FEDERAL INVESTIGATION CALLED FOR TOXIC POLLUTER

[Sanjour.William@epamail.epa.gov]

For Immediate Release
Contact:  Jim Warren 919-490-0747
July 24, 1998


FEDERAL INVESTIGATION CALLED FOR TOXIC POLLUTER

Environmental health group NC WARN today announced it is calling in
several federal agencies to investigate whether releases from one of
North Carolina

?s largest polluters may have contaminated area residents
and the environment over the past 4 decades, and whether the company may
have committed criminal violations.

The organization also chastised state regulators for settling a 3-way
legal case in a manner which allows Carolina Solite to continue
polluting the air at levels well above legal limits for an extended
period of time, and for not requiring air monitoring or emissions
testing in the meantime.

Evidence uncovered during months of legal preparations has raised
concerns about long-running exposures to Stanly County residents,
especially because the company had no pollution controls for over twenty
years and has been emitting high levels of toxic chemicals since it
began burning toxic waste in the early 1980?s.

Scientists working with NC WARN, as well as others within state
government, have acknowledged that a number of highly toxic compounds
may have contributed to health damage in the area.   WARN consultant Dr..
Joel Hirschhorn stated, ?This has gone well beyond a question about an
air permit.  It is clear from examining a number of state documents that
the Solite facility has been a major source of multiple toxic pollutants
for several decades and that the public health of the surrounding
community may have been severely compromised.?

State Health Director Dr. Dennis McBride recently expressed his concerns
about local exposures, and ordered an investigation of soils and waters
near the plant.  But NC WARN noted that serious resource limitations
have led to a limited scope and delays in the plan?s implementation.  In
the only study of its kind, a state agency found excess brain cancers
and leukemias in Stanly County --- as of 1990 --- with Solite listed as
the relevant ?environmental concern?.  Residents believe that there are
an extraordinary number of cancers in southern Stanly County.  There are
many residents and an elementary school within a mile of the facility.

State health officials noted in a June 18 memo that the Division of Air
Quality has for 7 years ignored  recommendations by the health director
urging the state to force reductions in Solite?s toxic  emissions
?without delay.?

The federal actions requested include:
? An investigation by EPA under its CERCLA authority regarding
uncontrolled air and other releases of hazardous substances, to
determine whether the facility and surrounding community may qualify as
a Superfund site due to contamination of soils and water.

? A comprehensive public health investigation by the Agency for Toxic
Substances Disease Registry (ATSDR), based on the long history of
emissions of multiple toxic pollutants.

? An investigation by the Department of Justice and EPA?s Environmental
Crimes Division into whether criminal acts may have been committed by
Solite and/or state regulatory officials.  The company has admitted
submitting incorrect information for years about its permit.

NC WARN may also request an EPA review, under the Clean Air Act, of the
legitimacy of permits issued to Solite by the State.

In a letter to Environmental Secretary Wayne McDevitt,  NC WARN also
complained that the State further relaxed terms of the recent settlement
agreement --- apparently under pressure from Solite --- after NC WARN
withdrew from negotiations due to the state?s lack of willingness in
controlling the polluter.
The focus of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources on
helping the company maintain operations, in spite of ongoing violations
and excessive pollution levels, has not provided effective protection of
public health.  WARN noted that Solite has a longstanding pattern of
delays in complying with pollution laws, and that penalties proposed by
the State are no more than a cost of doing business.

It is undisputed that Solite is currently emitting high levels of
arsenic (ten times the state?s ?safe? level), dioxin, and particulate
matter, while evidence suggests that other numerous other pollutants,
including benzene and vinyl chloride, may also be discharging at
elevated levels. NC WARN complained that the state has for years ignored
the risk to the community relating to the combined effects of multiple
chemical exposures.  ?These pollutants aren?t the type that cause acute
short-term health effects, but are related many illnesses in the
long-term,? stated Sam McClintock, a consultant for WARN who normally
works for industry.

Solite confesses that is has been out of compliance with air pollution
laws for an extended period of time.
The company has acknowledged it could immediately reduce pollution
levels, but refuses to do so because that would hurt its revenue base.
Under its reinstated air permit, Solite is allowed to discharge over 6
million pounds of air pollution annually.

NC WARN director Jim Warren said, ?We?d love to find out that these
problems aren?t as bad as it appears they may be, but at this point a
number of credible scientists agree that there is cause for serious
concern, and many local folks are understandably worried about this
situation.?

Dr. Hirschhorn also noted, ?The potential for pollutants impacting
nearby agricultural crops and dairy products, as well as residential
areas, makes the Carolina Solite operation a real threat to
many people statewide and beyond who are consuming foods from North
Carolina.  This plant is also discharging a lot of mercury upwind of a
large part of the Pee Dee River basin.?

In addition to the federal action, NC WARN and its citizen allies in
Stanly County are also pursuing other legal actions against the company
and the State.