Oil spill and power-plant fire wreak havoc in already-havoc-stricken Lebanon

And You Were Thinking It Couldn't Get Worse

Bombed by Israel two weeks ago, a storage fuel tank of a power plant in Beirut, Lebanon, is still burning, filling the air with dangerous fumes; another exploded, sending at least 10,000 tons of oil into the Mediterranean Sea. Particulate pollution could waft as far as Europe, and winds have pushed the oil spill dozens of miles up the coast, blackening beaches and threatening marine life like the endangered green turtle and the commercially important blue fin tuna. Lebanon lacks the resources to extinguish the oil fire; if the second tank collapses, up to 15,000 more tons of fuel could seep into the sea. Lebanon has begged assistance from Kuwait, but the spill will take months and tens of millions of dollars to clean up. "This is a catastrophe I wouldn't wish on any country in the world," said Lebanese Environment Minister Yacoub Sarraf. Meanwhile, Israeli-blocked ports are leaving Lebanon mere days from running out of fuel for power plants.

straight to the source: The Boston Globe, Rana Fil, 28 Jul 2006

straight to the source: Planet Ark, Reuters, Lin Noueihed, 28 Jul 2006

straight to the source: Los Angeles Times, Rone Tempest, 28 Jul 2006

straight to the source: The Daily Star, Raed El Rafei, 27 Jul 2006

straight to the source: Discovery News, Agence France-Presse, Haro Chakmakjian, 27 Jul 2006

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McCain & Scottsdale's Superfund Site

I am perplexed by the lack of press scrutiny on McCainâ€^TMs record of covering up one of the largest Superfund Sites in the nation in Scottsdale, Arizona, the North Indian Bend Wash. I grew up in that toxic area of Scottsdale, so I know from personal experience that John McCain never bothered to inquire about or advocate for his poisoned constituents.

http://yosemite.epa.gov/r9/sfund/r9sfdocw.nsf/webdisplay/ ...

Even though he was elected to the newly realigned Congressional District 1 in 1982, precisely the time when EPA documented the TCE contamination of his new constituents, he never called for a health assessment. The only record of McCain taking any interest in the site was when he wrote to EPA as Senator, June 30, 1989, to complain that his constituent Mr. Johnson should be allowed to sell his contaminated land even though he had been identified as a Potentially Responsible Party. The EPA response of July 12, 1990, states, â€oeGiven our mandate to give priority attention to public health threats, EPA can not justify putting Mr. Johnsonâ€^TMs concerns ahead of the rest of the citizens of Scottsdale who need drinking water.â€ This is McCainâ€^TMs complete record on protecting the families who lived in the NIBW prior to 1982. His failure to advocate for the citizens he represented from the time he was elected to Congress, up to the present day, speaks to his lack of character or concern for the environment
.
McCain ignored all those families in the NIBW during his years in office. He chose to keep the contamination of the groundwater in Scottsdale very, very hush-hush. Keating and others would not have appreciated that kind of publicity.
McCain cooperated with other officials to suppress the facts about the water Scottsdale residents drank. Fifty-seven THOUSAND POUNDS (~19 TONS) of highly toxic TCE have been removed from the municipal wells that supplied my neighborhood in the 60's & 70's.

http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/sfund/indianbend/index. ...

When I called his office about the ATSDR petition, he never returned my call.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/87349

John McCain even failed to act when TCE was served to residents this year.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/116853

Perhaps it was Senator McCain who called to pressure Mr. Dillinberg, when TCE was again served to his citizens in the mid â€^~90â€^TMs, as reported here by Terry Greene Sterling:

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1996-12-05/news/scottsdale ...

Jefferson envisioned the â€oefourth estateâ€ as a guardian of the truth. Please tell it now.

by Devo1978 at 9:30 AM on 16 Aug 2008

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