.
“I am leading an effort to help push Trump Administration officials to take immediate action on this issue,” continued Barragán. “If facilities are emitting chromium 6 at higher than acceptable levels, the sources need to be identified and EPA should immediately take all necessary actions to eliminate this threat to public health. If hexavalent chromium is found at unacceptable levels, HHS also needs to come in to assess the health and take actions to protect residents in these communities.”
