ADDYSTON — “The new Lanxess management team is beginning to make positive changes and they have committed money to upgrading pollution controls but whether or not they will carry through on all their commitments remains to be seen, says Sandy Buchanan, executive director of Ohio Citizen Action, the state’s largest environmental organization. ‘We are going to continue to track this very closely,’ she continues. Buchanan has been following the environmental record of the plant ever since it was operated by Monsanto when the plant already had a history of lax environmental management and accidental releases. ‘Everyone knew the plant was a problem even back then,’ she recalls.
‘Our most significant contribution is that we took the problem that was festering in Addyston for 50 years and we forced people to do something about it,’ she continues. As a result of Ohio Citizen Action’s high-profile, Good Neighbor Campaign that highlighted toxic releases from the plant, regulatory officials suddenly started discovering problems with the plant, with the releases, with the cancer rates, and with the school. ‘Ruth Breech did an amazing job of helping neighbors organize and meet every week,’ Buchanan continues. She went into a highly charged environment in a small company town where the mayor was not happy with an outside group raising issues about air quality and she did not back down, Buchanan says with undisguised pride. Through canvassing and walking-and-talking tours through Addyston, Breech continued to find new people willing to speak out and keep pressure on Lanxess to clean up its act. ‘As a result I think we had a significant impact on the way the company operates,’ Buchanan concludes.
Whether or not Lanxess officials will be able to significantly reduce every-day and accidental releases from the plant remains an open question. What seems sure, however, is that the media and environmental groups will continue to follow this story closely and that the residents of Addyston, now informed about the dangers of some of the chemicals being handled next door, will continue to watch their neighborhood industry for releases and demand improvements.”
— Steve Lerner, The Collaborative on Health and the Environment
