Toxic Soup | Film Blog | Environmental Issues

January 25, 2012C8 Science Panel Finds Link to Human Disease

Another chapter has been written in the on-going C8 (PFOA) contamination story that we covered as part of Toxic Soup. Harry Dietzler, Joe Kiger and journalist Callie Lyons were all interviewed about the C8 contamination that resulted from the operation of DuPont’s Parkersburg, WV facility. Below Callie Lyons breaks it all down; I have lifted it from her blog. Thanks, Callie!

There is a link between C8 exposure and human disease, according to the C8 Science Panel who released their first set of probable link findings this week. The panel determined that there is a link between exposure to PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid, and pregnancy-induced hypertension.

This is significant because the development triggers the next phase of settlement in the class action lawsuit brought by Mid Ohio Valley residents against DuPont over the presence of the manmade chemical in several public water supplies. DuPont has used C8 for more than fifty years at Washington Works near Parkersburg, W.Va., in the manufacture of Teflon and many other consumer applications.

The panel’s determination was based on data from the C8 Health Project and four related studies which identified more than 3,000 cases of pregnancy-induced hypertension in exposed populations. Similarly, a link was detected between C8 exposure and preeclampsia.

The panel did not find a probable link between C8 exposure and pregnancy loss, low birth weight, or birth defects.

Dr. David Savitz explained the panel’s findings, calling pregnancy-induced hypertension a “serious complication of pregnancy” and one that is known to increase the risk of preterm birth.

While the condition typically resolves with the birth of the baby, Savitz said women who develop high blood pressure during pregnancy are at an increased risk of having it again with subsequent pregnancies. He said pregnancy-induced hypertension is also a “predictor” of problems later in life.

Even so, Savitz said the number one cause of pregnancy-induced hypertension is obesity, which is something that can be more directly addressed by women of childbearing age. He also encouraged expectant mothers to fully participate in prenatal care – and to follow the advice of their doctors.

The term “probable link” is court terminology, not scientific jargon. Specifically, the C8 Science Panel was appointed for the purpose of determining whether, given the available scientific evidence, there is more likely than not a connection between PFOA exposure and human disease in class members.

As a result of the panel’s findings, a medical panel will be established to determine whether medical monitoring is called for under the terms of the settlement. At the conclusion of the suit, if a “probable link” has been found, the settlement agreement provides for $235 million to be paid out by DuPont for medical monitoring.

The C8 Science Panel is expected to release two more sets of findings before concluding their work in July 2012.

DuPont officials say they do not believe that PFOA causes pregnancy-induced hypertension, but they will move forward with their obligations under the settlement agreement.

“DuPont has committed to no longer make, buy or use PFOA by 2015, or sooner if possible,” company officials said in a statement. “We have made significant progress toward this commitment, including commercializing next-generation offerings that are made without using PFOA, and that cannot break down to PFOA in the environment.”

The company has requested a permit change in order to replace the controversial manufacturing substance. Documents obtained from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection indicate the new substance intended for use in fluoropolymer production is called by the trade name C3. In the permit application, DuPont calls the new technology a “sustainable solution that includes a new processing aid with a favorable toxicological profile and rapid bioelimination”.

Little else is known about the substance. DuPont’s permit, if it is successful, would allow C3 to be discharged into the Ohio River. WVDEP is accepting public comments on the matter until December 26.

Tagged as: C8,C8 Science Panel,Callie Lyons,Dupont,Harry Dietzler,Joe Kiger,Parkersburg,PFOA | Posted in: Videos

December 22, 2011The Ujima Village Story

I recently came across this story via twitter and much of it reminds me of the communities that we focused on in Toxic Soup. I got the below text / information from the Justice for Ujima website.

A civil lawsuit was filed on Friday, April 9th, 2010 in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges that contamination at the 300-unit Ujima Village complex built on a former oil tank storage site caused 38 deaths and hundreds of cases of cancer, leukemia, miscarriages, respiratory distress, chronic infections, asthma, anemia and cognitive and neurological issues.

