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And it keeps happening again and again. The cost to society of prolonged lead usage can't be properly attributed to the damaging parties since they've all long

by munk-a 5y ago

And it keeps happening again and again. The cost to society of prolonged lead usage can't be properly attributed to the damaging parties since they've all long since ceased to be solvent - ditto with the next wave and the wave after that. There is a real problem with insisting that regulations be lifted to allow business development and then ending up with tax payers suffering the long term externalities, we've seen it with global warming (and we're still not properly attributing any costs there) along with fracking and other environmental disasters. In my former state of Vermont a nuclear plant (Vermont Yankee[1]) tried their damnedest to avoid paying for contamination cleanup. This is a scenario we see play out time and time again. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermont_Yankee_Nuclear_Power_Plant#Controversy_and_operations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermont_Yankee_Nuclear_Power_P...

hinkley 5y ago
Not only are the companies insolvent, at this point half the perpetrators are probably dead. Just stall long enough and you'll never have to deal with the problems you created.
philips 5y ago
Relatedly, I have been working on a project[1] to encourage municipalities to implement stricter land use requirements on gas stations because responsible party searches so rarely pay out. Here is a funny (depressing?) quote from an Oregon DEQ report I read recently: "The site has a complex history, but the primary owner/operators have been Ron and Nancy Huddleston. The Huddlestons owned and operated the facility from the 1960s through 1979, when they sold the site to Tony and Michel Tocco. In 1987, the Toccos sold or gave the property and business to their son in-law, who after some difficulties running the store, returned it to the Toccos. The Toccos gave it back to the Huddlestons in 1988, who ran the store again until 1993. Finally, in 1993, the Huddlestons sold the store to Dewey Best (now deceased); Mr. Best operated the store until 1995, when he sold it to Harley Frisby, and operations continued under Kim and JeffBomark (Mr. Frisby's daughter and son-in-law). Mr. Frisby sold his interest in 1996 to the Bomarks, who declared bankruptcy in 1998. In May 1999, the bankruptcy court returned the property to the Huddlestons. Based on an ability-to-pay analysis of the Huddlestons, DEQ determined in March 2003 that they are unable to fund required investigation and cleanup activities. DEQ will continue to investigate other parties connected with the property to determine whether they may be responsible for cleanup costs." [1] https://postpump.org https://postpump.org

by munk-a 5y ago

hinkley 5y ago

Not only are the companies insolvent, at this point half the perpetrators are probably dead. Just stall long enough and you'll never have to deal with the problems you created.

philips 5y ago

Relatedly, I have been working on a project[1] to encourage municipalities to implement stricter land use requirements on gas stations because responsible party searches so rarely pay out. Here is a funny (depressing?) quote from an Oregon DEQ report I read recently: "The site has a complex history, but the primary owner/operators have been Ron and Nancy Huddleston. The Huddlestons owned and operated the facility from the 1960s through 1979, when they sold the site to Tony and Michel Tocco. In 1987, the Toccos sold or gave the property and business to their son in-law, who after some difficulties running the store, returned it to the Toccos. The Toccos gave it back to the Huddlestons in 1988, who ran the store again until 1993. Finally, in 1993, the Huddlestons sold the store to Dewey Best (now deceased); Mr. Best operated the store until 1995, when he sold it to Harley Frisby, and operations continued under Kim and JeffBomark (Mr. Frisby's daughter and son-in-law). Mr. Frisby sold his interest in 1996 to the Bomarks, who declared bankruptcy in 1998. In May 1999, the bankruptcy court returned the property to the Huddlestons. Based on an ability-to-pay analysis of the Huddlestons, DEQ determined in March 2003 that they are unable to fund required investigation and cleanup activities. DEQ will continue to investigate other parties connected with the property to determine whether they may be responsible for cleanup costs." [1] https://postpump.org https://postpump.org