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Kids Churn Up Toxics Biking In Superfund Site The former Mountain Pine Pressure Treating plant in Plainview, Arkansas, is currently listed as one of the most toxic sites in the United States. But it remains a favorite spot for Plainview children to ride their bicycles and All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), stirring up contaminated soil and dust and exposing them to arsenic and other highly toxic chemicals.(1) The site of the former wood treatment plant can be seen immediately to the west of Highway 28, the main street in Plainview. This 95-acre site is not just an unattractive industrial lot. Nearly 20 years of wood treating operations have left the site and nearby Porter Creek contaminated with pentachlorophenol (PCP), chromium, copper, and arsenic,(2) common chemicals used in the treatment of wood. The Mountain Pine Pressure Treating site consists of three contiguous facilities spread over 95 acres. From 1965 to 1981, Mountain Pine Pressure Treating, a subsidiary of Plainview Lumber, treated timber with PCP and chromate copper arsenate (CCA).(3) The site was brought to the attention of the EPA in 1987 after a dike surrounding an on-site recovery holding pond was breached, allowing PCP and CCA contaminated wastewater to enter the adjacent drainage ditch, Porter Creek, and wetlands along the creek.(4) On-site sampling conducted in 1991 revealed elevated concentrations of PCP, chromium, copper, and arsenic in the soil, sediment, and water samples taken from various on-site locations, Porter Creek, and the nearby wetlands.(5) Porter Creek, which contains a designated wetland, is located at the southeast boundary of the Mountain Pine Pressure Treating site. Porter Creek is a tributary of Lake Nimrod, which supplies drinking water to the city of Plainview and is used for flood control, fishing, hunting, boating, and camping.(6) Though Mountain Pine Pressure Treating was added to Superfund's priority cleanup list in 1999, the original structures and debris, including dilapidated buildings and asbestos-wrapped holding tanks, have not yet been removed from the site. Despite the many on-site hazards, secure fencing exists only across the front of the property, and it can easily be bypassed at either end by merely walking around it.(7) Due to its accessibility, the 95-acre wasteland has become a playground for neighborhood children. According to city Alderman Harold Blalock, who has labeled the site an "attractive nuisance," kids regularly ride bikes and ATVs all over the property.(8) Yet the dangers associated with coming into contact with the hazardous substances present on the property far exceed mere nuisance. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, exposure to these toxins as a group can cause rashes, vomiting and nosebleeds as well as damage to the kidney, liver, and blood.(9) Studies show that people who come into contact with PCP experience an increase in body temperature, which can cause high fever, breathing difficulties, injury to various organs and tissues, and even death.(10) Mountain Pine Pressure Treating not only poses a serious threat to the health of the community and the neighboring creek and wetlands, it also has contributed to the area's economic decline, as the contaminated, unusable portion of the site remains vacant and undesirable to buyers. The buildings along Highway 28 which once housed companies and offices now stand mostly vacant, evidence of the industrial decline that has left many Plainview residents no alternative but to travel 50 or 100 miles a day to jobs. Transforming the vacant lot of Mountain Pine Pressure Treating into a new industrial facility would provide a much-needed opportunity to revive the town's industrial activity and create local jobs for Plainview residents. Yet despite the many efforts of Alderman Blalock and his colleagues to secure funding to clean the property, there are no current plans to clean up the contaminated acres. As Alderman Blalock tersely states, "This is really an economic situation."(11) A cleanup of the site would not only remedy the problem of environmental degradation, it would allow a portion of the property to be converted into a new industrial facility. Alderman Blalock, a former educator, would like to see a portion of the acreage, including the creek and surrounding wetlands, preserved so that students will have the opportunity to study the area's flora and fauna. Yet until a cleanup occurs, the site will remain a public health hazard where children come into contact with toxic substances-a blight on the community instead of a healthy wetlands or the new industrial facility this town desperately needs. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club |
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