RE: Santa Monica Contributing Writer Steve Stajich’s November 26, 2009 Editorial, Santa Monica Airport Pollution: Been There, Inhaled That
Dear Editor,
I am a local North Westdale resident and what shocks me is that the FAA doesn’t care about the safety of the residents that live around the airport – their own policies indicate that Santa Monica Airport’s (SMO) runways cannot be made long ­­enough for the high power polluting jets. Where is the EPA when it comes to this pollution coming from the jets, you don’t need a good olfactory sense to know that you have to hold your breath and run away from the smell.
Nowhere else in this country is there an airport like SMO, in such close proximity to homes and schools. Only when the laws were overturned in the mid 1990s when SMO decided levels were forcefully raised by the FAA from 85 decibels to 95 decibels was the way paved for these offensive and dangerous jets. The increase of jets has been exponential over the past decade, and the small community airport has been turned into something it was never designed to be. Big money, big names, and big business sacrifice the safety, health, and lives of thousands of men, women and children, all for their convenience.
Where is the oversight of the FAA and the EPA? Where is the press? The alarm is ringing it is time for the City of Santa Monica to wake up. While I work in Santa Monica, I live in North Westdale, we residents put our faith and trust in our city officials to protect us from health and safety hazards. We hope they put special interests and money aside and to do what is right.
Charles Blum
West Los Angeles
RE: Drink Tap Water – You’ve Got to be Kidding
Dear Editor
In response to the Mirror’s recent editorial about drinking tap water, a major reason why many people have stopped drinking tap water is because the water has been fluoridated. Fluoride is derived from aluminum processing and contains arsenic, lead and other toxic chemicals, and Fluoride may soon be added to the State’s Proposition 65 list of carcinogenic toxic substances. Fluoride is also extremely corrosive and can leach toxic chemicals out of pipes, such as lead, into the water.
Since less than 1% of municipal water is used for drinking anyway, why do we have to bathe in fluoride and wash our clothes, dishes, etc. in this substance. Something does not make sense here. Not to mention the recent news that medicinal drugs have been found in the water supply such as antidepressants, hormones, antibiotics, etc. These substances accidentally wind up in the water, but Fluoride is intentionally added as a medication and does nothing to make the water safe to drink, but in fact, appears to do the opposite. See www.fluoridealert.org
Zelia Grund
Santa Monica