For decades, low-income, hard-working citizens of Los Angeles, mostly African American, raised their families in a government-run housing complex that made them sick. The air, the soil and the water at the site gave them cancer.

It gave them emphysema and anemia. It gave them asthma. It caused an unusually high number of miscarriages. It caused inexplicable itchy sores on their bodies. Although the housing development has been closed, it still causes people to lie awake at night wondering, “Are my children safe? Am I going to die?”

And every time the residents asked if they were safe, if the water was drinkable, if the air was clean enough to breathe, they were told by government officials that nothing was wrong.

But those officials were lying. The government knew the area was filled with deadly toxins, but it never told the people who lived there. Instead, it ignored the advice of every expert who tested the air and soil and concluded it was unsafe, and relied on the findings of the one company the said it was safe. But that company was bought and paid for by Exxon, the world’s largest oil company who originally polluted the soil.

Instead of acting to protect the residents, government officials denied the health hazards existed and neglected the residents. The agencies that could have provided oversight and protection came onto the scene far too late to be effective.

The agencies who oversaw the housing complex could have prevented the death and illnesses that resulted. Their responses to the problem were ineffective.

This is a tragic story of environmental injustice ignored by the governments that could have protected their citizens.

Tagged as: "Toxic Soup",blood pollution,blood pollution documentary,chemical body burden,los angeles contamination,pollution documentary,toxic government housing,toxic housing,ujima village,ujima village story | Posted in: Videos

December 4, 2011CARBON Graphic Novel

Award-winning filmmaker Danny Boyd has turned to the crowdstarter engine IndieGoGo to fund his latest project, CARBON, an epic graphic novel of gods, monsters and evil coal barons that is set in Mingo County, West Virginia.

In Danny’s own words, CARBON covers an original civilization before ours on the tipping point of extinction, and asks what — if anything — livable we will leave behind on our current course.

And who can save us from this most cataclysmic disaster in our human history? A courageous group of West Virginia coal miners and their community. These unlikely heroes are mankind’s only hope on this edge of the end of the world.

I have contracted two of the best graphic novel artists in the world to help me bring CARBON to life in illustrator, Edi Guedes, and colorist, Alzir Alves, of Rascunho Studio in Brazil. And right here in Charleston, world-class letterer, Jason Arthur.

Upon completion, CARBON will be shopped to major publishers. Our first graphic novel, CHILLERS, will be released by a national publisher next year (details TBA soon) so I am confident that CARBON will have significant publication as well.

We have donated to Danny’s graphic novel and we encourage you to do the same! It makes a great Christmas present. Happy Holidays!

Tagged as: CARBON,coal,coal baron,Danny Boyd,graphic novel,Mingo County,mountaintop removal,MTR,West Virginia | Posted in: Videos

November 30, 2011Big Apple Screening

We are pleased to announce that both TOXIC SOUP and MOUNTAIN MAN will be screening together in New York City on December 7th @ 7:3o pm at Theatre 80 in the East Village as part of “Occupy St. Marks Theater 80 Film Series: Protest, power and people.” The film series, curated by Charles Krezell, will showcase documentary shorts from Occupy Wall Street as well as feature films from around the world. Theatre 80 is located on St Marks Place and First Avenue in the East Village.

Monday December 5 @ 7:30 pm “Battle for Brooklyn” short TBA The filmmaker will attend
Tuesday December 6 @ 7:30pm ”Medium Hot” short TBA The filmmaker will attend
Wednesday December 7 @ 7:30pm “Toxic Soup” short “Mountain Man”
Tuesday December 13 @ 8pm “The Orange Chronicles” The filmmaker will attend.
Wednesday December 14 “Granito, how to nail a dictator” short TBA The filmmaker will attend.
Thursday December 15 “Bigger than the Beatles” The filmmaker will attend.

For more information contact Charles Krezell at 917-514-2197.

