FAST FACTS:
keli.rabon@wreg.com
(Collierville, TN 7/13/09) Trapped in time, the Smalley-Piper Industries property in Collierville has been abandoned for years. But the hazardous waste and deadly chemicals still locked behind rusted gates are holding a community hostage.
But it's the contamination you can't see -- unfazed by fences or padlocks -- that make this old factory one of the nation's most dangerous and contaminated Superfund sites.
"The longer these sites sit, the more potential for disaster," Dr. Steve Winberry, a toxicologist, says.
That's bad news for people like Lucianna Jones. She lives just a stone's throw away from Smalley-Piper.
"It was a neighborhood plant a lot of the young men on the street worked at, you could just walk to work," she recalls. Jones has lived there her entire life, 31 years.
For nearly two decades, workers at Smalley-Piper manufactured battery-casings. One step of the process included dumping a liquid solution of hexavalent chromium into the drainage ditches. Their operation formed a chemical creek, threatening the health of Collierville's environment and residents.
Hexavalent chromium targets your skin, blood, liver and kidneys. It's even known to cause lung cancer. Dangers that have been extensively studied over time, though toxicologist Dr. Steve Winberry says the effects of a chemical like chromium take time to develop.
"Once you've had them [the chemicals] in you for several days or weeks, you'll have to deal with the consequences that may happen 20 years later," Dr. Winberry says.
He says it only takes a small dose of chromium to leave lasting effects.
"I would be concerned if I lived next to any Superfund site," Winberry says.
"That's scary, very scary," Lucianna Jones says, as we explained the potential effects.
Jones worries about the consequences the pollution could have on her six growing boys, and if somehow, chromium exposure in her drinking water and soil could have contributed to her sister's fatal lung cancer. Her sister died at 36 years old, and Jones says, she never smoked.
"This is where we live, where we're raising our families. And I feel we have a right to know that," Jones said.
But the problem isn't confined to the Echo Circle neighborhood.
For the past 30 years, Smalley Piper's chromium has spread underground, creating a plume of contamination in the soil and groundwater.
- Toxic, uncontrolled hazardous waste from Superfund sites is threatening the water-supply and soil of the Mid- South
- Several sites throughout the Mid-South have breached the Memphis Aquifer, our primary source of drinking water
- The cleanup could take decades, and we uncover, there's no promise on when it will start
keli.rabon@wreg.com
(Collierville, TN 7/13/09) Trapped in time, the Smalley-Piper Industries property in Collierville has been abandoned for years. But the hazardous waste and deadly chemicals still locked behind rusted gates are holding a community hostage.
But it's the contamination you can't see -- unfazed by fences or padlocks -- that make this old factory one of the nation's most dangerous and contaminated Superfund sites.
"The longer these sites sit, the more potential for disaster," Dr. Steve Winberry, a toxicologist, says.
That's bad news for people like Lucianna Jones. She lives just a stone's throw away from Smalley-Piper.
"It was a neighborhood plant a lot of the young men on the street worked at, you could just walk to work," she recalls. Jones has lived there her entire life, 31 years.
For nearly two decades, workers at Smalley-Piper manufactured battery-casings. One step of the process included dumping a liquid solution of hexavalent chromium into the drainage ditches. Their operation formed a chemical creek, threatening the health of Collierville's environment and residents.
Hexavalent chromium targets your skin, blood, liver and kidneys. It's even known to cause lung cancer. Dangers that have been extensively studied over time, though toxicologist Dr. Steve Winberry says the effects of a chemical like chromium take time to develop.
"Once you've had them [the chemicals] in you for several days or weeks, you'll have to deal with the consequences that may happen 20 years later," Dr. Winberry says.
He says it only takes a small dose of chromium to leave lasting effects.
"I would be concerned if I lived next to any Superfund site," Winberry says.
"That's scary, very scary," Lucianna Jones says, as we explained the potential effects.
Jones worries about the consequences the pollution could have on her six growing boys, and if somehow, chromium exposure in her drinking water and soil could have contributed to her sister's fatal lung cancer. Her sister died at 36 years old, and Jones says, she never smoked.
"This is where we live, where we're raising our families. And I feel we have a right to know that," Jones said.
But the problem isn't confined to the Echo Circle neighborhood.
For the past 30 years, Smalley Piper's chromium has spread underground, creating a plume of contamination in the soil and groundwater.
Sensationalism or not. The place should be shut down. It's blight and it's contaminating water. What's the harm in shutting it down?
Lee @ 10:15 AM CDT, Jul 24, 2009
What branch of the government do you work for Brian? Thank you for these stories Ms. Rabon.
JoeP @ 7:59 AM CDT, Jul 17, 2009
Oh that's right, the government ALWAYS tells us the truth, right Brian? Clearly you don't live in Memphis, or even the United States. Bout time someone questions something around here.
Rob @ 10:12 PM CDT, Jul 16, 2009
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