ustxtxb_obs_1993_09_03_50_00011-00000_000.pdf

j k ik I Tnique European Charm 0 1 & Atmosphere OA Special Low Spring & Summer Rates rt j Pets Welcome Po te 1423 11th Street 411 .610″ Port Aransas, TX 78373 c l call fin Rcscrva t ions ,1 o re; we Irs wl…….. . on Mustang Island le to Available for private parties ea SR Sea :De Ana Horse Inn 46 r t Kitchenettes-Cable TV Pool beside the Gulf of Mexico oa k . ASSASSIN SYMPO ON JOHN F. TION M NNEDY CO-SPONSORED BY THE TEXAS OBSERVER borhood would be compatible with an oil field waste disposal facility located up the hill and within a baseball’s throw of their homes. The waste disposal facility was a mix of injection wells and a large evaporation pond for waste water produced from oil and gas wells. The developer had sold part of the land to a waste disposal company and part to young families and retirees, who moved mobile homes onto their newly purchased land. Soon, residents began complaining of an intense rotten-egg stench that pervaded their neighborhood and homes. Many also complained of illness, ranging from headaches and nausea to fainting spells or “black outs.” They were certain the symptoms were associated with the odor, but did not know its source. Then, on a still, cool night in June 1987, fluid in the disposal pond apparently changed chemically, destroying the waste-degrading bacteria and oozing out of the pond and onto the ground surface as hydrogen sulfide. The toxic cloud crept like a prowler in the night, following the contours of the land and stealing into the homes below. The next morning many in the community began talking to each other about the odor and illness. They also began complaining to local officials. The following night the odor crept in again. This time residents called Frank Chavez with New Mexico’s Oil Conservation Division, waking him from his sleep. Chavez went to the homes in the community and was immediately over whelmed by the odor. He didn’t have a hydrogen sulfide meter, so he borrowed one from the local gas plant. The gas measured between lethal, but a dangerous level. That same week, Chris Shuey, recognized by many environmental groups as the nation’s leading authority on hydrogen sulfide, spent several nights walking the streets in the company of the San Juan County residents who were concerned about their exposure to hydrogen suflide. But he could not answer their questions. “There’s practically no data concerning long-term, low-level exposure to hydrogen sulfide,” said Shuey. “The San Juan County residents would be perfect for study, but the EPA hasn’t even attempted to look them up. It seems to me that they don’t want to know what the effects of long-term, lowlevel exposure would be.” Instead, the EPA report relied heavily on a 1986 EPA Hydrogen Sulfide Health Assessment, which was never completed. That health assessment, in turn, relied on health studies conducted in the 1890s and 1930s. Millar says industry officials and state and federal regulators frequently rely on outdated, insufficient health and environmental data. He warns that until the public wakes up and starts questioning what is being brought, stored, transported, or drilled for in their neighborhoods , the potential for a Bhopal-type catastrophe literally hangs in the air. Collene Gryder, however, has won a reprieve. Dallas Drilling, which began drilling for sour gas in Purtis Creek Park in June, gave up in late August. They informed the Railroad Commission that they had found no gas, plugged the well and departed. HYATT REGENCY DALLAS NOVEMBER 1 2 , 1993 November 22, 1993, marks the end of the third decade of questions about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the numerous mysteries that continue to elude researchers, journalists, historians and popular writers. Since its inception in 1991, the Assassination Symposium from across the U.S. and around the world to lay out their individual pieces of the puzzle. Co-sponsored by The Texas Observer, ASK hopes to be a vehicle to allow those pieces to come together in a manner that can facilitate finding truth as well as spotlighting needed changes in government policy and procedures. On the 30th Anniversary of this international tragedy, more people than ever before will convene at Dallas’ Hyatt Regency Hotel, just blocks from Dealey Plaza, for the 1993 Assassination Symposium. They will be privy to four days of all new panel discussions, eyewitness testimony, first-hand accounts and other presentations, including a keynote speech by Norman Mailer, whose book on Lee Harvey Oswald will be released shortly. The ASK Mart will feature a wide variety of displays and merchandise, including many of the newest books in the field, some of which can be autographed on the spot by the author. Registrants will also be able to participate in other special events related to assassination research and the anniversary observation. Fees are $100 if postmarked by August 30; $125 if postmarked by September 28; $150 if postmarked by October 27 and $175 walkup. Send name, address ind phone number to ASK. A.S.K. BOX 4999 AUSTIN TX 78765 512/467-7979 FAX 512/451-0754 THE TEXAS OBSERVER 11