People living in and around a special economic zone in Cuddalore are “2,000 times more” likely to be affected by cancer than the normal population, says a report prepared for the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. In a normal sample population, cancer occurs in one person in a million. But in and around the State Industries Promotion Corp of Tamil Nadu known as SIPCOT industrial park nearly 300 km south of Chennai, two in every thousand are likely to have cancer, say anti-pollution campaigners.

The Nagpur-based National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) has prepared the report.

The study confirms the decades-old complaints by local residents that pollution from the chemical factories in the park is worst at night, especially in the village of Eachangadu.

The NEERI submitted the report in August 2007 to TNPCB without any public information. It came to light after an RTI plea by the local environment watchdog, Community Environment Monitoring (CEM).

[...]

The NEERI study found that areas near Shasun Chemicals, and the village of Eachangadu, were the worst affected.

Risk levels near Asian Paints and Tagros Chemicals are also high, the report said.

According to the report, children, elderly and the infirm were the most vulnerable. NEERI attributes this to “air transport of pollutants”.

Levels of Benzene - a chemical that causes blood cancer among children - were 125 times higher than safe levels.

Other carcinogens like chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, methylene chloride and trichloroethylene were 881, 553, 32.5 and 21.8 times respectively higher than acceptable levels, the NEERI report said.

NEERI says “the results are a conservative estimate” as “most of the industries are not operating to capacity on days of sampling”.

“If all the industries in the study area function to the full capacity, it may be expected that concentrations of pollutants will increase three-fold,” the institute told TNPCB.

List of Chemicals Detected with Highest Levels Recorded

Name of Chemical	Highest Level (microgram/m3)	Location	Times above safe levels
Benzene	31.174	Asian Paints	125
Carbon tetrachloride	72	Tagros Chemicals	553
Chloroform	74	Shasun	881
Methylene Chloride	133	Tanfac	32.5
Trichloroethylene	24	Aurobindo Chemicals	21.8

Toxic air and contaminated groundwater blamed for chronic illnesses in multi-million dollar lawsuit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – MARCH 14, 2008

CAMBRIDGE, ON – Northstar Aerospace, GE Canada and Rozell Inc., are amongst the Cambridge-based businesses named in a multi-million dollar environmental lawsuit. Spearheaded by Denis and Deborah Vitez, the suit points to these businesses as being responsible for groundwater contamination and toxic air in local residents’ homes, and in the case of the Vitez family, resulting in chronic breathing problems, Parkinson’s Syndrome and neurological damages which have escalated over the past five years. The suit claims that the companies were aware that toxic levels of the human carcinogens Trichloroethylene (TCE) and Chromium were seeping into the groundwater in the vicinity of their Bishop Street plants.

The Vitez family is seeking punitive and general damages, citing negligence, failure to disclose information, misconduct, and failure to comply with the Environmental Protection Act, among other claims against the defendants. TCE, a solvent used for degreasing metal parts, is considered a toxic substance and probable human carcinogen under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Chromium is also classified by health organizations as a human carcinogen. Due to the companies’ failure to properly handle, store and dispose of the substances, the Vitez family has suffered through years of discomfort and pain, culminating in the diagnoses of asthma and severe sinus infection in Mrs. Vitez, and symptoms indicating Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinsonism – a group of nervous disorders with symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease – in the case of Mr. Vitez.

Paul Mann, Counsel for the Vitez family, and one of Canada’s top litigators in health-related matters, explains, “These companies knew they were contaminating the water and air with toxic chemicals, failed to warn homeowners that levels were in excess of Ministry of Environment (MOE) standards, and failed to prevent further release of the chemicals after they first learned of the leakage and discharge. Denis and Deborah Vitez may never get their health back as a result and it is time for justice to be served.”

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Denis and Deborah Vitez married in November 2003, and she moved into the house that the widower had shared with his first wife Donna since 2000. Donna had often complained about a strange odour in their house before she died in 2002 from brain cancer that had mysteriously resurfaced after three years in remission. Additionally in late 2003, Northstar Aerospace conducted tests on their Bishop Street property and concluded it was contaminated with TCE and Chromium at levels that exceeded MOE standards (a reading of over 230). Testing was expanded to include a wider area, but it took the company over a year to publicly state that the property was severely contaminated, that TCE had migrated through the groundwater and that TCE vapours had seeped into some of the buildings and properties in the area.

