Tag: Mallinckrodt

WERU News Report 6/17/15

Producer/Host: Amy Browne
Engineer: John Greenman

The latest chapter in a story we’ve been reporting on for nearly 15 years played out in Federal Court today, as lawyers for both sides in the Penobscot River mercury pollution case (Maine People’s Alliance and the Natural Resources Defense Council vs. Mallinckrodt Inc.) made their closing arguments. We start today with a press conference held outside the Federal Building held by the Maine People’s Alliance and the Natural Resources Defense Council—the 2 groups that successfully sued the huge corporation responsible for the major mercury pollution many years ago and are now trying to get them to stop delaying and start cleaning it up. We also have notes from the final arguments, and make the connection with the mercury in the bay and proposed dredging project by re-airing an August 2014 interview with Dr. Kevin Yeager, one of the court-appointed independent scientist who worked on the Holtrachem/Mallinckrodt mercury case and was later hired by parties concerned about the dredging project to take a look at the testing methods used by the Army Corps of Engineers.

RadioActive 2/20/14

Producer/Host: Meredith DeFrancesco

Issue: Environmental and Social Justice

Program Topic: Mercury from Holtrachem site closes mouth of Penobscot to Lobster Fishing, Mallinckrodt, LLC resists cleanup; Irving instigates metallic mining law changes

Key Discussion Points:
a) This Saturday, 7 square miles of the Gulf of Maine, at the mouth of the Penobscot River, will be closed to lobster and crab fishing due to mercury contamination from the Holtrachem site in Orrington.
b) Concurrently, the liable corporation, Mallinckrodt, LLC, is appealing its cleanup responsibility before the Maine Supreme Court.

c) We also re-visit an industry move to dismantle current mining regulations in Maine. Monday, the legislature’s Environment and Natural Resources Committee will hold a public hearing on the proposed changes, recently reformulated by the Board of Environmental Protection to allow for even less environmental protection.

Guests:
Jesse Graham, director of Maine Peoples Alliance, www.mainepeoplesalliance.org
Nick Bennett, staff scientist Natural Resources Council of Maine, www.nrcm.org

http://www.workingwaterfront.com/articles/Penobscot-River-closed-to-lobster-crab-harvest/15790/

http://www.pressherald.com/news/Maine_Supreme_Court_to_hear_case_on_Orrington_hazardous_waste_site_cleanup_.html

http://www.pressherald.com/news/state-regulators-meet-this-week-to-decide-the-best-way-to-clean-up-mercury-at-the-former-holtrachem-plant_2010-05-02.html?pagenum=full

Weekend Voices 1/30/10

Producer/Host: Amy Browne

The company responsible for cleaning up hundreds of thousands of tons of soil contaminated by mercury at the former Holtrachem chemical plant in Orrington, is asking the state to approve a cheaper, less thorough, and quicker, clean up plan for the site.   Mallinckrodt Incorporated, a subsidiary of a multibillion dollar corporation, would save an estimated $100 million, and leave behind a large quantity of mercury in the soil, if their plan to remove only the most contaminated section is approved.   Mercury is a potent neurotoxin, and the former Holtrachem site is on the banks of the Penobscot River, just a few miles upstream from Penobscot Bay.

The Board of Environmental Protection held a public hearing in Orrington, Thursday night to hear what people think about the proposal.  WERU was there, and today we bring you excerpts from the testimony.
FMI: www.mainepeoplesalliance.org