ABC-7 Update: Asarco clean-up efforts

once operated is now in its third year. hard to believe it’s already been three years since we all watched the smokestacks come crashing down. earlier this month, abc-seven was first to tell you the clean- up is almost done… and asarco trustee roberto puga says the university of texas is showing interest in buying the entire property… on behalf of utep. but before that can happen, the cleanup will need to meet certain safety regulations. asarco faced different lawsuits for violations of the texas clean air act and emitting lead in the air and into the soil of nearby neighborhood abc- 7’s josie ortegon picks up the story that you’ll see … … only on abc-seven … lk live intro: the company faced different lawsuits for violations of the texas clean air act and emitting lead in the air and into the soil of nearby neighborhood smeltertown. it’s only a matter of months until the old asarco site is ready for sale. pkg: 4:41 puga sot “we would not b engaging in selling the property for future redevelopment, if we did not think it was safe. and that our regulatory agencies felt it was safe to be reused.” the epa and tceq–have set specific standards for asarco to follow–in order for the company to move forward from its controversial past. everythign from demolishing the infrastructure, consolidating the waste and adding the protective cover–a five foot layer of dirt over the entire property. puga sot–“looking from i-10 you would see a lot of changes from 4-5 years ago.” pingatore– “most of what’s being done here, is scarping worst areas,kind of burying that stuff, then covering that area, basically sealing that stuff out of the way.” dr. nick pingitore ha studied lead in el paso for more than 30 years. he says asarco most certainly played a part in such high lead levels in el paso–but things are different now: the fact that asarco is regualted–guarante es safety. “they’ve come up with a set o plans that meet the standards that are being enforced by tceq. so i think everything will work out correctly and this site will be monitored forever, if they did anythign wrong, you’re going to know about it right away, so in fact, it’s safer than my backyard.” puga sot–“we’v spent a lot of time and effort to make the site safe for future users.” jo, abc7. the t-c-e-q could not say where asarco stands, but told abc-7 the actions to address the soil contamination at the site will be completed later this year. a long-term plan for maintenance and monitoring will be required for soil and groundwater. a return to windy weather starting