Any remaining question that local, state and federal elected officials doubt the claims of illnesses by hundreds of Fulton and Fayette residents over exposure to chemicals from the Philip Services Corp. (PSC) plant in Fairburn evaporated Tuesday at Bethany United Methodist Church. Coming on the heels of an agreement between Fulton County and PSC that prohibits the company’s discharge of industrial wastewater into the county sewer system after Dec. 22, the South Fulton/Fayette Community Task Force town hall meeting saw a litany of elected officials rallying strongly to the citizen’s defense and joining residents in openly questioning the intent of Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the results of a recent study by Georgia Division of Public Health (DPH).

The task force has called for the closure of the plant since the strong onion-like smell of chemical odorant Propyl mercaptan and pesticide MOCAP permeated a 40 square-mile area during the summer months. With the smell, residents say, came a host of illnesses to people, animals and wildlife. A partial victory for residents came Monday when Fulton County announced an agreement with PSC that puts to an end waste treatment activities that result in the discharge of industrial wastewater into the county sewer system. Other options for continuing to process waste, including trucking wastewater off-site, are being explored by PSC and EPD.

Fulton County Commissioner Bill Edwards was the first elected official to openly call for the plant’s closure at the first task force town hall meeting July 19. He hailed Fulton’s action as one that puts residents needs over corporate interests.

“I meant it when I said the plant needed to close and I still mean it today,” Edwards said Dec. 4. “I think this (agreement) is the first step in closing it. This is more about the people that it is about PSC. When you’ve got hundreds of people ill you’ve got a crisis. And when you’ve got a crisis you’ve got to find out the cause. And the fight is not over until we find the cause.”

“The time for speeches is over,” Edwards continued. “It was time for a call to action. PSC really needed not to apply for the permit. So we’re very happy about the outcome. We avoided some legal action between the two of us and we feel that the community is very proud of what Fulton County has done. However, I think the citizens have more challenges. That challenge may have to go to the state. I don’t think that EPA and EPD have done all they could have and I think the citizens, as they forced the hand of Fulton County, should force the hand of EPA and EPD to make sure for those hundreds of people that were ill that we find out without a shadow of a doubt the source of those illnesses. Until we do that we cannot rest of our laurels on this issue.”

Rep. Virgil Fludd said task force members took the bull by the horns in their unwavering commitment to their cause. That cause, he said, is one that requires a resolution.

“What happened to the people who live here?,” Fludd asked. “That’s the important question. Their quality of life has been disrupted.”

Presenting statements that addressed public health concerns were Fulton County Health and Wellness Director Dr. Steven Katkowsky and DPH epidemiologist John Horan.

Katkowsky reviewed his reasons for declaring a Critical Health Incident earlier in the summer as hundreds were falling ill. He reported on soil samples taken recently by the county, citing those results as being free from detectable limits of MOCAP, also known as ethoprop. Those results, he said, are a separate issue from the illnesses reported in south Fulton and large parts of Fayette.

“This (soil report) does not address the validity of the health complaints by residents,” Katkowsky cautioned.

Commenting on a recent DPH study, Horan said the chemical release had a serious negative impact on the community but explained that he did not believe residents were exposed to MOCAP nor should they expect long-term problems from exposure to Propyl mercaptan. Horan said it is still plausible that animals and wildlife were also sickened by the release, though the study indicated otherwise. His comments were questioned by residents who cited information on industry Material Safety Data Sheets for the two chemicals stating that studies on long-term effects of the two have not been undertaken.

Horan said DPH is requesting additional information from PSC but that ongoing litigation is slowing that effort. He said DHP will report on additional information as it becomes available. Public Health is in process of conducting a Health Consultation of the affected areas but has declined to comment on the parameters of the study.

Calls for tightening state and federal regulations for the benefit of citizens came by many during the meeting. One of those citing the failure of government was David Johnson, district director for Congressman David Scott.

“We know these agencies have failed us. I’m almost tearful at the failure of our government,” Johnson said. “Congressman Scott is in this for the long haul and we will do what’s needed until our constituents are satisfied.”

Reporting for the task force’s scientific committee was retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist Dennis Chase. He gave no quarter to EPD and EPA, citing the failure of both agencies to advocate for residents while propping up the interests of PSC.

“I’ve been in the environmental business for 40 years. During those years I worked on hundreds of federal projects and thousands of air and water permits,” Chase said. “Some of those projects did a lot of damage to the environment. But all that damage pales in comparison to the human impacts that happened here. In all my experiences I’ve never seen state and federal agencies treat injured citizens as though they were the ones causing the problem. I can’t imagine how upper management of these agencies can sleep at night.”

Task force Chairman Connie Biemiller congratulated Fulton County for standing with the hundreds of area residents who have suffered illnesses since they began smelling the onion-like chemical in late May. She reflected on the plight suffered by residents and employees at PSC and addressed the convergence of citizens, elected officials and government agencies in a setting that only months earlier would have seemed improbable.

“No one asked for this journey but we all were chosen. No matter where you sit tonight as a citizen, or a worker for PSC, a government official, an elected official, an attorney or as a reporter, we have all been called to this point in time,” Biemiller said. ”And no matter what we think our intended purpose is here tonight, we are all on the same page because we are all human beings who ultimately want a joyous and productive life. We have already decided as a community that we are going to forge ahead with our dream knowing that we can accomplish living with true joy if we dare to do the right thing by our neighbor. I also carry great concern for some of our government and elected officials who are under great pressure to make this problem go away by pretending that there is not really a problem here and are coerced to promote the idea that it is only a smell. These good people have met us and know in their hearts what the truth really is and it must be agonizing to feel pressed to tow a line that truly disrupts their inner being.”

One of the tenacious task force members referenced by Edwards is April Butler. With the group since its impromptu inception in July, Butler congratulated Fulton County’s stand for area residents and called for stricter action by EPD and EPA.

“I think it’s excellent that Fulton County entered into the agreement with PSC. But the thing is, PSC can still produce,” Butler explained. “This is a victory for us but we still need to know how they are going to produce what they bring into the plant. What do we do in the interim for the people who have been affected? My concern is for the children going forward and what their life is going to be like.”

Others speaking at the meeting included attorneys from Goetz, Pierce & Zahler, Stack & Associates and Devlin and Robinson. A minimum of 10 attorneys from the firms are working on the class action lawsuit brought by affected residents. Also in attendance were Fayette County commissioners Greg Dunn, Peter Pfiefer, Sen. Ronnie Chance, a representative for Congressman Lynn Westmoreland and EPD Assistant Director Jim Ussery.

Another task force member, Nicole Cason, exemplified the spirit of the occasion after the announcement by Fulton County and the outcome of the town hall meeting.

“The task force is very thankful for everything Fulton County has done,” Cason said. “We will continue to watch PSC and we still want action over the chemicals the citizens have been exposed to.”