Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - TNRCC needs more ASARCO cleanup data

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Tuesday, August 29, 2000

TNRCC needs more ASARCO cleanup data
Not enough known about company's sampling methods for metals to make decision
By Anna M. Tinsley
Scripps Howard Austin Bureau
AUSTIN - State environmental officials say they need more information to determine whether ASARCO has cleaned up heavy metals from the Dona Park and Manchester Place neighborhoods.
   During an interagency phone conference Monday, Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission officials concluded that they will meet with officials from American Smelting and Refining Company of America to gather that information.
   "We need to talk to them about data gathering and sampling and analysis methods,'' said Patrick Shaughnessy, a TNRCC spokesman. "We don't believe the information we have is adequate to render a final decision.''
   ASARCO, a New York-based company that produces copper, specialty chemicals and other metals, began its Corpus Christi operations in 1942 and closed 40 years later.
   But in 1994, traces of arsenic, lead, cadmium, zinc and other heavy metals were found in the soil in those neighborhoods. That year, property owners in the Dona Park and Manchester Place neighborhoods sued ASARCO Inc. and its subsidiary, Encycle/Texas Inc.
   Last April, the TNRCC signed a consent agreement with ASARCO/Encycle for environmental violations. The TNRCC and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had been investigating the company for allegedly failing to properly manage hazardous waste in Corpus Christi and El Paso.
   The settlement required ASARCO to pay Texas $2 million and do $15 million in cleanup.
   ASARCO has notified the TNRCC that the cleanup is complete. ASARCO officials could not be reached late Monday.
   The question now is whether their cleanup was complete, said Buddy Stanley, regional director of the TNRCC.
   William Ducy, who has lived in the 1000 block of Manchester Avenue for more than 10 years, said he is glad that the TNRCC hasn't let the matter drop.
   "I think that we need the new testing," Ducy said. "I don't think they did a thorough job before. I know that there are a lot of people in the neighborhood that are ill."
   But not everyone believes that there is a problem.
   "I don't see that there are any problems," said Franklin Selcer, who has lived in the 1000 block of Dona Drive for more than 30 years. "Some people are just different than others. I breathed that stuff for many years and I (don't have) anything wrong. And the company I worked for did all ASARCO work."
   Some tests in the area showed that heavy metals including lead were at higher levels than federal standards allow. Lead can cause nausea and fatigue and is especially dangerous to children.
   In 1994, the TNRCC required ASARCO to clean 15 residential properties identified as contaminated. Dona Park residents have said more properties are contaminated and need to be cleaned.
   But in January, Dona Park and Manchester Place residents lost a legal challenge against the company.
   They had asked a Travis County judge to overturn the $15 million settlement between the TNRCC and ASARCO because it didn't address residential property needs.
   But Judge Margaret Cooper of the 353rd District Court did not overturn the settlement, instead saying that residents needed to plead their case with the TNRCC.
   The TNRCC already had rejected a similar request last year.
   Ducy said he wants to see his neighborhood cleaned up and safe for the children that he has watched grow over the years.
   "I like my neighborhood. It's very nice," he said. "These companies that are polluting our air and soil should be fined very heavily."

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