Congressman Lynn Westmoreland at a town hall meeting Oct. 19 in Peachtree City says he’s now on board to close the Fairburn waste treatment plant implicated in a release of chemicals that sickened hundreds last spring.

The Eighth District congressman has been criticized in recent months for deferring to a state decision to keep the plant open.

Hundreds of residents of Fayette and south Fulton counties experiencing illnesses they say are directly related to emissions from the Philip Services Corp. (PSC) waste treatment plant near Fairburn.

Westmoreland’s new call for the temporary closure of the plant came on the heels of his letter hours earlier to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calling for the closure. He told the two dozen in attendance at Peachtree City Hall that the decision just weeks before the November election was not a political one.

South Fulton/Fayette Community Task Force Science Committee member and retired chemist Lois Speaker asked when Westmoreland decided to change his mind and call for action on the PSC issue.

The Oct. 16 letter to EPA was the first occasion where Westmoreland had publicly supported the wishes of residents and several area city and county governments and community organizations who have been calling for the plant’s closure.

“We did that Monday,” Westmoreland responded. “I spoke at a place called House of Heroes down in Columbus. I told the people there that to thank them for protecting me and my family and for all they had done for this country, that I would do everything I could to protect them. I got an e-mail, I guess it was Monday, from a veteran that was there, that lives on the north side of Fayette County. He said, ‘You made me a promise that you would do anything you could to protect me and my family.’ He told me about his grandchildren and children being sick from what was going on. And so we all sat down and talked about it and reviewed all the evidence again that we had. And we came to the conclusion that evidently Fulton County was not acting fast enough or doing what they could and that we were going to enter into a letter to the EPA. If we have any jurisdiction it’s over the EPA.”

“The comment was brought up that people were going to look at this and say this was a political decision just two weeks out from the election,” Westmoreland continued. “If this had been a political decision I would have done it a long time ago. But one of the faults Congress has and government has is always being in a knee-jerk reaction. So we wanted to make sure we tried to study and to understand and to do everything we could do to understand the situation. And when I got that e-mail, that’s when we all sat and down and talked about it and made the decision Monday that we were going to write the letter. That’s the only explanation I can give you for it. People are going to think what they want. There is nothing I can do to change that.”

The man Westmoreland referenced was south Fulton resident Donald Hindman. In his e-mail to Westmoreland, Hindman said, “You said in your speech that you would do everything in your power to protect my family, my children and my grandchildren. Well, sir, if this is true why haven’t you done so?,” Hindman wrote. “You see, sir, I live in South Fulton County, just a half mile from the PSC plant that has poisoned our lives. (You know all about the plant.) We have been sick all summer, our children and grandchildren have not been able to visit us all summer since we are afraid they would get sick also. Some children in the community have visited their grandparents and became ill with all the symptoms that everyone else has reported. It is time for you to do what you said in your speech. Protect my family, my children and my grandchildren. No doubt this plant should be shut down and moved out of the community. It has done harm to the community already and no one can tell us what the health results will be in the future. When I was called to fight for our freedom, I did the right thing. I went and served our great nation. Now it is time for you to serve our community in helping us to undo a mistake that was made in allowing the PSC plant to handle hazardous chemicals that have been released into our homes, our lives and our bodies.”

In his Oct. 16 letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson, Westmoreland cited adverse health effects experienced by residents and called for the PSC plant to be temporarily closed.

“I respectfully request your assistance in addressing a public health hazard in and around Georgia’s 8th Congressional District. The chemical odorant propyl mercaptan and pesticide MOCAP or Ethoprop were released from the Philips Services Corporation (PSC) Recovery Systems pre-treatment wastewater facility located at 8025 Spence Road off of Ga. Highway 92 in Fairburn, in late June, early July of this year. Residents in the surrounding area cite adverse health effects due to the odorants; this situation affects not only residents of south Fulton County but also my constituents in neighboring Fayette County. In order to protect my constituents, I request that EPA temporarily close PSC until controls are initiated to prevent this type of pollution. If the plant maintains its state-issued permit and remains open then I would request as the U.S. Representative of the 8th District of Georgia that EPA re-evaluate the initial clean-up and investigate the lingering odor. I hope to coordinate with the EPA to ensure that appropriate controls are put in place so that this problem never recurs,” the letter said.

In attendance at the town hall meeting, south Fulton resident and task force member Clare Hindman summed up in a few words what hundreds of Fulton and Fayette residents have been saying for months.

“My government says the plant is there and it won’t hurt you,” Hindman said. “I’m a victim of the poisoning my government says won’t hurt me.”

In response, Westmoreland referred to his letter to EPA, adding that he believes there has been enough evidence brought forth and enough testimony to warrant some type of complete investigation that has not yet been done.

Westmoreland echoed the substance of a September letter issued by Congressman David Scott, who requested that EPA close the plant until the area could be decontaminated and answers to residents’ illnesses could be found.

Hours later on Oct. 19 Peachtree City Council declined to join other area communities in the call for a permanent shutdown of the plant.

Instead, council voted Thursday to send a letter to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and other agencies asking that the review of the plant be expedited. The council declined to approve a resolution calling for a permanent shutdown of the PSC plant, with several council members citing a lack of scientific evidence.

Councilwoman Judi-ann Rutherford said she wanted to see more evidence about what took place before she voted to have a business shut down, though she would support doing that if there was “a legitimate safety issue.”

Councilman Stuart Kourajian said he too felt sympathy for the people who have been affected by the release, but he was concerned because the Centers for Disease Control, for example, hadn’t yet looked into the matter.

“It’s definitely scary stuff,” said Councilwoman Cyndi Plunkett.

“They will close the doors if it’s really nasty stuff,” said Councilman Steve Boone.

Cities, counties and community organizations already calling for answers to resident’s illnesses and closure of the PSC plant include Fayette County Commission, Fulton County Commission, the town of Tyrone, the city of Fairburn, South Fulton Concerned Citizens and North Fayette Community Association.