The company promised to take measures to resolve contamination issues in affected homes, including gutting and resealing basements, and removing toxic vapours through the installation of Heppa filters and air exchangers. Work at the Vitez residence commenced in December 2005 with a promise of completion within two months. Just days into the process, the Vitez family was forced to vacate for 11 days due to a noxious odour. Then, in early 2006 their recently resealed basement was torn up for plumbing modifications by Northstar’s contractors. During the three weeks of this construction, the Vitezes remained in their house, assured by company PR representatives that the toxicity levels were nothing to worry about. However, no air quality tests were conducted during this time period. Work was still underway well into May 2006.

Denis Vitez’s first tremors appeared in late autumn 2005. He was also waking nightly for months due to tingling and pain in his extremities. Deborah Vitez subsequently began having breathing problems and embarked upon an exhausting and frustrating course of treatment for what would be diagnosed as severe asthma, throat and sinus infections. For the next two years both would see various doctors and specialists, including a neurologist for Denis, who ordered numerous tests, blood work and brain scans. The ultimate diagnosis was Parkinsonism, with additional symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis.

“We were devastated by this news,” says Denis. “We were both feeling unwell and dealing with so much stress. Then in August 2006, Northstar began digging on our property without our consent. Two weeks later, we learned the contamination under our home was dangerously high. We moved out immediately on our own expense, and haven’t returned since. It’s too much of a risk. We want the responsible parties to own up to their negligence and irresponsibility.”

Paul Mann is a sole practitioner who operates his practice in the City of Cambridge, Ontario. He has been litigating complex medical malpractice issues, for plaintiffs only, for approximately 30 years. Mr. Mann has won the Bruce Hillyer Award for litigation and the advancement of justice on two separate occasions. He was also honoured by the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association with the “Celebration of the Personal Injury Bar” award as a leader in his profession for the year 2007. Ron Culley, co-council on this case, has extensive experience with health-related matters as a trial lawyer and practises in Waterloo, Ontario.

For further information or to arrange an interview with Paul Mann, Denis or Deborah Vitez, contact: Sandra Perron or Pat Hayward at 519-623-0700.

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The Health Department says another 900 residents could be affected by contaminated bore water in Adelaide's western suburbs.

They live in Findon, further west of the Beverley and Woodville South residents who were warned back in December not to use ground water because it an industrial cleaning agent had been detected.

Hydro geologists have advised that the area affected by trichloroethylene is wider than earlier thought.

Acting chief medical officer Paddy Phillips says letters are being sent to residents of the newly-identified problem area.

"The zone will now extend westward to include Findon Road to the east, Balcombe Avenue to the south, Pioneer Street and Todville Street to the west and Ryan Avenue to the north," he said.

"We're now letting people know that the area has expanded slightly and again reminding people to take appropriate precautions and that is to not use bore water in that area for drinking or swimming or irrigation."

The ministry's agenda for 2008 focused on reducing pollution, especially air pollution, as well as assessing Israel's contribution to global warming. According to the ministry, air quality in Israel is lower than the average for Western countries. To improve it, the ministry plans to adopt and enforce the European IPPC standard as well as adjust legislation to dovetail with government environmental policy. The Integrated Pollution and Prevention Control requires highly polluting industries to acquire a permit of environmental approval to operate. Finally, the ministry intends to set up filtering systems on electricity plants.

The ministry tested the air quality around the port for 24 hours in June and then again in September. They found that the levels of benzene, chloroform, methylene chloride, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene were all too high. The above are all either carcinogenic or suspected of being carcinogenic. The 11 factories either use, store or sell the chemicals in question.

Shuli Nezer, head of the air pollution branch at the ministry, told the committee that more tests would be conducted in February to locate the sources of the pollution, which thus far remain unknown.

Committee head MK Ophir Paz-Pines (Labor) demanded that the factories suspected of releasing the chemicals be shut down until the leaks could be identified.

"We must close down suspected factories until it can be proven that they are not the polluters. It cannot be that in Israel in 2008 there is an occupation [the] price [of which] is human lives," he declared.

In 2007, Toronto Public Health examined a variety of chemical substances that may be released from institutional, commercial and industrial operations in Toronto and identified 25 toxic substances of priority health concern. They include carcinogens such as cadmium, trichloroethylene and formaldehyde. These substances occur in the Toronto environment at levels that are of concern to health. For Toronto residents, emissions to air are the most important route of exposure to these chemicals, and hence pose the greatest health risk.

