Fed up with dioxin, residents say they want out

They call cleanup slow and want government to move them

December 9, 2007

BY TINA LAM

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

SAGINAW -- Mitch Larson got rid of the free-range chickens that once provided his family with fresh eggs.

Laura Burtt boards out her llamas and a horse, even though there's space for them on her land. Her partner, Russ Kubik, misses the strawberries and asparagus from two huge gardens the couple once tended.

They all live along the Tittabawassee River, downstream from Dow Chemical Co.'s Midland plant. All have changed their lives in response to dioxin in the soil near their homes.

Now, they want the government to move them.

From about 1900 to 1970, the company released dioxin into the river. Dioxin with a chemical fingerprint matching that released from Dow was found in the river in 2001. These residents fear the contamination that floods from the river ever year. And they're fed up with slow progress to clean it up.

"We're looking into it," Environmental Protection Agency spokesman Mick Hans said.

In some instances, the EPA has bought out homeowners before a cleanup; in others, the agency has temporarily moved homeowners.

In 2005, Dow did minor cleanups of 300 properties that were considered most at risk for contamination because of flooding, putting new soil in flower beds, cleaning dust from inside homes and reseeding lawns. But many residents fear the problem returns with each flooding of the river.

Kathy Henry, who has lived on 3 acres bordering the Tittabawassee for 23 years, made the request late last month on residents' behalf.

"We've been frightened of our yards for five years," she said. "What they've done so far has been like a Band-Aid over a crack in a dam."

No one knows how many homes might ultimately be eligible for relocations. A 2002 lawsuit against Dow over the dioxin issue involved about 200 families.

State and federal regulators agree the greatest risk of dioxin exposure for people is from eating fish from the river because the chemical becomes more concentrated as it moves through the food chain.

But concerns about soils persist and led to the cleanup of 300 properties.

Despite negotiated agreements that require a river cleanup, it hasn't started. The state Department of Environmental Quality, Dow and the EPA are discussing whether the EPA will take over oversight of the river cleanup from the state.

In an August memo published Friday by the Free Press, the EPA sharply criticized Dow for impeding progress and downplaying the dangers of dioxin, and the state for letting Dow get away with it. Dow spokesman John Musser said the EPA's criticisms were ludicrous and didn't consider progress that has been made.

Dow has taken thousands of samples in and beside the river and is spending millions of dollars cleaning up four dioxin hot spots in the river, the company said. DEQ spokesman Bob McCann said residents don't understand that comprehensive sampling and cleanup of the river system takes time, but he said it's moving forward.

It's time homeowners say they no longer have.

"I have friends who have abandoned their house because of the high dioxin levels found there," Henry told the EPA last month. "Their house has been on the market for over two years, the price has been cut in half, and still there are no buyers."

Some people have listed their homes, while others are reluctant to lose their equity.

The Whitneys had hoped never to sell the house they bought along the river 15 years ago.

"We always dreamed of living on the river," Whitney said. "We were tickled to death when we bought it. We put lots of money into it."

Now, "we'd relocate in a hot minute," he said. "But my house is essentially worth zero."

Test results showed a spot near their back door with dioxin levels of 1,100 parts per trillion. The state's cleanup standard is 90 ppt. There was even dioxin in their carpet. There was a minor cleanup of bare areas in their yard, but it didn't include the high dioxin spot because that was covered with grass and deemed safe.

Kubik said no one has tested his 1-acre property, so he doesn't know if it's contaminated. The only thing between him and the river is a cornfield, and the river floods every spring, sending water across his yard. On windy days, dirt blows around. After two dogs died, he's afraid to let a third roam freely. For the same reason, Kubik and Burtt moved the llamas and a horse.

After working double shifts to pay it off, Kubik says his property's value has shrunk. "We've been living in limbo," he said.

Larson, whose children ate dioxin-tainted eggs from their chickens, doubts a cleanup will happen anytime soon. His kids no longer swim, tube or water-ski in the river.

He's frustrated, but says he tries not to think about it anymore.

"If you live it, it'll eat you up," he said.

Contact TINA LAM at 313-222-6421 or tlam@freepress.com.