[Above–how chlorinated compounds in soils and shallow groundwater can rise up (vaporize) into homes and businesses above them — a process called vapor intrusion. See red lines coming from groundwater]
Today the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published an article about the very unfortunate situation Madison resident Kenny Koeppler landed in by accident. In 1987, Koeppler bought a building on Madison’s eastside that was a former dry cleaner (near the Jenifer St. Market) but he didn’t know that. In 2015, the DNR informed him that the building had highly toxic chlorinated dry cleaning solvents perchloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE) beneath it; further tests showed that high levels were vaporizing into the building, which he rented out at that point.
Fortunately Koeppler had a mitigation system installed at the building not long after this–but this was only after many years of toxic exposures to him, his wife, and many renters. Did these exposures cause health problems? Both chemicals are associated with similar health problems (see links above). TCE is even more toxic than PCE, and at lower levels; according to this study, TCE is “carcinogenic to humans by all routes of exposure and poses a potential human health hazard for noncancer toxicity to the central nervous system, kidney, liver, immune system, male reproductive system, and the developing embryo/fetus.” Over time, PCE breaks down into TCE and then vinyl chloride, the most toxic of all of them.
From 2014-2017, all three chemicals were found in shallow groundwater near Koeppler’s building, and a ways off the property, at levels well over enforcement standards. The DNR knows very well that chlorinated compounds travel far and wide from where they are first spilled, often through storm and sanitary sewer systems, which act as “preferential pathways.” By now the plume from the building Koeppler purchased has traveled in a wide area under the neighborhood and has very likely been oozing into the Yahara River and/or Lake Monona for many years.
Even though he didn’t cause the pollution, as owner of the property, under current regulations Mr. Koeppler is responsible to fund a full investigation of the groundwater plume and remediate it (possibly including vapor mitigation for others in the neighborhood). He does not have the resources to do this.
I have known about Kenny’s plight since 2015 when he asked for my help. I have met with him, walked the neighborhood, talked to neighbors, reviewed DNR records for the site, and tried to help in various ways, to no avail. I really don’t know what the best solution is.
But I do know one thing for sure: people aren’t being protected. I also know that the way this situation has been handled (or avoided) by government agencies clearly shows some of the deep problems in our environmental and public health regulatory system–and the upside down priorities of agencies charged with protecting public and environmental health.
Here are two of these deep systemic problems:
1) Glaring disparities in how our regulators deal with toxic pollution and enforcing our environmental laws–e.g., they protect powerful corporations, the military, and even local governments, but not less powerful entities. The disparities in how DNR is treating this case compared to other much more powerful “responsible parties” are glaringly unjust. I have watched for decades as giant contaminant plumes spread from well-resourced large polluters such as Madison Kipp-Corp, Kraft-Oscar Mayer, the U.S. military–and contaminated city and county-owned sites. DNR allows these responsible parties, who have abundant resources to investigate and remediate, drag legally-required investigations along for decades and avoid assessing the extent of the their poison plumes–forget about remediation. Meanwhile, their plumes have traveled beneath entire city neighborhoods during these decades–emitting toxic vapors into homes, schools and businesses above them. Yet DNR doesn’t demand that these polluters delineate the extents of their toxic plumes, and rarely (if ever) asks them to assess exposures to people in these neighborhoods. Public Health Madison Dane County (PHMDC) and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) are silent. (In the one case where they have asked the responsible party to assess public exposures to vapor intrusion (Kipp), it was only due to massive citizen advocacy leading to a lawsuit. And, even after all that advocacy, the exposure assessments were limited and skipped much of the neighborhood and the Goodman Community Center).
2) An egregious and unethical lack of concern among our agencies about protecting people, especially vulnerable people such as fetuses, infants and children, from toxic chemical exposures. While agencies try to force poor Koeppler to pay for a problem that he didn’t cause and can’t afford to address–and years go by–many people in the Russell Street neighborhood (including several of my friends, and pregnant women, babies, small children) could be unknowingly breathing PCE, TCE, and vinyl chloride vapors. But nobody is measuring, so nobody knows. Likely contaminated shallow groundwaters rise up into their basements and homes when it floods in that neighborhood (my friends in that neighborhood in 2018 shared stories about this). Nobody is informing these people of the potential for vapor intrusion and other risks from these poisons under their homes. Most people in the neighborhood have no clue. Nothing is being done to assess exposures and protect these people.
This is so wrong. Who will protect these people while agencies squabble endlessly over who is responsible and who will pay? This has already taken many years that could extend to decades. Where are our public health agencies working to do exposure assessments and mitigation–trying to find funds (not Kenny’s) to pay for it ASAP? Does anyone care about these people?
Children conceived and born in homes over this plume could have serious heart defects from TCE exposures –that could cause heart attacks and other heart problems later in life–and not know it.
The DNR is well aware of this. They know there are significant risks posed to people living near Koeppler’s site –especially pregnant women and fetuses–and how critical it is that these exposures are assessed ASAP. As the agency’s letter to Koeppler last spring says:
“1. TCE poses short-term risks to human health that justify accelerated assessment, investigation and mitigation of the vapor intrusion pathway. 2. Assessment of the vapor intrusion pathway is part of the investigation process and should be assessed as early as possible and routinely re-assessed throughout the life of a project. 3. Immediate and interim actions may be necessary early in the site investigation process to protect human health from contaminated vapors.
The DNR believes the health risks of TCE vapors are serious enough that it should be one of the first things evaluated as part of a site investigation, especially at sites where contamination may impact sensitive populations. RPs should be diligent about screening for TCE in vapors as early in the site investigation process as possible, to determine if immediate actions are warranted to reduce harmful exposure.” (highlights added)
But instead of finding a way to assess vapor intrusion in the neighborhood, and mitigate exposures to sensitive populations immediately, the agency has let this drag along for years, waiting for Koeppler to pay.
Ironically, the MJS story cites the city’s hydrogeologist Brynn Bemis laughably suggesting that the DNR is prioritizing protecting human health: “The focus is on protecting human health,” Bemis said. “It’s a very challenging situation for the DNR, but they’re charged with protecting human health and the environment.”
As always, the city (Bemis) is deflecting responsibility to DNR in order to avoid any liabilities on the city’s part. This is their standard modus operandi. We have seen it time and time again in our environmental justice work here. Doesn’t the city have a moral, if not legal, obligation to protect its residents from toxic chemical exposures?
Just as troubling, as we’ve seen at many other contaminated sites, PHMDC and DHS have been silent about the health risks to people living near this site. They have done nothing. Why? Isn’t it their job to protect public health?
Apparently not in this case and other polluted sites all over Madison. Instead, they and other government agencies protect powerful polluters, try to deflect liabilities and responsibilities to others, or just stay silent and do nothing–while human beings they are charged with protecting are exposed to poisons in their air, water, food, soils, and seeping into their homes from below.
It’s very sad.
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There are many more important aspects to this sad story. I raised the above concerns (and more) to Laura Schulte at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel when she called me for this story. But she chose not to include my comments. That’s OK, but it is odd. Perhaps she felt her story would be too critical of government agencies if she included my comments? I don’t know. But if so, here’s my response:
To be edited or continued (probably)…
