EPA to provide Saginaw, Tittabawassee rivers dioxin cleanup update to community advisory group

http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2013/09/epa_to_provide_river_cleanup_u.html
KOCHVILLE TOWNSHIP, MI — Environmental Protection Agency officials will give an update on the Tittabawassee River cleanup on Monday.

The Saginaw-Tittabawassee Rivers Contamination Community Advisory Group meets from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sept. 16 at Saginaw Valley State University's Curtiss Hall, 7400 Bay.

The group meets to give the EPA input about Midland-based Dow Chemical Co.'s dioxin and contamination cleanup of the rivers and Saginaw Bay.

EPA officials will update the group members and public about the progress of Segment 1, a three-mile stretch of river alongside Dow Chemical's Michigan Operations plant.

This year, the EPA has been seeking input about a cleanup plan for Segment 2, the next four-mile stretch of river south of Dow. The cleanup will start in spring 2014 and will take two years.

The plan includes removing contaminated sediment, capping sediment and stabilizing banks to halt erosion.

The EPA and Dow Chemical Care undertaking a long-term cleanup of the Tittabawassee and Saginaw rivers and Saginaw Bay to remove with dioxin and other chemicals because of Dow Chemical's historic releases.
From the late 1890s to the 1970s, Dow Chemical Co. leaked various amounts of dioxins into the environment through air and water emissions. The company is funding the cleanup.
The term dioxin refers to a family of chemical byproducts from chlorine manufacturing and fire. Burning household waste is the largest source of dioxins in the environment today.
The chemical can lead to ill health effects, including chloracne and reproductive issues.