Wednesday, 03 Oct 2001

Benzene Wring

A five-year study by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission found that two chemical companies, Marathon Ashland Petroleum and BP Chemical, have been releasing unacceptable amounts of benzene into the air around Texas City, 60 miles southeast of Houston. The levels of benzene, which is a known carcinogen, were three to six times higher than those permitted by TNRCC guidelines. The companies say the study's conclusions are questionable and deny that area residents could face health complications. Environmental officials, who suffered headaches and vomiting while collecting air samples, are considering levying fines against the companies.

Hot Food

A sting operation by Cambodian wildlife officials uncovered 137 restaurants dishing up endangered species in the country's capital city of Phnom Penh. The officials rescued more than 1,300 critters, including wild boars, rare turtles, scaly anteaters (called pangolins by those in the know), and a sun bear. Although no one was arrested as a result of the endangered species dragnet -- Cambodian law only allows fines in such cases -- the governor of Phnom Penh said he was planning an aggressive campaign to control the mushrooming trade in wild meat.

Precedent of the United States

A federal judge dismissed an effort by the timber industry and users of off-road vehicles (ORVs) to overturn former President Clinton's order to designate 328,000 acres of federal land in California's Sierra Nevada as Giant Sequoia National Monument. The plaintiffs challenged the 1906 Antiquities Act, which gives the president the authority to establish monuments. They argued that the act was unconstitutional, and said Clinton should not have been allowed to ban logging, mining, and ORVs in Giant Sequoia. U.S. District Judge Richard Urbina disagreed and upheld Clinton's order. Industry groups have filed suit in other courts to challenge national monuments set aside by Clinton in the West -- and enviros hope Urbina's ruling sets a precedent.

Twenty-first Century Fox

More than 30 tons of toxic PCBs will be dredged from 19 miles of Wisconsin's Fox River if a cleanup plan announced yesterday wins public support. To atone for decades of dumping the toxins, a consortium of seven paper companies would pick up the $308 million price tag for the cleanup of the Fox, which is the leading source of PCBs flowing into the Great Lakes. Enviros said the plan would be a good first step, but they pointed out that only parts of the river would be dredged. Portions of the river and adjacent Green Bay not covered by the plan would be on their own to recover from the more than 75 tons of PCBs that would remain after the cleanup. The state Department of Natural Resources will take public comment on the plan through early December.

Not Sitting on Defense

The U.S. Senate yesterday voted 99-0 to approve a $345 billion anti-terrorism defense bill, after voting 100-0 not to get sidetracked by amendments like one that would have opened up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil and gas drilling. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) had proposed to add the entire GOP energy bill to the defense bill, but even he in effect voted against his proposal after Republicans met together and decided not to engage in such partisan tactics. However, Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) later promised to try to advance GOP energy plans by the end of the year, even it meant stirring up partisan conflict in the Senate in the future.