Community Meeting on General
Environmental Management
Thursday
May 25, 2006
7:00 p.m - 8:30 p.m.
Cuyahoga Community College
Metro Campus
Humanities Building
Room 101
click here for map & directions
The April 20, 2006 fire and explosion at General Environmental Management (GEM) in the Flats sent five workers to the hospital with burns, caused a three-alarm fire, rocked houses three miles away, and sent a chemical tank 150 feet in the air, according to eyewitnesses.
This facility, which treats hazardous industrial wastes, has plagued Cleveland with sickening odors for the past year and a half.
Fire inspectors noticed GEM was using duct tape to try to fix vapor leaks on their pipes.
Neighbors in Slavic Village, Tremont, Central and Downtown, along with workers at the U.S. Post Office, Cuyahoga Community College, St. Vincent Charity Hospital, and others have filed over 100 complaints with the city's air pollution division. GEM has a long history of enivronmental and code violations from the Fire Department, Sewer District, and EPA.
Ohio Citizen Action is hosting a public meeting to discuss the situation at GEM and steps that can be taken to close this facility permanently.
Invited guests:
- Mayor Frank Jackson
- Officials of Northeast Ohio Sewer District, Ohio EPA, U.S. EPA
- U.S. Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones
- Members of Cleveland City Council