In this article they
talk about how Governor Jerry Brown ask the lawmakers at California to spend
$177 million on testing and cleanup of lead after the contamination caused by
the Exide company. The Exide plant in Vernon, California was close due to the
high contamination to the communities of Los Angeles. Exide was a manufacturing
company that made lead-acid batteries, automotive batteries and industrial
batteries. However, this company was creating so much pollution to its
surroundings that people had to petition to close down this company. Now the
company has been shut down but recent studies show that there is so much
contamination in the area of Los Angeles that is it necessary that everyone
gets tested.
They will receive a
loan in which it would allow “the Department of Toxic Substances Control to expedite
the cleanup process around Exide and then the state will go after the
contaminator for the money that was spent.” Being from Los Angeles I have seen
the community trying to get the government officials to realize that this was a
serious issues. After years of being unheard they have finally began to do
something about this issue. However, due to the recent studies there is a lot
of contamination in the area that will cost them a lot of money.
The Los Angeles city
mayor also released a video in which he encourages the community to get tested.
Lastly, they also created a website in which people from the community can
visit and get information as to where to get tested or how to get someone to
test the lead contamination on their homes.
Article: http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/02/17/57646/governor-proposes-176-million-for-exide-clean-up/
Website: http://exidecleanup.lacity.org/
This article is pretty disheartening! One thing to add: this has been going on for decades!! According to the article. I think this is a great case of the benefits of mal-operation outweighing the costs and potential punishment for years. Possibly this circumstance will be a more powerful candidate for cracking down on the corporation for negligence to the people. Clearly the coal mining incidents for the last decade haven’t done anything to sway the public opinion in terms of harsher punishment.
ReplyDeleteAs Brett stated above, this issue of contamination has been a very big problem in LA. I am glad that the State of California is finally stepping in and trying to make businesses responsible for their pollution. I believe that this is a step in the right direction for California and hopefully they're test all businesses in the area.
ReplyDeleteAs Brett stated above, this issue of contamination has been a very big problem in LA. I am glad that the State of California is finally stepping in and trying to make businesses responsible for their pollution. I believe that this is a step in the right direction for California and hopefully they're test all businesses in the area.
ReplyDelete