Do what you wish. Obviously the evidence is pretty compelling if the Supreme Court allowed them to proceed. This is a case, where the site was mismanaged, was never supposed to be more than a transfer site, and yet the windrows exceeded three stories in height in its hey day and the length of the windrows exceeded the length of a football field. Unturned compost is one of the worst things that can occur, because the temperature of the stacks at the site exceeded the 1500 degree F mark, which brings out a whole different generation of mold spores that humans have not come into contact with.
You may think you know a lot about compost, but until you have sat in the hearings and heard the evidence I have heard over the years, you have no idea, what OC's can do to the human body. Composting MUST be done a certain way in order to be safe for humans, it has everything to do with all of the factors you mention in your response to me. Wind, Temperature of the stacks, whether they accept the correct items for compost, and how close in proximity to human life the stacks are situated. I have observed homes near other sites in Ramsey County, and have heard the evidence of the variety of symptoms that are occurring in humans near these sites, and the evidence is mounting.up. You cannot just put a Heinz 57 variety of organic compounds out to rot in the sun and under snow cover, (which only serves to insulate the stacks) and allow the temperature and rotting procedure to sit, and surmise that because the items are OCs that it is perfectly safe. That is the wrong assumption. Do what you wish, but the naysayers in the Maplewood area where the compost site was shut down, are now convinced based on their own health concerns and more are bringing suits. The County has no business managing that which it does not understand. That should be left to experts that fully understand the science and how to manage a program thoughtfully. Dakota County has an excellent composting program that cost them several million dollars to set up properly, where the composting is done in a contained area. Their site is managed indoors an all of the workers that work the piles wear bio hazard suits and are protected from the OC's. It is amazing that two counties next door to each other can be composting in vastly different ways, with vastly different results. If you can attend, you should try to go to the hearings yourself and learn these interesting tidbits on your own. I think you will find there is much about composting you are not aware of, as I was. The hearings started yesterday at the Juevenile Center on St. Peter and Seventhh in downtown Saint Paul in Judge Van de North's courtroom and are set for today and tomorrow for certain. The proceedings are being video taped and all the evidence against the County that was supressed in earlier proceedings have been released in the evidentiary process prior to the trial by jury that was allowed for by the Minnesota Supreme Court of Minnesota. When I first became aware of this issue, I was shocked and dismayed that the County would be party to something this volatile and uncontrolled. I have never been an alarmist or one that looks for evil lurking behind every government action, but the evidence became too compelling to disbelieve the outcome of this site. Since then, I refuse to bag my grass, and mulch my grass with my lawn mower and leave it lie on the yard. Grass is particularly bad, because of the additives most people use on their lawns such as fertilizer, herbicides and pesticides, and grass by nature when left to rot will break down to heavy metals that are dangerous to humans. Thanks for responding, and you are perfectly entitled to your opinions, but I think it is interesting that Ramsey County now is supporting the notion of each person composting their own waste and is distributing new individual composting kits to interested citizens for a nominal fee. MMMmmm, I wonder why that came to be. Pamela Ellison Como Park Saint Paul PS: Since 1998 I have been on an ad hoc compost watch, keeping an eye on how well the sites are managed. So far, I believe the only one that tends to be managed well, by transferring waste often is the Pierce Butler site. The rest appear to be letting the stuff sit for too long. ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Pam Ellison" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2004 9:21 AM Subject: Re: [StPaul] Landmark Case starting against Ramsey CountyCompost Program - Evidentiary hearings next week > > > > > > > > Being no stranger to GSE or the Pleasant Ave compost site, I have to say > that what we have here is a case of apples and oranges, and that Maplewood > has a plum. (A sloe screw?) What is different about your "bad site" that > makes it evil, while ours is perfectly fine and no one's complained about > any mold issues? UV? RH? Wind? Vegetation? AIDS hospice? Terrorism? > I'll be pissed if they get rid of Pleasant because you think it's killing > us. Let's not cut off our nose to spite our face. It doesn't get much > more organic than compost. What does the U of M Extension Service have to > say about all this? Maybe people who haven't spent enough time in the dirt > or smoke lose immunities, and soon we'll all have to live in bubbles... > > As an environmentally concerned citizen, I have to say that it will take a > lot of convincing to get me to join this fight. If you are fighting to get > Gov't to address the reasons for the presence of mold in Maplewood and none > in the West End, I'm behind you all the way; if you're trying to shut down > compost sites, then don't you know that you can count me out. What's the > goal? > > > AMH > Rive Gauche > > > Andrew M. Hine > Corporate Research Materials Laboratory > 3M Center 201-1W-28 > St. Paul MN > 55144-1000 > USA > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Tel: (651) 733-1070 > Fax: (651) 737-5335 > Lab 201-W110 > > > > > "Pam Ellison" > <[EMAIL PROTECTED] To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > m> cc: > Sent by: Subject: [StPaul] Landmark Case starting against Ramsey County Compost Program - > [EMAIL PROTECTED] Evidentiary hearings next week > orum.org > > > 06/17/2004 10:36 > AM > > > > > > > > > I have followed the case of many friends that have languished under a now > defunct Ramsey County Compost site in Maplewood. You may ask why this may > be relevant to Saint Paul, and I will tell you there are many compost sites > of this nature operating within the city limits of Saint Paul and managed > by the County. > > I would like to invite those on the list who are environmentally concerned > and want to be on the cutting edge of information about mold contamination > and compost sites to consider attending and listening to the proceedings > next week. > > If you are interested in the details of Where and When, please respond to > me privately and I will send you the information. If the manager of the > list thinks it is of enough importance to broadcast to all on the list, I > will be happy to put the information out to the entire list. > > For those of you that have worked against the Ethanol Plant and have toiled > for years under this plant, you might find a bond in common with this group > of individuals. Many who originally were involved in bringing the suit > against the County in the first place back in the late eighties and early > nineties, have since passed away due to illnesses incurred by the compost > site that is now closed. All of the homes in the area have been infested > with mold that cannot be eliminated without completely destroying the > buildings and burying them. > > I think that it would be a great opportunity for those who are trying to > educate themselves on environmental hazards to be there and I guarantee > you, you will be spellbound by the information you receive. > > I know that attending the hearings myself up to and including the hearing > before the Supreme Court of Minnesota in the fall of 2002, left me with a > strong committment to see that government does not involve itself in areas > of science they know nothing about. > > Again, attending will be the best thing that you did for yourself and for > those that are fighting this in the court system. Who knows, tomorrow it > could be you. > > Pamela Ellison > Como Park > Saint Paul > _____________________________________________ > NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul > > Archive Address: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ > > > > _____________________________________________ > NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul > > Archive Address: > http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ > _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
