From William Denis Fitzgerald, altered for the web by the OJB editors.
Open Letter to Orange County District Attorney
April 21, 2016
Tony Rackauckas
OC District Attorney Office
Public Corruption Criminal Complaint
410 Civic Center Drive
Santa Ana CA 92701
RE: Flint, Michigan Type Criminal Cover-up of Deadly Fireworks Pollution
Dear Mr. Rackauckas:
For years Disney Corporation personnel, along with City of Anaheim bureaucrats and politicians, have been covering up the deadly effects of the daily Disneyland fireworks. One of the most culpable parties is probably the long-time Anaheim Director of Public Utilities, and former Anaheim City Manager, who is now the Director of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (as government workers who criminally cover-up are often promoted to much higher positions of authority and pay.)
Attached (linked) are thirteen pages (7 links) of evidence to indicate the criminal conduct of those that are, or have been, entrusted withe the responsibility for the health and safety of the public. They are suspected of falsifying and/or downplaying the data needed to prevent the ever-continuing and increasing poisonous pollution from the Disneyland fireworks.
The attached (linked) evidence is as follows:
1. California’s maximum level of Perchlorate in drinking water is 6 PPB. (Parts per billion. Scroll down.)
2. Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Perchlorate study: Evaluation of Perchlorate Contamination at a Fireworks Display, Dartmouth, MA. Over 11 years, a typical (3 times a year) “community-type” fireworks display resulted in 560 PPB surface Perchlorate contamination, and in 8 shallow wells, the concentration of Perchlorate in groundwater was found to be as high as 62.2 PPB.
3. City of Anaheim continuing action to replace shallow water wells next to and/or downwind from Disneyland with deeper wells, at great taxpayer expense. April 12, 2016 Anaheim Council meeting approved replacement of shallow water well #36, located a few hundred feet from Disneyland, with deep water well #59, 40 feet from well #36, at a taxpayer cost of over one and a half MILLION dollars. [Staff report, Exhibit A, Vicinity Map.]
4. From first link again: Many Anaheim water wells that have been Perchlorate-contaminated have been closed and replaced with deeper water wells at significant cost. Also, the City of Anaheim’s estimate to remove the Perchlorate contamination (should the Disneyland fireworks ever be curtailed) is $50 million which could lead to an increase in water rates in Anaheim by 10% to 25%.
5. LA Times July 4, 2008 article on the health effects of the Disneyland fireworks, damage from Particulates, highly poisonous barium and strontium, Perchlorate causing impairment of the thyroid gland putting fetuses at high risk (possible cause of Anaheim’s high rate of miscarriages.) There are much cleaner, safer fireworks available domestically, but they are ten times the cost of the cheap unsafe fireworks from China that Disneyland continues to use.
7. Questionable data on fireworks contaminants in Anaheim water wells that appear to be falsified (water from cleaner wells added to dirty wells to reduce levels below maximum health and safety levels.) Note that manipulated levels are often stated to be at a small fraction below the allowable levels (Perchlorate level 5.5 PPB rather than unallowed level of 6.0 PPB.) [2008 Anaheim Public Utilities water quality report no longer on line; will scan and upload today – Vern]
In conclusion, please use your powerful office to protect the residents, children, and taxpayers of Anaheim and Orange County.
Sincerely,
Denis Fitgerald
Engineer, Atomic Spectroscopy Specialist
Anaheim California 92805.
The Good As No DA DA?
Anyway, can’t wait for the klepto sounds of silence.
And as a follow up, I’ve often wondered, as the community impacted most is minority, how come the ACLU or other rights groups haven’t gone after this blatant assault on peoples’ lungs.
From a legal standpoint it seems that evading proper CEQA documentation by AQMD is the way to attack this abuse. This is not a categorically exempt activity.
The ACLU is pretty busy right now — as always — and Disney is a hard target.
No doubt. However breathing clean(ish) air must be one of the basic civil liberties. Environmental despoliation always seems to hit poor folks of color first and hardest.
Must reading for Disney fans and CEQA fans – love to see that Venn diagram?
http://legal-planet.org/2013/07/03/bombs-bursting-in-air-environmental-regulation-of-fireworks/
Here’s the money shot:
“(Ultimately, upon learning that Gualala was planning a 2008 fireworks display without seeking a permit, the Commission proposed a cease-and-desist order. Gualala sued to prohibit the Commission from issuing the order. The trial court ruled for the Commission, finding that fireworks constitute “development” subject to the permitting requirements of the CA Coastal Act. The Court of Appeal affirmed in Gualala Festivals Comm. v. Cal. Coastal Comm’n, 183 Cal. App. 4th 60 (2010), and the CA Supreme Court subsequently declined review.)”
