North Irvine Asphalt Plant
North Irvine Asphalt Plant
STAP Irvine, a community group seeking to stop harmful emissions from a North Irvine asphalt plant, is no longer waiting for the Irvine City Council to act. The group is holding a Town Hall on Wednesday July 28 at Irvine City Hall.
Here’s the message the group sent on Facebook:
HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
WHEN: Wednesday at 6 PM
WHERE: City of Irvine’s City Hall Chambers 1 Civic Center Plaza, Irvine, CA 92606
WHO: Every Irvine resident or IUSD teacher impacted by the “concealed” and “non-disclosed” TOXIC asphalt plant located less than .5 miles from our homes and schools!
Our volunteer UCI advisors Dean Baker, MD, MPH, Professor Emeritus Former Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, School of Medicine. Director, UC Irvine Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (COEH) Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology School of Medicine, and Professor, Public Health; Jun Wu, Ph.D., Professor in Public Health, will be attending the meeting to present. Join us to share how this public health crisis impacts your family and quality of life! The burden to fight for clean air should not be Irvine residents’ responsibility alone! How have All American Asphalt’s TOXIC emissions already compromised our children’s health?
Council member Larry Agran has tried to agendize a council discussion on this matter and continues to fail to get a second. He issued this statement:
Despite multiple attempts by the affected community and Councilmember Agran, the City Council has not publicly discussed residents’ concerns regarding the ongoing operations of the All American Asphalt Plant in North Irvine. In the absence of a formal Council study session, Councilmember Agran is convening a community meeting to review the facts and perspectives of affected community members.
The public and stakeholders are encouraged to attend the in-person event on Wednesday, July 28th from 6 to 8pm in the Council Chamber. No registration necessary. A video recording will be made available after the fact for those unable to attend.
What’s troubling here is Republican Council members Mike Carroll and Anthony Kuo crafting letters to UCI administrators seeking to muzzle some of the scientists working with STAP Irvine volunteers.
From Irvine Watchdog:
“In emails released by the university in a public records request, Kuo and Carroll both reached out to the UCI administration following Voice of OC’s article, encouraging the university to publicly clarify the university’s role in the studies.”
“Carroll has never said anything to a single resident. He goes behind the public knowledge and writes letters to the UCI administration encouraging those administrators to censure the UCI advisors,” said Kevin Lien, one of Nontoxic Neighborhoods’ leaders. “Instead of trying to help residents, he’s trying to stop us.”
Carroll wrote this letter last February and, while you cannot tell tone and inflection from a text email, it seems likes he’s trying to put the squeeze on UCI. Kuo also forwards articles to UCI administrators. Perhaps they ought to show up at the Town Hall to listen to residents and ask/answer questions.
