"Good neighbor" Mallinckrodt, the company responsible for the former Holtrachem plant site in Orrington, has announced they will be fighting the Maine DEP's order to remove tons of mercury-contaminated soil from the area.
Mallinckrodt argues that it would be easier and safer to attempt to contain the contaminants on-site, a plan the DEP has rejected.
Littell said leaving the contaminated soils in the five landfills — which encompass more than 120,000 square feet — was not an option because of the contamination’s proximity to nearby residences and the river. The department also wanted to make sure local residents and the environment are protected well into the future, regardless of Mallinckrodt’s status as a company, he said.
In a self-aware attempt to cash in on the Olympics, the Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine staged a race today at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland to showcase the "Chemical Olympics". The stunt highlighted the comparative efforts of various countries to keep their citizens safe from chemical pollution.
The Gannett stations recently aired a six-and-a-half minute piece on the dispute over water rights in Maine. It's a great bit of reporting, and examines all sides of this contentious issue.
Two days after pledging to be a "good neighbor in this community," it's now revealed that mercury-dumping Mallinckrodt is threatening to sue towns along the Penobscot unless they sign an agreement forgoing any future claims against the corporation.
The recent judge's ruling continuing the study of mercury in the Penobscot marks more than three decades of conflict between Maine residents and the chemical company formerly known as Holtrachem.
The study focuses on the degree of environmental damage done by tons of spilled mercury from the Orrington site, including to lobster stocks and to humans. The court-appointed researchers are also studying ways that the bio-accumulative, persistent pollutant might be removed from Maine's largest river.
A spokesperson for Mallinckrodt, the sole remaining corporate owner of the company had this to say in the BDN: "Consistent with being a good neighbor in this community, Mallinckrodt takes its responsibility toward the cleanup of this site very seriously and remains committed to a diligent and thoughtful approach to completing the environmental remediation of the former manufacturing site."
That statement is laughable. Mallinckrodt has opposed the clean-up, and even the study itself, at every step of the way. It was only a legal victory by the Maine People's Alliance and the Natural Resources Defense Council that forced Mallinckrodt to be accountable, and the corporation appealed that decision all the way to the Supreme Court. They've pretty much been as bad a neighbor as the law will allow.