Tagged as: "Toxic Soup",best documentary,Charles Krezell,chemical body burden,Mountain Man,mountaintop removal,MTR,Occupy,Occupy Wall Street,pictures of pollution,toxic waste | Posted in: Videos

October 31, 2011HULU

We are excited to announce that thanks to the good folks at Distribber Toxic Soup will soon be available on HULU, a move that will greatly expand the social impact and audience for the film. At this time we are also pleased to announce that we have finalized a deal with French Connection Films to make a French version of Toxic Soup for broadcast in France and French-speaking territories.

| Posted in: Videos

October 1, 2011London Calling

Our short documentary “Mountain Man” about MTR activist Larry Gibson is set to make its London premiere at the prestigious 2011 Raindance Film Festival. The movie is screening on Monday, October 3rd at 3:30 pm.

We initially shot the footage that became “Mountain Man” as part of our feature length documentary Toxic Soup, which we released in 2010. Unfortunately, Larry Gibson’s story ended up on the cutting room floor. But his story of survival and leadership was a story that we had to tell.

So when Nashville-based producer P.G. Banker came out to Los Angeles, we sat down and revisited the footage, rescuing Larry’s story from the cutting room floor — who knew that it would be destined for the big screen in London!

Tagged as: "Toxic Soup",body burden,chemical body burden,independent film,Larry Gibson,Mountain Man,MTR,Raindance Film Festival | Posted in: Videos

September 13, 2011London Premiere

He’s been laughed at, cussed out and shot at, but Larry Gibson refuses to abandon his home atop Kayford Mountain in West Virginia.

Tagged as: "Toxic Soup",body burden,chemical body burden,Larry Gibson,Mountain Man,mountain top removal,mountaintop removal,MTR,Raindance Film Festival,toxicsoup | Posted in: Videos

August 26, 2011$35 Million Dollar Win

Good news to report. Remember the Reverend Larry Brown in Rawl, Kentucky? Larry was representing his community in their fight against Massey Energy. Turns out Larry and the folks in Rawl did have cause for concern. Below is the Associate Press story by Vicki Smith.

Massey Energy Co. has offered $35 million to settle a 7-year-old lawsuit with hundreds of southern West Virginia residents who say the mining company poisoned their drinking supplies with wastewater called coal slurry. Below is the Associate Press story by Vicki Smith.

Reverend Larry Brown

The settlement proposed last month is confidential, but The Associated Press obtained a copy of a letter sent to the more than 500 plaintiffs whose cases were to be tried starting in August.

It says the $35 million is in addition to the $5 million that Massey and its subsidiary, Rawl Sales & Processing, had previously agreed to put into a medical monitoring fund.

Massey was bought earlier this year Virginia-based Alpha Natural Resources, which did not immediately comment Monday. Massey was the owner of the Upper Big Branch mine where 29 men died in a blast last year that was the deadliest U.S. coal accident since 1970.

It’s unclear exactly how much money each plaintiff will receive because the letter doesn’t say how much their lawyers are seeking for fees and expenses. The attorneys refused to comment, citing a gag order imposed on the settlement.

If they request and are granted the customary 30 percent, that could lower the payoffs to approximately $24 million, or about $50,000 apiece.

A hearing on the settlement and its distribution, including legal fees, is set for Sept. 29 at the Kanawha County Courthouse in Charleston.

The letter, dated Aug. 5, tells recipients the terms are not to be discussed with anyone other than fellow plaintiffs.

“Never forget that we stood and fought where others feared to tread, and you, the people of Rawl, Lick Creek, Merrimac and Sprigg, focused the world’s attention on the true human cost of outlaw mining practices,” says the letter, signed by attorney Kevin Thompson.

The settlement was reached on July 27, after a third attempt by two judges serving on the state’s Mass Litigation Panel. Three other judges had been simultaneously preparing to begin a series of trials on Aug. 1.

Initially, some 700 people sued Massey, claiming it contaminated their aquifer and wells by pumping 1.4 billion gallons of toxic coal slurry into worked-out underground mines between 1978 and 1987.

Slurry is created when coal is washed to help it burn more cleanly. The residents say it seeped out of the old mine workings and into their aquifer, turning their well water varying shades of red, brown and black, and causing ailments ranging from learning disabilities to cancer.

The letter also tells the plaintiffs that besides the medical monitoring program, they are eligible for a health benefits program. The details of how that will work are still being negotiated.