Then a fireworks display – let alone 240 or so a year would surely fall under the authority of CEQA as a project – not categorically exempt. I would love to see Disney actually have to defend their crap in a non-hermetically sealed realm, rather than in the field of PR (Oh, we’re such good neighbors – we invented away to catapult our burning shit on you without even more explosives to do it – oh, look over there! Tinkerbell!!).
SCAQMD needs to explain this in court.
I won’t pretend to know what these chemicals do to the human body with exposure over long periods. The research I have found dismisses the impacts because many are considered “water soluble” and pass through the body, needing sustained amounts to build up, and since the pyrotechnic shows they have tested for are annual July 4th celebrations, it is assumed there is no build-up. Try finding any report available online that looks into sustained exposure, such as Anaheim’s DAILY displays and now some TWICE daily displays in peak periods, to try clearing the park earlier.
While the research is not yet complete, there is some evidence linking dementia/Alzheimers to exposure to heavy metals.
Fitzgerald’s behavior and verbal attacks have become more outrageous over time, indicating at least suspicion of some mental health issue, perhaps even a confrontational form of dementia.
Fitzgerald routinely complains that his house is in the fallout zone of the daily fireworks display, and thus may have exposed him to heavy metals.
Coincidence? Would it not be the ultimate irony to discover Fitz’s increasingly outrageous behavior was caused by the very pollutants he has spent decades fighting against? The one disconnect in that bridge is that Fitz CONTINUES to live in his home years later, despite what he believes is a health threat. His grandchildren visit him there. How serious is he taking this threat? The residents of Porter Ranch have a case because they MOVED OUT and demanded the threat be fixed. How does anyone take Fitz seriously when he continues to voluntarily remain in the house? (beyond not taking him seriously because he presents himself in such a way that NOBODY wants to be aligned with him, no matter how compelling we may find his arguments against sky-borne pollutants.
Anyway, those SHOULD be two different issues, but Fitz has pooped in the punch bowl and now nobody wants to attend the “disney is poisoning us” party that he is hosting. Meanwhile, here is what many, many internet sites claim is in common fireworks, and while Disney refuses to put out the info on material used, claiming it is “proprietary trade secrets” I cannot find evidence that ANYONE has developed a heavy metals free method of creating those pretty colors in the sky. Also there are nations that have banned pyrotechnics until a method free of those pollutants is developed, and to date nobody has reintroduced fireworks to those nations, which may lead a reasonable person to believe the technology has not yet been developed, and we indeed DO have these heavy metals raining down on our dog dishes, backyard veggie gardens, and kids play spaces. See how nicely I worded that? I know Disney’s lawyers and I don’t want to tangle with them.
Oh, not included in this list is LEAD which seems to be listed in some fireworks but not others, so take that as you will.
Aluminum – Aluminum is used to produce silver and white flames and sparks. It is a common component of sparklers.
(CW note: Tom’s natural products also now markets a line of deodorants specifically WITHOUT ALUMINUM. Gee, wonder why that is?)
Antimony – Antimony is used to create firework glitter effects.
Barium – Barium is used to create green colors in fireworks, and it can also help stabilize other volatile elements.
Calcium – Calcium is used to deepen firework colors. Calcium salts produce orange fireworks.
Carbon – Carbon is one of the main components of black powder, which is used as a propellent in fireworks. Carbon provides the fuel for a firework.
Common forms include carbon black, sugar, or starch.
Chlorine – Chlorine is an important component of many oxidizers in fireworks. Several of the metal salts that produce colors contain chlorine.
Copper – Copper compounds produce blue colors in fireworks.
Iron – Iron is used to produce sparks. The heat of the metal determines the color of the sparks.
Lithium – Lithium is a metal that is used to impart a red color to fireworks. Lithium carbonate, in particular, is a common colorant.
Magnesium – Magnesium burns a very bright white, so it is used to add white sparks or improve the overall brilliance of a firework.
Oxygen – Fireworks include oxidizers, which are substances that produce oxygen in order for burning to occur. The oxidizers are usually nitrates, chlorates, or perchlorates. Sometimes the same substance is used to provide oxygen and color.
Phosphorus – Phosphorus burns spontaneously in air and is also responsible for some glow-in-the-dark effects. It may be a component of a firework’s fuel.
Potassium – Potassium helps to oxidize firework mixtures. Potassium nitrate, potassium chlorate, and potassium perchlorate are all important oxidizers.
Sodium – Sodium imparts a gold or yellow color to fireworks, however, the color may be so bright that it masks less intense colors.
Sulfur – Sulfur is a component of black powder. It is found in a firework’s propellant/fuel.
Strontium – Strontium salts impart a red color to fireworks. Strontium compounds are also important for stabilizing fireworks mixtures.