Although we know these substances are in our environment at levels that are a concern to health, we are missing important information about how these chemicals get into our environment. To be able to reduce the levels found in our environment we first need to know where they are coming from.

Canada has a pollutant tracking program called the National Pollutant Release Inventory, or “NPRI.” About 300 facilities in Toronto report to the NPRI. The majority of operations in Toronto that may use or emit chemical substances, however, are too small to meet current NPRI reporting requirements. Toronto Public Health estimates that more than 80 per cent of emissions to air of these 25 priority substances are not reported at all. The proposed Environmental Reporting and Disclosure Program would fill this gap in information. It will track the use and release of the priority chemicals from all sizes of operations.

Over the past two years, Toronto Public Health has examined similar programs used in North America and met with businesses, community organizations and other experts to decide what would work best for Toronto.

This document presents an idea about how an Environmental Reporting and Disclosure Program could work. It does not contain the actual text of a bylaw. It identifies elements such as the chemicals to be tracked, the types of businesses affected, what information they would be required to report and how the public could access the data. It also outlines some options for facilities to innovate, prevent pollution and improve competitiveness.

OUR MISSION

The gravity of the situation necessitates, in our opinion, constant and rigorous attention to this matter, so we have taken on the task of representing the citizens in everything, big and small, that touches the contamination file. To do this we have a seat on the Follow-up Committee put into place by the municipality and we are in contact with the Québec Public Health Department and the Ministry of the Environment so as to ensure the most adequate solutions. The citizens of Shannon are at the heart of our preoccupations, we believe it is essential that all citizens be informed.


OUR OBJECTIVES

• To ensure regular surveillance of all the filter systems put in place at the homes with contamination problems.
• To see to it that all the citizens on the south side benefit from a water test and that rigorous surveillance is assured on the north side of the municipality.
• To find answers so that residents who wish to take advantage of medical support have ready access to adequate resources.
• To see that the Committee be informed of all the steps that are taken at the environmental level.
• To see to it that the aqueduct system be installed as quickly as possible without entailing any additional cost to residents.

Montreal Gazette (Quebec, Canada)
March 25, 2007

A Quebec Superior Court judge has allowed residents of Shannon to launch a class-action lawsuit against the Department of National Defence and SNC Tech over drinking water that was contaminated with trichloroethylene, or TCE.

Residents are seeking several hundred million dollars in damages for health problems they blame on the industrial solvent.

The residents charge that during the 1950s, Shannon's underground water table was contaminated with TCE used at the adjacent Canadian Forces Base Valcartier. Health Canada says TCE is a potential carcinogen.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has found cancer-causing trichloroethylene (TCE) chemicals in groundwater samples taken from some areas of Las Piñas City, thus prompting Mayor Imelda Aguilar to create a task force that will determine the extent of the contamination of the aquifer.

Occupational Solvents May Increase Risk of Lymphoma

Researchers from Italy have reported that occupational exposure to solvents such as benzene, xylene, and toluene may increase the risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL). The details of this case-control study were published in Epidemiology .

[...]

Many, but not all, studies show a consistent link between woodworking and Hodgkin’s disease . Trichloroethylene is an organic chemical used in dry cleaning, metal degreasing and as a solvent for oils and resins and has been identified to cause liver and kidney cancer in animals. Exposure to trichloroethylene has been associated with an increased chance of developing Hodgkin's disease and other cancers. Machinists in the metal working industry have also been reported to have a higher than average incidence of Hodgkin's disease. Exposure to pesticides has been associated with an increased incidence of Hodgkin's disease in some, but not all, clinical studies. It has also been known for some time that young adults with infectious mononucleosis are at increased risk for the development of Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The law firms of Sutts, Strosberg LLP and Hilborn & Konduros are prosecuting a proposed class action against Northstar Aerospace (Canada) Inc. ("Northstar").

The action is on behalf of all persons who own real property area within the City of Cambridge bounded by Bishop Street North to the north, Briarwood Drive to the east, Highland Park to the south and the intersection of Bishop Street North and Hamilton Street to the west (the "Class Area").

In late 2004, Northstar began conducting ground water and soil testing near its facility located in Cambridge, Ontario. The testing revealed that trichloroethylene ("TCE") and chromium were present at levels that exceeded the standard established by Ontario's Ministry of the Environment.

[...]

If you own property within the Class Area, please provide the information requested on the Communication page of this website or call Sutts, Strosberg LLP at 800.229.5323, extension 8296 or Hilborn & Konduros at 519.658.6341.

