Michigan Dam Disaster Threatens Major Dow Toxic-Chemical Superfund Site

The compound, which also houses the chemical giant’s world headquarters, lies on the banks of the Tittabawassee River in Midland, a city that emergency officials say could soon be under as much as nine feet of water. Kyle Bandlow, a Dow spokesman, confirmed that as of 10 a.m. Wednesday, floodwaters had reached the site’s outer boundaries, and were entering ponds designed to hold storm water runoff.

Local environmental groups are raising the alarm. With much of Midland expected to be underwater by later on Wednesday, it “seems unlikely the Dow plant site will be spared,” Michelle Hurd Riddick, a member of the environmental group Lone Tree Council, said in a text message from Midland.

Mr. Bandlow said the company was “implementing its flood preparedness plan, which includes the safe shutdown of operating units on site,” which still manufactures plastics and other chemical products. He said only essential Dow staff remained on site to monitor the situation and “manage any issues as a result of the flooding.”

Mr. Bandlow did not provide further information on the status of the plant, or the cleanup sites.

For more than a century, the Dow complex has manufactured a range of products including Saran Wrap, Styrofoam, Agent Orange and mustard gas. Over time, Dow released effluent into the water, leading to dioxin contamination stretching more than 50 miles along the Tittabawassee and Saginaw Rivers and into Lake Huron. Dioxins are highly toxic, and research has shown that the chemical compounds can damage the immune system, cause reproductive or developmental problems, and cause cancer.

A federally-funded Superfund cleanup of the Tittabawassee River began in 2007, and was slated for completion next year. Cleanup of other contaminated waterways is set to last longer.

A former lawyer for Dow who oversaw the cleanup for more than a decade, Peter C. Wright, now runs the federal government’s Superfund cleanup program within the Environmental Protection Agency. A 2018 New York Times investigation found that, while Mr. Wright led Dow’s legal strategy relating to the cleanup, the chemical giant was accused by regulators, and in one case a Dow whistle-blower, of submitting disputed data, misrepresenting scientific evidence and delaying cleanup.

Mr. Wright has pledged to recuse himself from cleanups related to his former employer. E.P.A. officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Dow agreed last year to pay another $77 million to fund projects that would attempt to restore nearby fish and wildlife habitats to compensate for decades of pollution from its plant. Signs along the river warn locals not to eat fish caught there, and to avoid contact with soil and river sediment.

The threat to the Dow complex highlights the risks to Superfund and other toxic cleanup sites posed by the effects of climate change, which include more frequent and severe flooding. A federal report published last year found that 60 percent of Superfund sites overseen by the E.P.A., or more than 900 toxic sites countrywide, are in areas that may be affected by flooding or wildfires, both hazards that may be exacerbated by climate change.

The Trump administration rejected the report’s recommendation that the federal government provide more clarity on how it intends to incorporate climate research into readying these sites to withstand a changing climate.

source: nytimes.com