1/12/1993 - Laserfiche WebLink

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JAN 19.inni BOOK 88 PA,F 504 the Melbourne location. Although he recognized that these people all have credits and degrees, he would like to see a notarized report on all of this that could be made public record. Reith Miller, 961 Riviera Avenue, presented the following letter from the Sebastian Elementary PTA: Sebastian Elementary School PTA January 2, 1993 Dear Sir/Ms., Our PTA Board recently heard a presentation by Mr. Hart, who is a Sebastian citizen, school volunteer, and grandfather of children at our school. He reminded us that Macho Products, a manufacturer of martial arts equipment, is planning to re- locate from Palm Bay,to a site about one mile, as the crow flies, from the Sebastian River Middle Junior High School, and the -Sebastian River High School. Mr. Hart shared Florida Today newspaper articles which recently stated that Macho Products is the number one polluter in Brevard County, emitting 300,000 pounds of pollution in the air this past year alone. Mr. Hart shared documents from the New Jersey Department of Health which describe the toxicity of two of the chemicals used by Macho Products. Those documents indicate that exposure to those chemicals directly or through the air creates significant health hazards. As a PTA Board, we are concerned about the health and safety of the 600 school children at our school as well as all of the children at the middle school and senior high school. We would like to know what precautions the county commissioners will take so that our school children will not be exposed to factory emissions, and toxic leaks into the groundwater or air by accident, technological failure, or human error since the plant is so close to the Sebastian schools. We would like reassurances from the County Commissioners or your environmental experts that these children will be safe and that their safety has been carefully considered. Interestingly, last week there was a toxic cloud formed in Titusville when chemicals escaped from the Pharmco factory, necessitating the evacuation of 400 residents. This incident is an example of how the health of nearby children can be jeopardized. We also would like reassurance that the county has a plan, trained personnel and equipment available on an emergency basis in the event that the school children would need to be quickly evacuated. As you can see in the attached newspaper clipping, the evacuation in Titusville depended upon highly trained personnel familiar with working with hazardous materials, as well as coordination of community agencies as support services. M