El Paso paid price during Asarco heydayBy: Steve Fischer / Guest columnist/El Paso TImes November 18, 2007 -- A recent guest column by Robert Litle, Asarco's plant manager was insulting to anyone who enjoys clean air. In 1980, I was one of the pro-bono attorneys representing 24 neighborhood and community organizations against Asarco at the Texas Air Quality Board hearings held in El Paso. No lead says Mr. Litle? Asarco and its out-of-town law firms never attempted to deny all the chemicals they put into our air, including, on an annual basis 30 tons of lead, 22,000 tons of sulfur as well as arsenic and other dangerous elements I couldn't even pronounce or spell. Asarco's arguments were based on legal technicalities only, and as the month-long hearings went on, the contempt its executives had for the people of El Paso was obvious. They actually spent more money on attorneys than it would have cost for a clean-up. Mr. Litle claims it's all about land. I was president of the Sunset Heights Neighborhood Association and it, along with Kern Place, had residents suffering from lung and respiratory ailments complaining about the emissions.ÊWere these often elderly El Pasoans, some on oxygen devices, cleverly disguised real-estate moguls? Were they interested in Asarco's land holdings or in just breathing? When I played tennis at UTEP, and the kids would have to spit out the sulfur, little did I imagine that this was perhaps a cleverly concealed ploy to obtain cheap land. If Mr. Litle is interested in the land, why don't he and his children live where the Smelter school used to be,long ago condemned for toxic contamination? Mr. Litle's defense tactics are exactly what I would expect. Blame someone else and refuse to take responsibility for your actions. Here Litle is blaming the cars and old houses for El Paso's pollution problems in the same way criminals claim "other people are bad, too -- why not punish them instead?" They blame the police, their friends, the judge and even the victims for their behavior. Litle is only blaming all our drivers, old homeowners and those interested in real estate for the problems Asarco causes. Asarco has given El Pasoans jobs; however, I learned the cost after I moved away. When I mention El Paso is my home, the common response is "I drove through on I-10 and it looked dirty and polluted."Ê Many hadÊmentioned the smokestack specifically. I now realize people, as well as businesses, were likely turned off by the poor initial impression. While other Southwest areas such as Arizona and New Mexico have attracted quality retirees, much of El Paso's growth has been kids having kids, and Mexican immigration. El Paso has a great climate and warm friendly people, and I'm ashamed and hurt at the perception that this is a dirty town. Sure, Asarco would emit somewhat less pollution today, but only because of environmental regulations, which it fought tooth and nail. Asarco would best serve El Paso as an air-quality museum. Tours demonstrating how toxins were emitted into the atmosphere and photos of the condemned schools, along withÊ medical exhibits on chemically caused lung disease, would attract scientists and tourists. The centerpiece of this museum would be the Asarco smokestack itself, an enduring monument of what greed and arrogance can do to a great town. Attorney and former El Paso Times and Herald-Post columnist Steve Fischer chaired El Paso's Community Development Committee from 1981-1985. He currently resides in Rockport, Texas and is president of the Aransas County Bar Association. He may be reached at fish2026@aol.com. Related Links |
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