Ex-ASARCO Workers Voice Concern Over Plans To Reclaim Site
Former employees of ASARCO voiced their concerns over plans to reclaim the area around the site in a news conference Monday morning.
The ex-workers say they have been heavily involved with the plans to remediate the site but are dissatisfied with what they say are data gaps in the plan created by the bankruptcy trustee.
“These data gaps include the failure of the trustee to identify six unlined unknown unregulated landfills that exist on ASARCO property,” said attorney Veronica Carbajal.
The ex-workers are also asking for ASARCO to be declared a federal Superfund site and for the EPA to take over remediation from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
They also want more extensive testing done on the six dump sites before the demolition of the area, which is scheduled to begin in early 2011.
Roberto Puga, who is heading the remediation plans for ASARCO, said he wasn’t aware of the six dumping sites.
“If there is new information out there that they just got, or documentation that they just found, by all means please let us have it and we will incorporate it into our work plan,” said Puga. “We’ve made that commitment to them from the beginning and we stand by it.”
Carlos Rodriguez, who worked for ASARCO for 27 years, spoke about how he is worried about the kinds of illegal materials that he said were incinerated at the plant.
“The city of El Paso, I believe, is not aware of just how bad this company was and probably still is,” said Rodriguez.
Ex-ASARCO workers said they wanted to be a part of the remediation because of the severity of the illnesses they have begun to experience at such a young age, including brain mysterious rashes, brain cancer and multiple sclerosis.
Puga said from the very beginning the trust has tried to work in a very open and transparent manner with the community and especially with the ASARCO workers group. He added that they have welcomed input from workers and are surprised that they feel the way they do.
