Friday, June 20, 2008
SWOP homepageIntel endangers community health by refusing steps to solve their plant's air pollution
From SWOP Director Robby Rodriguez:Intel is rejecting its own community front group’s recommendation to raise the height of its pollution stacks.
Intel is building new smokestacks, and some people in Corrales are fighting to have them built taller.
Residents said the higher stacks will bring less air pollution to their neighborhood.
Intel is building the new smokestacks 30 meters tall, shorter than the 38 to 40 meters recommended by Intel's own community group. The company said 30 meters is already taller than what is mandated and any taller would interfere with neighbors’ views.
..."As you go to much higher stacks, the concentration of material that gets down to ground level will be less," said [Hugh] Church...who was on Intel's community environmental working group. "I think 30 meters is too short."
What the Channel 7 report does not say is that NMED’s own staff stated publicly and on the record that “Intel could be culpable for residents illnesses”.
That statement was made by Mary Uhl of the NM Environment Department after an independent air modeling study found extremely high correlation between Intel’s pollution plume and resident complaints to the Environment Department. After that statement, Governor Richardson through his Secretaries for Environment & Health shut down the task force process.
The task force met anyway to make recommendations and Intel did agree to raise the height of their stacks.
Given all this, why does Intel stop at 30 meters when their own cheerleaders are calling for 38-40? What’s another 8-10 meters?
What a bunch of jerks.
Labels: Envirionmental Justice, Intel
