Activists Target Plastic Maker
Environmental health watchdog groups host public forum on potential
pollution impacts.
8/15/2002
By Patti Shea

Environmental health activists took aim at a local plastics manufacturer
Monday in a public meeting held to alert residents to potentially dangerous
effects the company could have on air quality.

Representatives from the Los Angeles-based Physicians for Social
Responsibility and the Center for Environmental Health warned the roughly
three dozen residents in attendance to pressure local agencies to monitor
Keysor-Century Corp., which has come under fire from federal agencies.
The Saugus company was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in February for allegedly
falsifying monitoring reports. That investigation is ongoing.

Johanna Congleton, PSE public health associate, said the community needs
to become more familiar with the possible adverse impacts the company could
have on residents.

“There has been very limited communication to the public about
Keysor-Century’s business practices that could potentially put the community
in harm’s way,” Congleton said.

The meeting, Congleton said, was designed to begin the public education
process about Keysor and inform attendees about its alleged past actions.
A lawsuit filed by a former employee claimed Keysor doctored air quality
reports that were turned in to the EPA and the Occupational Health and
Safety Administration. The employee said Keysor knowingly released
carcinogenic vinyl chloride fumes into the air at illegal levels. The
lawsuit was settled for $500,000 in May 2001 with no admission of guilt by
Keysor.

Representatives from Keysor were in attendance, but didn’t speak at the
meeting and could not be reached Wednesday for comment.
In interviews last week, Keysor attorneys said the company has been in
compliance with all state and federal environmental regulations and is
cooperating with the investigation.

Local Sierra Club chapter officer Karen Pearson asked the panel what is
a safe distance to live from the company, located on the 26000 block of
Springbrook Avenue, off Drayton Street in Saugus.

Congleton said the EPA is testing air quality in areas close to the
facility. However, she added, because of the ongoing investigation, the
watchdog group has been unable to obtain the test results.
Alise Cappel, research director for the Center for Environmental Health,
added that past monitoring reports weren’t believed to be reliable because
of the allegations that the numbers were doctored.

The legal limit for vinyl chloride is 1 part per million over an
eight-hour period.

“We’re not sure what type of enforcement or oversight is going on,”
Congleton said.

She encouraged residents to write local agencies and urge them to
release the test results and conduct soil tests on and around the site.

Allen Blakey, spokesman for the Virginia-based Vinyl Institute, said in
a phone interview that changes in vinyl chloride manufacturing have made it
safe for workers and consumers.

“It’s an old threat that’s been solved,” Blakey said.
Blakey said that since the changes made by OSHA in the mid-1970s, there
have been few cases of angiosarcoma, a rare liver cancer detected in workers
who handle vinyl chloride.

However, he added, individual companies need to take those measures to
ensure safety.

“Clearly vinyl chloride has to be handled carefully and must meet
industry practices,” Blakey said. “All I can say is safety comes first.”

When asked by a meeting attendee if the goal of the two groups was to
shut down all vinyl chloride plants, Congleton said, “No.”

“Our goal is to make sure the community isn’t harmed and knows the
facts,” she said.

Local activist Cam Noltemeyer, speaking during Monday night’s meeting,
said residents can’t rely on local officials to monitor the situation
adequately.

“The leadership in this community is something we can’t trust to deal
with this issue,” Noltemeyer said.

Congleton said she noticed after the February raid that there wasn’t a
great deal of information spread about Keysor.

“I don’t want to create a panic,” Congleton said. “This has been going
on so long, we just need to make (the residents) aware.”

Councilwoman Marsha McLean attended the meeting and said she will
present the issue to the council when it comes off summer break next week.
In the meantime, McLean suggested that the organizations and all the
meeting’s participants attend the first City Council meeting on Aug. 27 and
tell the council their concerns.

Congleton said both groups will increase their public education efforts
and will hold more town hall-style meetings.