Debbie Fidalgo-Powell: Work on 132 will stir up poisonous dust; we must stop it

What must we do to get some media attention in this town? Three different Saturdays in September we stood on busy street corners displaying signs against State Route 132 because of disturbing those berms that have been around for 60 years. Those berms are not dirt, they’re sludge from chemicals used at the Barium/FMC plant. It has seeped into our soil, the water and the air. You start messing with those berms, they will reactivate.

We are losing neighborhoods and loved ones because of it. I know you don’t want to cover this because we’re onto something and somebody doesn’t want the people to know. The public needs to be educated on this before it’s done, not after the fact. We’ll be out again on Oct. 14 on the corner of Kansas and Emerald from noon to 1:30 p.m. It’s our freedom to speak.

Editor’s note: The Bee has written several times about plans and protests concerning the widening of Highway 132, “Neighbors speak out at meeting on future Highway 132 bypass” (Feb. 24), “Meeting nears for Highway 132 bypass west of Modesto” (Feb. 20) and “Plan for Highway 132 bypass west of downtown revs up” (Jan. 29). The Bee posted a video of residents discussing concerns on Feb. 22. The Bee has also reported on accidents on Highway 132 (Sept. 14, Sept. 12 and Jan. 19 this year).

This story was originally published October 5, 2017 at 10:39 AM with the headline "Debbie Fidalgo-Powell: Work on 132 will stir up poisonous dust; we must stop it."