The Whirlpool watch must continue (Updated)

[BlueToTheBone]

http://www.thecitywire.com/node/27105#.UVs7PDfklWc
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By way of background, Whirlpool operated its Fort Smith plant 45 years before officially ceasing production on June 29, 2012. The Whirlpool plant employed more than 4,600 workers in 2006, and resulted in about 1,000 jobs lost when it closed in 2012.

The groundwater ban was requested by Whirlpool as a response to trichloroethylene (TCE) in the soil in a residential neighborhood near the shuttered plant. TCE had previously been used by the company in Fort Smith from 1967 to 1981, according to information provided by ENVIRON International Corp., the firm paid by Whirlpool to assess environmental impact.

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We are disappointed in Fort Smith city leadership for not being more proactive. Whirlpool and city officials initially wanted us to believe the ban was the best way to protect area residents. The only thing worse than no protection, is a false sense of protection.

If we had gone along with the recommendation of city staff about the Whirlpool request, we’d never known the extent of the problem. We’d never known the potential for cancer-causing vapors to rise up through home foundations and street-light poles and drainage culverts. We may not have known there is a risk to the children who attend a nearby Boys & Girls Club facility. (By the way, Whirlpool CEO Jeff Fettig serves on the Board of Governors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.) In addition to runoff from the plant, we might not have learned about toxic containers shipped to area landfills over the years. We might not have learned of the possibility of ongoing toxic leakage from the facility.

http://nwahomepage.com/fulltext?nxd_id=416932
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In the 1960s, the Whirlpool plant used a chemical to clean machinery that later seeped into nearby land.

That chemical can cause cancer, so now environmental activist and attorney Erin Brockovich is in town for a few weeks investigating the contamination.In the 1960s, the Whirlpool plant used a chemical to clean machinery that later seeped into nearby land.

That chemical can cause cancer, so now environmental activist and attorney Erin Brockovich is in town for a few weeks investigating the contamination.
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Smith says nearly ten years ago, Whirlpool asked if it could put a test well in his backyard.

"They said, 'we had a spill, it's no big deal, you know. We are just wanting to monitor it and make sure it's not an issue.' In fact, when I talked to the gentleman, he said it's no big deal nothing to worry about, and now here it is ten years later and I can't sell my property.".

Whirlpool has issued a statement claiming responsibility with promises of a cleanup.
Our state becoming a toxic sewer.