I urge area residents, or anyone who wants to hear about Red Shield, to attend the Red Shield forum at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan 24, at the Viola Rand School in Bradley.

This is in no way an attempt to disregard any new employees or new positions. This is only about the Red Shield officials not running the mill safely. This can be done, but it just isn’t, and there is no accountability for the mishaps.

How often have you driven through Bradley and thought, “What is that nasty odor?” Is it safe to be inhaling sulfur on a regular basis? Or, anything smelling that bad? Have you ever looked up and saw black smoke emitting from the stack pipe? I have many times; it’s a violation of the environment and our health.

Air emissions? The trace metals they look for when testing emissions are: arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, selenium, vanadium and they also test the carbon monoxide (CO) output. In the last stack test, two of the three testing periods showed lead levels higher than the licensed limit. On the fourth test, they manually maintained lower wattage on the electrostatic precipitator, which is supposed to “catch” the particle matter, which generated the highest lead levels. Then, they averaged the first three tests, which produced a number that scarcely met the limits. Just enough for them to label their procedures “safe.”

When Red Shield burns construction and demolition debris here is some of what goes in the boiler, which is not a CDD boiler only “modified” to handle CDD: asbestos, asphalt shingles, linoleum, insulation, plastic, pressure-treated and painted woods and the list goes on. It’s downright scary.

When burned, these materials release toxic pollutants. Red Shield may lead us to believe it is operating within the state limits. However, documentation from the Department of Environmental Protection shows its levels were higher than the state limits on every test for two months, and this is only a portion of results I have. Time and time again they declare “we continue to try to control CO,” and when “trying” becomes habitual, it isn’t enough. Any data from Red Shield is public knowledge. Just call the DEP. Don’t settle for imprecise answers. Or no answers.

When you get a fire permit, try telling them you’re burning one of the items above. You can’t, because it’s against the law to burn items that will emit toxic fumes into our environment. If we can’t burn these toxins in our back yards, why should Red Shield burn up to 250 tons per day?

Don’t think we are not affected by these toxic emissions? Just look at the long-term effects of toxins on people, animals, fish and the environment. Toxins stay in our system for a long time, sometimes even generations, before the devastating results are noticed.

Not to beat this into the polluted ground, but when my yard was tested by the DEP – four months after the “sooting incident,” well after the snow melted and piles of sludge had been sunken into the ground from weeks of rain – the levels of arsenic, chromium, copper, nickel, lead, and zinc were all elevated. Maybe not “high enough for alarm” but high enough for me. Had it been tested in a timely fashion the results would have been much higher. The best part was Red Shield said “it must have come from another source.”

Red Shield is great at telling two stories. I found written documentation that Red Shield had submitted reports to DEP stating they were having emission problems prior to the “sooting incident,” but continued its response of “no problems” to the public.

Another thing being done in violation of Maine standards, which should be enforced but is not, is the fuel testing. The fuel exceeds Maine standard levels of plastics, pressure-treated woods and noncombustibles. Some of the fuel comes from Casella and some from New Hampshire. Don’t we have enough toxins from our own state?

Please take the time to think about these concerns. Even if we do a small part, it will all add up in the end. The benefits could be cleaner air and better health. Until then, when you look to the sky and take a deep breath, don’t inhale too deeply – it could be hazardous to your health.

Jill Callela lives in Bradley.