For decades, coal companies in Appalachia have injected slurry into worked-out mines as a cheap alternative to dams and other systems that can safely store or treat it. The industry claims underground injection is safe, but critics say slurry leaches into water tables through natural and man-made cracks in the earth.

The plaintiffs are now mostly served by a public water system, but they argue that chronic exposure to metals and chemicals are to blame for birth defects and other health problems.

The settlement letter says the medical monitoring plan will give the plaintiffs “a fighting chance against potential future diseases” and will be in place by year’s end.

The letter also indicates that many plaintiffs are concerned the settlement could jeopardize their Social Security, Medicaid or Medicare benefits.

The attorneys say they’re working on creating “special needs trusts,” that could shield their settlement money and allow plaintiffs to use it for expenses such as clothing, automobiles or homes.

The plaintiffs will also get financial counseling so they understand the implications. Lien claims by Medicaid and Medicare, for example, must be cleared before funds can be distributed.

Still, the letter says, the goal is to distribute the money within 90 days.

Tagged as: "Toxic Soup",body burden,chemical body burden,coal slurry,eco documentary,eco movie,Kevin Thompson,slurry,toxic documentary,toxic movie | Posted in: Videos

July 27, 2011Chemical Body Burden

In analytical chemistry, biomonitoring is the measurement of the body burden of toxic chemical compounds, elements, or their metabolites, in biological substances, including humans. Often, these measurements are done in blood and urine samples.

In 2001, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began to publish its biennial National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, which reports a statistically representative sample of the U.S. population. The Environmental Working Group has also conducted biomonitoring studies and since 1999 the CDC has measured 219 chemicals in people’s blood or urine across the United States.

The term, Chemical Body Burden refers to the hundreds of toxic chemicals that scientists have detected in the blood of human beings around the world. The medical phenomenon is a new one. Prior to World War II and the chemical revolution, the majority of these chemicals did not exist. And while the chemical revolution has afforded (and continues to afford) society with many technological advances, this progress has come at a price. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

According to a 2009 study conducted by the Environmental Working Group in conjunction with Rachel’s Network, 9 out of 10 randomly selected samples of umbilical cord blood tested positive for BPA, an industrial petrochemical produced by the millions of tons annually to make polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. BPA has been implicated in a lengthening list of serious chronic disorders, including: cancer, cognitive and behavioral impairments, endocrine system disruption, reproductive and cardiovascular system abnormalities, diabetes, asthma and obesity.

In addition to BPA, there were another 231 chemicals found in the blood of the newborns during the EWG study. Legendary journalist, Bill Moyers, also had his own medical samples tested for a documentary film, Trade Secrets, and discovered 84 chemical substances in his own blood, including dioxins, PCBS, and the endocrine disrupting phthalate DEHP. The health effects of these chemicals mixed into the blood like a toxic soup remain unknown.

The reason for chemical body burden is simple: an estimated 42 billion pounds of chemicals enter American commerce daily, according to the University of California Berkeley—enough to fill up 623,000 tanker trucks every day, a string of trucks that could straddle the United States if placed end to end. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has required testing on less than 200 of those pollutants and banned only five chemicals since the agency’s creation in 1970.

According to the Endocrine Society, which is made up of 14,000 hormone researchers and medical specialists in more than 100 countries, “even infinitesimally low levels of exposure (to chemicals and other pollutants)… may cause endocrine or reproductive abnormalities… Surprisingly, low doses may even exert more potent effects than higher doses.”

The American Medical Association Board of Delegates has called on the federal government to minimize the public’s exposure to BPA and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals. The Endocrine Society, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have advanced the measure.

New Jersey Senator, Frank Lautenberg has introduced the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 and The Kid Safe Chemical Act that aims to replace the moribund Toxic Substances Control Act, which grandfathered approximately 62,000 chemicals into the market, with no testing or reviews, chemicals that include neurotoxin ethyl benzene, among others.

Tagged as: "Toxic Soup",blood pollution,body burden,chemical body burden | Posted in: Videos

Toxic SoupThe Politics of Pollution

January 31, 2012Who Dat?!