2006 marked the fifth series of the EnSolv Roadshow, which visits towns and cities throughout the UK and Europe. Visiting the Brooklands Hotel in Barnsley, 100 delegates located from Scotland to London and beyond to Germany and Benelux, registered for this popular event. 25% of the audience were aerospace related following the unique success in EnSolv 5408 being approved by Boeing as a suitable alternative to Trichloroethylene.

Preston residents affected by contamination caused by a chemical spill at Northstar Aerospace are invited to a public information forum tomorrow.

The forum will be led by independent public facilitator Robb Ogilvie. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Fairview Mennonite Home auditorium, 515 Langs Dr.

Tomorrow's meeting is the first since the disbanding last month of the Bishop Street Community Liaison Committee. City councillors voted to disband the committee because two of the members are involved in class action lawsuits against Northstar. Council chose instead to pay for a facilitator to host neighbourhood meetings and update residents on groundwater and air quality testing and remediation efforts.

Tests on groundwater and soil at Northstar found trichloroethylene (TCE), a solvent used as a degreaser at the manufacturing facility on Bishop Street.

More than 1,600 indoor air samples have been collected from 335 homes. Tests at 102 homes showed TCE levels that required no remedial action; 109 required regular monitoring; and 120 homes had TCE concentrations that required remediation. To date, 109 homes have had equipment installed to clean the air, and another 45 homes will be outfitted by June.

CAMBRIDGE RESIDENTS COMMENCE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT ALLEGING ENVIROMENTAL CONTAMINATION

Northstar Aerospace, Inc. and Northstar Aerospace (Canada) Inc. facing legal action as a result of Trichloroethylene (“TCE”) contamination

A Statement of Claim was issued in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice today for damages for negligence, nuisance and breach of duty against Northstar Aerospace, Inc. and Northstar Aerospace (Canada) Inc., in respect of alleged contamination of TCE in the subsurface and groundwater of lands in close proximity of the Northstar manufacturing plant located in Cambridge, Ontario

The Statement of Claim seeks damages for negligence, nuisance and breach of duty in the amount of $100,000,000.00 and punitive, aggravated and exemplary damages in the amount of $10,000,000.00.

The Plaintiff, Linda Watson, owns a home located in close proximity to the Northstar manufacturing plant on Bishop Street North and is bringing the action under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, on behalf of a Class consisting of any person or persons who own property within a three (3) mile radius of the Cambridge Plant, whose property has been contaminated with TCE.

[...]

The Statement of Claim alleges that TCE was widely used by the Defendants in their plant and that the Defendants allowed TCE seepage and contamination of surrounding properties.

The Statement of Claim, which contains allegations which have yet to be proven in Court, alleges that readings of TCE levels indicate the existence of TCE in the subsurface and groundwater around the Cambridge plant, far in excess of acceptable standards. The Statement of Claim alleges that the surrounding public community is well-aware of the TCE contamination and that, as a result, people living within a 3 mile radius of the plant have suffered loss and damage.

The Claim is being pursued by Scarfone Hawkins LLP of Hamilton, a law firm with significant experience in handling complex class action claims on behalf of Plaintiffs.

[...]

For more information, contact James Scarfone or David Thompson of Scarfone Hawkins LLP at (905) 523-1333.

Groundwater in the country's central region is severely polluted, a new survey commissioned by the Water Commission reveals.

The survey, conducted by researchers from Hebrew University and Ben-Gurion University, found dozens of violations of drinking water standards in the area around Ramat Hasharon, Herzliya and Tel Aviv, along with traces of toxic materials, mainly from the nearby Israel Military Industries plant.

[...]

Water in the IMI complex also contained very high concentrations of various poisonous materials used in making explosives, as well as of chromium, a carcinogenic metal. Another carcinogen, trichloroethylene, was found in high concentrations in four drill sites outside the IMI complex as well.

Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh today announced that Health Canada and the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water has agreed to a more stringent guideline for the amount of trichloroethylene (TCE) in drinking water.

The new guideline is 10 per cent of the previous limit, lowered from 0.05 mg/L to 0.005 mg/L.

"The quality of drinking water is a priority for Canadians and their governments," said Minister Dosanjh. "Our collaborative work with provinces and territories on establishing guidelines, such as this one provides benchmarks that ensure that our drinking water is safe."

TCE is a volatile solvent used extensively in the automotive and metal industries for degreasing and cleaning of metal parts. TCE can enter groundwater as a result of industrial effluents or spills, or leaking from old dump sites. Regulations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, designed to phase out the use and sale of TCE in Canada, came into force in July 2003.

