OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. (WALA) – Nationally known environmental activist Erin Brockovich is speaking about the sinking of the SS United States on her Facebook page.
Here is the post:
We understand the difference between ecology… and getting rid of toxic waste. THE PEOPLE ARE WATCHING
Clean your ship up before you sink her… or be stupid, do it, harm thousands, and spend hundreds of millions cleaning up your crap for the next twenty years.
Several representatives of the SS United States Preservation Foundation urged the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners to reconsider plans that would place the vessel in coastal waters without more extensive remediation of hazardous coatings.
Justin Ruby, the foundation’s chief sustainability officer, read a statement from Dr. Todd Osborne (University of Florida) noting that zinc chromate coatings cover an estimated 1,500,000 square feet of ship surface and reporting “approximately 60,000 pounds or 30 tons of zinc chromate on the ship,” calling that a conservative estimate that could be higher. Ruby warned of the environmental dangers of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and its mobility and bioavailability in marine environments.
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