Titanium – Titanium metal can be burned as powder or flakes to produce silver sparks.
Zinc – Zinc is used to create smoke effects for fireworks and other pyrotechnic devices.
The metals in Disney fireworks in are trace amounts, administered for small amounts of time, over a small area. Most of these metals are pretty harmless in these quantities. Lithium Carbonate is used to trade mental illess, for example.
This is a huge contrast with Flint, where a known neurotoxin (Lead) was administered to a large population (an entire city) continuously.
So I would be surprised if there is much risk. Still, this is a unique situation, and after 40 years there may be buildup of something untoward, so some testing and health surveys would seem prudent. I wonder if the neighborhoods under the fireworks plume have lower rates of BiPolar disorder?
(BTW: if you’re worried about areas of Orange County with toxic metals buildup, don’t think fireworks. Think Oil drilling sites avtive between world war two and the 1980s. There is the interesting thing called “mud” they used to just dump on the ground….)
Yeah, comparing this to Flint is absurd.
I wouldn’t worry about drilling mud. I’d worry about manufacturing solvents dumped on the ground by aerospace firms after the 1950s. That’s seriously damaging our aquafers.
I’d also worry about putting desalinated water directly into 75 year old water pipes. <– that's a Flint scenario.
BINGO on the desal.
The OCWD engineers know this, calling the desal water “aggressive.” That is the technical term.
The cost of the “aggressive” ( ie more corrosive) water is not included in the cost estimates.
oh – worrying about the solvents and the drilling mud aren’t exclusive. Like the Disney fireworks, the drilling mud was confined to small, well-defined areas.
So a non-issue — unless one of those small, well-defined areas happens to be where your kid plays….
Not a small amount of time, not a small area. This is 250 times a year and falls upon a large area.
In comparison to Flint, it’s small and infrequent.
250 x 0.5hrs = 125 hrs a year (five days), dispersion by wind and ambient air volume constantly over that 125 hours irregular over an area of several square miles.
Not to say that’s a problem, but versus Flint . . .
365 x 24hrs = 8760 hrs (70 times as frequent), no dispersion, and delivered directly to tends of thousands of people via contact and ingestion.
Simply not comparable.
Ok, Flint is attention-getting hyperbole I suppose.
Oh and the main point is that in Flint people are finally being held responsible for their irresponsibility and greed. We are dreaming of that here.
The issue really isn’t water pollution – Fitz is aiming at the wrong target. It’s air pollution, Particulate matter. Smoke and soot.The amount of crap dropping on is significant.
And then there is the noise pollution.
Nobody else could get away with this but an economic engine. A high polluting engine.
Well, if you want the AQMD, PM10 is your target. The basin fails the standard and this surely contributes to the problem. Good luck!
Exactly. SCAQMD is the target. They control stationary polluters.
*Fireworks are a lost leader. Sort of like Searchlights used to avail us of the grand opening of a car dealership or furniture store. Obviously, as prices spike upward for entry to the park – they really don’t need any more attention….other than the four Jumbotrons they could place in each one of the major areas of the park. Show a video of several nights of fireworks, so they don’t get boring. Say the next 30 days, culminating with 4th of July…..which could be the ONE live Fireworks presentation at the park. Make it Special….OK? Anyway, no Fireworks pollution 250 days a year….to do what draw more folks to Downtown Disney? Not likely! Maybe someone of the Anaheim City Council…will come up with a Capital idea…..maybe?
*yes……..lost leader
250 times a year? What days does Disney NOT do fireworks?
Not sure, but some nights they don’t. You hadn’t noticed?
When you’re under the canopy you’re bound to have a much different definition of small amounts of time and space.
disney makes their own fireworks on site?
No Paul they only launch them there, and let them fall there…and then HOSE DOWN THE DAMN PARK EVERY NIGHT. No problem…
Now that’s an interesting point. Does that water go into the sewer or the storm drain system.
And what about all the debris that ends up in the streets? Drains to oceans courtesy of the OC Flood Control.
Did this guy even read the articles and studies that he cites in his letter? He paints a scary picture, but then proceeds to undermine his own alarmist argument with his own citations.
I am a never smoked who is dying of NSCLCancer. I lived in Anaheim before fireworks, and only left three years ago, when it was difficult to breath but not tests had determined my illness. Non Small Cell Lung Cancer is now the number one lung cancer killing non-smokers annually in numbers greater than the top three cancers/ their sex, yet we are assumed to be smokers and villified despite our innocence. Sidestream smoke explains some of these over 10,000 deaths/year, but some of it is also dirty air. I think all involved in pollution our air sh9uld be arrested and tried for murder, or negligent homicide. These people have known for decades that they spread toxins.