We don't want to buy local produce laced with dioxins

By Carol Muralt

We have been living in this beautiful valley since 1985, and we feel very fortunate to have made Bozeman our home, raising two children in this safe, clean environment. We are absolutely appalled that the Montana Department of Environmental Quality would issue Holcim a tire burning permit, jeopardizing the clean air, water and soil conditions of towns nearby. We closely followed the tire burning debate in 1992, and were very grateful then that Holnam was not permitted to use tires as fuel. Now, more than 10 years later, the same plant, under a different name, is trying to do exactly the same as before. How can the DEQ issue a permit to burn tires to this company, when its track record of "clean" burning is simply despicable?

We strongly object to the idea of buying local, organic produce laced with dioxin. We do not want our children exposed to polluted air, just because a Swiss company wants to save $200,000 a year on fuel.

Holcim claims to be a "recycler" of rubber tires; recent studies have shown that tire burning is the worst way to recycle rubber. Environmentally sensible ways are, to name just a few, to convert tires into an extremely durable road surfacing material, or recycle them into long-lasting roofing shingles, all without producing dioxin in the process.

We sincerely hope that the DEQ will reconsider the draft air quality permit, and insist on the completion of an Environmental Impact Statement. A state-sponsored public hearing will be held tonight at 7 p.m. at Manhattan Elementary School.

Carola Murat

614 S. Seventh Ave.

Bozeman

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