Lonsdale Community and Environment

The evening of May 11th I attended an important community meeting in Lonsdale. It concerned Gerdau Ameristeel's plan to expand production significantly, but with claims it could stay under pollution control limits. Several community residents spoke of their concerns about asthma, manganese exposure, soot on homes and vegetation, and lead in both the air and soil. I mentioned that existing lead exposure limits consistently have been lowered as new scientific research finds problems with exposure, especially in children. I noted the caps recently would have been lowered even futher had not the Bush Administration ignored its own advisory panel, and then stacked the board with (according to the Union of Concerned Scientists) a couple of members with ties to the lead industry.