EPA finds toxic vapors in Evandale homes
RESIDENTS SAY THEY WERE UNAWARE OF THE DANGER AS HIGH LEVELS OF TCE ARE FOUND IN GROUNDWATER.
Since Evandale is the street right behind mine, this caught my attention and as I read on, I learned that toxic vapors are creeping into several homes on that street.
When Matt and I moved to Mountain View last March, we knew we were moving to the area where the company Fairchild Semiconductor used to be located as our street is named Fairchild. What we did not know is that we were moving into one of Silicon Valley’s largest collection of toxic sites, due to it being the home of early silicon computer chip manufactures such as Fairchild, Intel and Raytheon, which used TCE as a solvent in their manufacturing process during the 1960s and 1970s.
We thought that leaving South San Jose, we were going to be better off leaving the meth lab neighbors. Who knew we were heading into a toxic dump!
The toxic plume left behind was first discovered in 1981 and the five tech companies responsible for the toxic waste have already spent more than $56 million in cleanup - apparently not enough! They thought they had it contained in a small triangle area, but the toxins are creeping out of the original zone.
The toxin called TCE can cause hepatic, renal, neurological, immunological, reproductive, and developmental effects. It has also been linked to non-Hodgkin lymphoma cancer. The Bay Area Cancer Registry recently studied historical data and found nearly twice the regional average rate of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in northeastern Mountain View between 1996 and 2005. I'd say that's a pretty good sign that something in north Mountain View is wrong. Information has also been released that TCE can cause birth defects in babies if a pregnant mother is exposed in her first trimester.
If you look on the map below, you'll notice a little strip of yellow to the left of the dotted square. This is where we live and why we have cause for concern. This area has been designated a high priority area for indoor air sampling and we had no idea until I read this little paper.
In order for us to have our apartment tested, we have to get permission from our apartment owner which the paper has noted has been difficult in some apartment complexes. Knowing our history with our owners, I didn't feel confident they would allow this. And this could not come at a better time because our lease is up at the end of March so we are at a point of deciding whether to renew or move elsewhere.
Our apartment managers is a nice family in our ward (church)who also live in the complex which makes this whole situation more tricky, but they are just a mouth piece for the owners.
I wanted to make sure that all of the other residents in our complex were aware of this situation as I doubt they all read this little paper. So in order to not offend our apartment managers and build collective power from the owners for testing, Matt and I turned all Erin Brockovich and left a copy of the article on all of our neighbors doors last one evening.
At this point we have been told that the owners are neither agreeing or declining to allow permission for testing, but have agreed to look at the form if we go through the work to get it and bring it to them. What?! Just sign the form already!
We were also told that the more residents who bring the form, the more likely the owners are to sign it. So guess who has already made copies of the form and is going to walk around distributing it to our neighbors.
Now I should say that Matt and I really love the townhome don't want to leave but even if we do, we want to make sure that those who stay still have the chance of having their air tested.
After Matt attended a neighborhood meeting regarding the situation where the EPA reps came out and did a presentation and answered questions, he decided that it is best for us to move and not take the risk even if our air comes out clean. The EPA never thought the toxins would migrate from the original work area and they did. Who knows what will happen moving forward!
So off we go again to look for another apartment and move yet again!
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