200 cases of cancer have been documented by a local doctor in a small town of 3,700 residents, located 25 kilometres northwest of Quebec City. These include brain, kidney, pancreas, liver, uterus and skin cancer....In the U.S., incidence of brain cancer is four in a population of 100,000, [the doctor] said: "I have seven or eight cases for the small population here. That's unusual."

The mayor of the town of Shannon, Que. says public officials are finally accepting the negative health effects of ground contamination from the nearby Valcartier military base.

Three times the acceptable level of trichloroethylene (TCE) was found in the town's water supply in 2000. Residents allege it came from CFB Valcartier.

Mayor Clive Kiley says during a meeting last week, Quebec City public health officials released statistic showing that a quarter of the cancer cases reported over the past 15 years may be linked to the contamination.

While Kiley says he believes the actual infection numbers are higher than those uncovered by the health department, he says this is a good start.

Fuel oil and solvents have been found in soil and groundwater samples on the former Smith and Stone site-and in the groundwater of nearby properties in Georgetown.

But an environmental consultant report stresses there is no threat to the health of area residents.

The Health Department sent a letter yesterday to the 32 residents who live in Ontario St. homes between Jason Cr. and Ewing St., and Ewing St. south to Silver Creek and on Riverview Cr.-informing them of the contamination. The letter informs them of a report prepared by environmental consultants contracted by the current owners of the property-ADM and Hammond-that concludes there isn't a threat to area residents' health or to Silver Creek.

The letter from Halton's Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Bob Nosal, said the study conducted by the consultants shows that low levels of solvents including benzene, trichloroethylene (TCE), vinyl chloride and other TCE breakdown products, and a small amount of petroleum hydrocarbons have dissolved in the groundwater and moved from the property in the direction of Silver Creek, southwest of the site.

The serious pollution of groundwater and soil discovered between Tel Aviv and Givatayim in an area that once housed the Israel Military Industries' Magen factory is just part of a much broader ecological problem. A preliminary survey recently conducted for the Water Commission has found that additional polluted sites in the Dan region are spreading and creating environmental hazards.

...Pollution in [one area] is so high that toxic materials created a separate layer in the groundwater. Vaporous and toxic materials were also found to be spreading to basements as well as trees and bushes.

Hundreds of commuters were today caught in the grip of traffic chaos after an accident involving a car and lorry on the M6. Motorway police initially closed both carriageways of the route at about 6.25am after the accident, which happened near Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham.

The northbound carriageway was completely closed between junctions 6 and 7 for around 40 minutes while the fire service assessed the risk and strength of the trichloroethylene chemical the lorry was carrying. The substance has been described by the fire service as a "fairly dangerous detergent" used in the cleaning industry.

In the hip science of ultrasmall nanotechnology, fantastical future possibilities like rampaging nanorobots capture the most attention, but the first fruits of the field have been more mundane: tiny bits of mostly ordinary stuff that just sit there.

Medieval artisans unknowingly became nanotechnologists, when they made red stained glass by mixing gold chloride into molten glass. That created tiny gold spheres, which absorbed and reflected sunlight in a way that produces a rich ruby color.

Iron is effective at breaking down contaminants like trichloroethylene, TCE for short, a cancer-causing chemical solvent that has found its way into drinking water. When iron rusts into iron oxide, it lets loose an electron. If the electron hops to a molecule of TCE, it starts a chemical reaction that breaks TCE into harmless pieces.

The current method is to dig a trench and dump a ton or more of iron powder into it. But in small-scale tests of the new technique at contaminated sites in Trenton and North Carolina, TCE levels were reduced by more than 90 percent in the water. Zhang said one pound of nanoparticles could cleanse 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of water.

But nanoparticles may have potential dangers that are still not well understood. The fear is that because they are so small, they could slip past the body's immune systems and into cells. A study last year reported that exotic soccer-ball-shaped carbon molecules known as buckyballs in water caused brain damage in fish.

China's Ministry of Commerce has announced the preliminary anti-dumping ruling on trichloroethylene [TCE] products from Japan and Russia....The Ministry decided to take temporary anti-dumping measures against the products after investigators found that the dumping of the products from Japan and Russia damages the domestic industry. [ntf: Is it me, or does this read like it's OK to dump all the Chinese TCE you want in China, just don't dump that Russian or Japanese stuff...?]