Lori A. Wolf: Highway 132 project goes through a hill of toxic chemical waste

Here is the history of the Food Machinery Corporation in Modesto. Now known as FMC, the company didn’t build food machinery but rather processed barium and phosphorous ore to produce chemicals for farming and industrial uses. The current Graphics Lane used to be called Barium Lane before the name was changed.

This activity was taking place long before the creation of the EPA and before private companies were required to document chemical production and byproducts by location. The unfortunate legacy is that the dirt beneath this facility became contaminated with barium, phosphorous, arsenic and lead. The sludge ponds were drained during the Highway 99 widening project and this same sludge was stockpiled immediately adjacent to the area; the hill exists to this day on property owned by the California DOT and monitored by the California DTS.

The current dire situation facing our community is that the Stanislaus Council of Governments, who manages our regional transportation funding, is recommending proceeding with Highway 132 West Relocation project right through this toxic sludge. If you feel this project is not safe and is a poor use of public transportation funding, please contact StanCOG or your government representative.

This story was originally published November 30, 2017 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Lori A. Wolf: Highway 132 project goes through a hill of toxic chemical waste."