News Advisory January 29, 2003

For immediate release
Contact: Hilton Kelley, CIDA: 409-498-1088;
Denny Larson, RRC: 800-670-3841

(Port Arthur, TX) The US EPA has dispatched its high tech Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer (TAGA) to Port Arthur, Texas, in response to a request made by the local Community In-power and Development Association (CIDA), the Refinery Reform Campaign and former EPA officials now working at the Washington DC based Environmental Integrity Project. The groups were able to get the support of Congressman Nick Lampson in the groups efforts to win permanent toxic chemical monitors in the Westside of Port Arthur adjacent to large refineries and chemical plants.

"This a big step in our community's struggle to get the air that our children breathe every minute of the day monitored and cleaned up," Hilton Kelley of CIDA. "Right now the only air monitoring in our community is from our 'Bucket Brigade' and those tests show us that we breathe a toxic soup of many dangerous chemicals. We look forward to the day when we can know what we are breathing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can get the sources to reduce their emissions."

In 2001, the Refinery Reform Campaign (RRC), a project of the Texas Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Coalition (Texas SEED), came to the air of local residents in Port Arthur by providing technical assistance and support for air monitoring through the "Bucket Brigade" method. The community friendly method of air sampling was pioneered by Denny Larson, a community organizer with 18 years experience in refinery neighborhood work. Larson also served on a US EPA committee dealing with refinery pollution from 1994-1996. His familiarity with EPA resources led him to recruit former EPA air enforcement official, Eric Schaeffer, of the Environmental Integrity Project to forge a strategy to recruit Congressman Nick Lampson and request the intervention of EPA headquarters and their TAGA truck.

"Our experience shows that when local and state officials are ignoring a serious pollution health crisis, you have to call in the big dogs and sniff out the problem to the source," said Denny Larson of RRC. "This initial investigation by the TAGA truck should lead to more toxics air monitoring and the siting of permanent real time air monitors 'tuned' to the specific pollution that the Port Arthur facilities emit. This must be done by mid-year." Local groups in Lake Charles, LA, worker with Larson a few years ago to get the TAGA truck to their area and win the establishment of the state's best air toxics monitoring program.

A public meeting in Port Arthur is being planned for January 31, 2003, from 1to 2:30 PM at St. John's Church, 801 Grannis Avenue, Port Arthur, Texas, to educate the community about the TAGA truck and answer questions.