Greetings, All. Below is information about contamination affecting Lindon Park:
Weitz & Luxenberg Calls for Answers on Contamination in Lindon Park, Arizona
Environmental lawyers question decades of neglect in cleanup of plume
New York, NY—Weitz & Luxenberg P.C. (www.weitzlux.com) believes the families of Lindon Park in Tempe, Arizona have waited far too long for answers about the water contamination beneath the homes in their neighborhood. History reveals over two decades of neglect in cleaning up chemicals leaked and spilled by nearby industry. Residents of Maricopa County are worried about just how safe the area is for their children, and why more hasn’t been done to mitigate the potential health risk of living above a toxic plume. Información en Español
“It’s been over 20 years since the discovery of this pollution and we still don’t know whether people in this neighborhood are breathing in dangerous vapors,” said Robin Greenwald, head of the Environmental and Toxic Torts unit of Weitz & Luxenberg (www.weitzlux.com). “Families here have a right to know how extensive this problem is, who is affected, and how community members can harness their right to a safe environment.”
As far back as 1982, Motorola, former owner of the Motorola 52nd Street Plant located on McDowell Road, discovered that the volatile organic compound trichloroethylene (TCE) from an underground storage tank was leaking at their facility. TCE was widely used for metal degreasing in industrial operations and is now a common contaminant at hazard waste sites and many federal facilities.
Further government investigations determined that the soil and groundwater was contaminated with a variety of chlorinated solvents that were used in Motorola's semiconductor manufacturing operations. According to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, spills at the Motorola 52nd Street Plant, and other facilities in the area, such as at the Honeywell 34th Street facility (formerly AlliedSignal), caused the groundwater contamination, which has spread westerly for several miles.
Families in Lindon Park are concerned about whether vapors from the contaminated water are rising into their houses through basement slabs via a process known as “vapor intrusion.” TCE vapors, if breathed in small amounts, can cause dizziness, headaches or skin irritations. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), breathing high levels of TCE over a long period of time can cause nerve, kidney and liver damage.
Our law firm has learned through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it is currently negotiating an Administrative Order on Consent with Freescale Semiconductor, which owns the former Motorola site, to perform the fieldwork to collect soil gas samples late this summer. Those samples will determine whether indoor air testing will be needed to identify possible vapor intrusion in people’s homes.
Kevin Madonna, cofounder of the Kennedy & Madonna, LLP environmental law firm and who has joined forces with Weitz & Luxenberg said, "Residents should be concerned about both their health and their property values and deserve answers as to why this plume of contamination was allowed to migrate through their community."
For more information about the contamination in Lindon Park and how our environmental unit may be able to help you, please visit the Weitz & Luxenberg website, www.weitzlux.com
Weitz & Luxenberg, founded in 1986, is one of the leading plaintiffs' litigation law firms in America. The firm has played leading roles in national and local litigations involving mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer, as well as defective medicines and medical devices such as shoulder pain pumps, Yaz birth control, Zimmer Durom Hip implants, Advanced Bionics cochlear implants, Hydroxycut, transvaginal mesh (TVT mesh) and Zicam, and general negligence and medical malpractice, among others. A forerunner in the legal fight against polluters, Weitz & Luxenberg has worked with clients harmed by the TVA coal ash sludge spill in Tennessee, industrial de-greasers PCE/TCE in groundwater and indoor air, the gasoline additive MTBE in water supply wells, hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and PERC/PCE in coal float-sink test operations.
