Western Maine
Citizens for Cle
an
Air & Water
"Never
doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it's the only thing that ever
has." -Margaret Mead, 1901 
Our Mission: To protect and promote the natural resources of Western Maine and to protect the health of its citizens; To detect and define toxic substances in the air; to describe sources of environmental toxins in our community environment; to propose solutions to monitoring and elimination the generation or use of identified toxins; to lobby and inform the government for legislation and financial support to achieve these goals.
Who are we? We are health care providers and educators who are deeply concerned about the quality of air in our communities. Industrial pollution is making our community sick. High levels of asthma and other respiratory difficulties, seemingly never-ending stories of usual and unusual cancer in all segments of the community, notable numbers of children with learning difficulties and a myriad of other health problems, have forced us to educate ourselves about environmental pollution. If you too are concerned, then visit this site to keep informed, tell others and support us.
Important literature:
"The Future of Life" by E.O. Wilson ISBN 0-349-11579-6, www.twbg.co.uk
" The End of Nature" by Bill McKibben ISBN 0-385-41604-0, www.anchorbooks.com
"Collapse" by Jarod Diamond ISBN 0-670-03337-5, Penguin Group , New York, NY.
"Something In The
Air" by
Hillary Lister
This article appeared in issue 10, December 2002 of "THE MAINE COMMONS", a publication of the Maine Independent Media Center. It is the author's description of the meeting called by the Department of Environmental Protection for the State of Maine, the members of WMCCAW, the members of the community and the Mead WestVACO Paper Mill. The meeting was to discuss the renewal of the license of the mill for its air emissions. We believe it says it all!
"Cancer and the Environment" edited by Jean English
This article is a summary of the various presentations made at a workshop on Cancer and the Environment at the 2003 Common Grounds Fair. This article was featured in the Dec. 2003-Feb. 2004 issue of The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, a quarterly newspaper of The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, PO Box 170, Unity ME 04988; mofga@mofga.org. WMCCAW members participated in the panel. The featured speaker at the Fair was Sandra Steingraber Ph.D. a scientist, cancer survivor and book author. Her book is listed next.
"Living Downstream: A Scientist's Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment" . ISBN 0-375-70099-4, Vintage Books (Random House, Inc) NY, NY. In her book, she describes the scientific background for the growing belief that cancers which we are seeing in increasingly larger numbers in our country, are a result of carcinogenic pollutants being released by corporations in our own backyards. This book is a classic. It is scientifically accessible for people without a science background due to Dr. Steingraber's ability to articulate concepts with clarity and in simple language. Dr. Steingraber is also a poet and her gracefulness with words makes the book one which is hard to put down.
"The Paper Plantation: Ralph Nader's study group report on the pulp and paper industry in Maine" Grossman Pub. (1974) Available through Amazon.com as a used book.
This book presents an excellent history of the development of the paper and pulp industry in Maine, the history of community activism to influence the environmental (or lack thereof ) policies of the various companies on the Maine rivers and
"Mill fined for fouling air, water"RUMFORD -
The local paper mill has been fined nearly $44,000 for violating its consent
agreement with the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The incidents, affecting both air and water, occurred between 1998 and April
2005, when NewPage Corp. was owned by Mead Paper Division, then by MeadWestvaco.
NewPage bought the mill in May 2005.
Mill spokesman Tony Lyons said Thursday that the fine covered 73 incidents
between 1998 and 2003 of excess emissions from the smokestacks.
The fine also covers four incidents of wastewater discharged into the wastewater
treatment plant exceeding the state environmental agreement. Those incidents
occurred on Nov. 19, 2001, Dec. 11, 2001, March 24, 2002, and July 2, 2004 and
involved latex and titanium dioxide, as well as an incident that allowed an
increase of acidity.
As part of the fine agreement, the state DEP said in an Aug. 8 release, the mill
was directed to review its alarms and spill detection devices.
Lyons said some new alarm systems - at a cost exceeding the fine - were put into
place to show the levels of fluctuation chemicals go through before emptying
into the wastewater system.
He said MeadWestvaco paid the fine and NewPage is subject to the same DEP
consent agreement as both Mead and MeadWestvaco were.
Nearly $35,000 of the fine was earmarked for the River Valley Healthy
Communities Coalition for use in reducing the amount of and disposing of
household hazardous waste. The remaining $9,000 went to the DEP.
Health coalition director Patricia Duguay said part of the money was used for
June's household hazardous waste collection in Mexico, and for providing
household hazardous waste vouchers for residents to bring such wastes to a
Lewiston site. She said she believes there is enough money left to pay for local
household hazardous waste collections in 2007 and 2008.
"This is helpful in furthering the goals of the healthy communities
coalition. Environmental health is in our mission," she said.
WEB SITES
www.maineenvironment.org This is the Maine Natural Resources Council site. Current environmental issues being addressed in Maine, environmental tips , discussion of legislation and environmental links are given.
www.state.me.us/dep This site is the State site which describes the environmental activities of the Department of Environmental Protection. It provides the results of monitoring the quality of the water in the river and the air. It is a user friendly site which can give you access to valuable information and telephone numbers to call to report foul air and water pollution.
www.mainerivers.org This is a wonderful site for people of all ages to learn more about the rivers of Maine.
www.greenpeaceusa.org This is a great site for education regarding environmental activities in this country
www.mofga.org This is the site of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardener's Association
more to come....
WMCCAW members may be reached at the following email site
Email:
wmccaw@,midmaine.com