An Environmental Controversy Unfolds
In 1942, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the Marion Engineering Depot (MED) on 640 acres of land northeast of Marion, Ohio. From 1942-1961, the MED was the largest military operation of its kind, serving as a location for the repair and maintenance of heavy machinery, transformers, and generators. For many years, operational wastes, including Trichloroethylene (TCE), Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), and benzene-containing fuels and oils, were dumped into pits on the east side of the MED. In 1962, the MED closed.
In 1963, shortly after the MED closed, the River Valley Schools were constructed, with portions of the Highschool and Middleschool campuses atop and/or adjacent to the MED. In January, 1997, some local residents began to question the number of cancer and leukemia cases among River Valley graduates, current students, and others who live and work near the schools. (Between 1963 and 1998, a total of 90 cases of cancer, including 25 cases of leukemia have been documented.) The Ohio Department of Health initiated an investigation of the high incidences of cancer in late 1997, and concluded that leukemia cases among River Valley graduates and students are nearly three times the expected number for that population. Since that investigation, a series of tests of the soil and air at the schools have been conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who took charge of the case in February, 1999. Each time toxins are documented, areas of the River Valley campus are roped off from public use. Meanwhile, students still attend classes in the school buildings. Aerial photographs of the area indicate that as much as 75% of school grounds are located on the former waste disposal area.
A number of State environmental groups, non-profit community advocacy organizations, and individuals involved in the environmental justice arena, including Jan Schlichtmann (portrayed in A Civil Action) and Lois Gibbs (activist from Love Canal, NY), are asking U.S. EPA to take over the Marion case. To date, no actions have been taken to remediate the site, nor to relocate the school children and employees who may be exposed to carcinogens daily. CECS researcher, Rhonda Barnes-Kloth, has been following this controversy since January, 1999, and is working with Ohio Environmental Council to increase State and national knowledge of this situation. In the coming months, CECS will continue monitor the events in Marion, in an attempt to provide community access to information that might help them gain additional support, and increase their chances for participating in the decisions being made by policymakers.
Last modified on May 24, 1999
