How did the TCE get into the drinking water at the View-Master plant in the first place?

DEQ's investigation of the TCE contamination found that TCE was used from 1950-1981 in the vapor degreasing machine next to the paint shop to degrease the metal parts used in the mechanisms that were used in the inside of the projectors and viewers. The TCE waste was dumped in a leach field at the back of the plant. This was done in keeping with suggestions made on the chemical data safety sheets that TCE evaporated easily and would photo degrade in the sun. Unfortunately the TCE did not evaporate because it sank through the ground and contaminated the Columbia Basalt River Basin Aquifer used by the View-Master plant for employee and industrial purposes.

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If the Safe Water Act passed in 1990 and required companies to test for Volatile Organic Compounds like trichloroethylene why wasn't the TCE discovered at the View-Master plant until 1998?

This is a very good question. Mattel says that when the law was passed they "missed it." They routinely tested the well water for bacterial content but not for volatile organic compounds because they claim they didn't know it was required.

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If the Safe Water Act passed in 1990 and required companies to test for Volatile Organic Compounds like trichloroethylene why didn't the Water Quality branch of the Oregon Health Division enforce the law and require Tyco and Mattel to test the water for chemical solvents?

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Thisis also a good question. We haven't gotten a clear answer but there are two versions of the answer that have been repeated. The first answer was that the well at the View Master plant wasn't registered when it was drilled in 1950,and so the State of Oregon didn't know there was a well used at the plant that required testing. The usual response to this answer has been "How did the state miss the gigantic water tower sitting right next to the 217 in plain sight?" This goes into the second version of the answer which was: the state knew there was a well in use at the View-Master plant but assumed that it was only being used for industrial purposes and therefore didn't need to be tested for volatile organic compound contaminates.

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Why did the Oregon Water Quality Division fine Mattel only $20,000.00 for operating a contaminated water system?

The response given by David Leland at the January 28, 2003 Oregon Department of Human Services Public meeting at El Monica School was that by law $20,000.00 was the highest fine the Water Quality Division could levy. David Leland further explained, this cap on how much the Water Quality Division could fine a polluting company was set by Oregon State Legislature.

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Was well water the only water used at the Hall Street View-Master plant?

Apparently not. It has been reported that at a certain time in the 1960's the well water began to spot the film used in the View-Master reels. For this reason film processing was switched to Bull Run City water and the employees were served the well water. There have also been reports that certain drinking fountains benefited from film processing switching to city water. However it is undetermined which drinking fountains were city water and which remained well water. This has put a hitch in determining which employees and which departments were exposed to TCE via ingestion as well as by dermal absorption (washing hands in the bathrooms or using the water to perform industrial duties.) or inhalation (breathing in TCE vapors as the toilets were flushed or working with TCE directly.) The Oregon Department Human Services has proposed trying to recreate the exposure pathways in order to better understand the extent of which employees during which years sustained the most exposure to TCE while they worked at the plant.

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Where are the Hall Street View-Master Plant's Water Records?

Dan Nottage, General Manager of Mattel, Portland told the Portland Tribune in 2002 that the water records had been shredded in 1997 when Tyco merged with Mattel in order to make room for more offices. Very few water reports were filed with the Oregon Water Quality Division. Maintenance personnel who reportedly would have this information have refused to speak to VOTE.

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What has been done to clean up the TCE contamination?

On December 19, 2002 the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality signed a consent decree with the landowners of the site as well as the Hall Street facility operators for obtaining 3.4 million dollars in order to begin a 30 year clean up plan that included pumping the well water through an air stripping unit which would then re-release the TCE into the air where it is to dissipate and photo degrade. The filtered water would then be discharged into Fanno Creek where it runs through Greenway Park. The TCE contamination of the air in Powell's Bookstore in Cascade Plaza has been remedied by turning up the air conditioning in order to diffuse the TCE vapors wafting up from under the building. The monitoring wells around the TCE dumping area are monitored by the DEQ.

Because the consent decree signed between the landowners and facility operators and the DEQ did not provide concerned citizens or the former employees any means of obtaining technical assistance for the purpose of monitoring the actions taken by the polluters and the state, VOTE petitioned the EPA for superfund status for the purpose of obtaining a technical assistance grant available to citizen groups through the superfund program. One of the reasons VOTE sited was that the EPA had mandated stricter TCE clean up standards via it's 2002 draft review of TCE in which it found that TCE was 60% more toxic when inhaled and 40% more toxic when ingested. California had already adopted these stricter clean up standards but the DEQ had not in the case of the former View-Master plant. Although the EPA has not granted the View-Master site superfund status we learned at the February View-Master Citizen's Advisory Group Meeting that the DEQ had heard VOTE "loud and clear" and had implemented the stricter clean up standards. This victory resulted in having the polluters implement one more step to filter the TCE out of the well water thus ensuring less TCE was re released into the air and less TCE was re- released into Fanno Creek

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What should I do if I, or a family member worked at the Hall Street View-Master Plant?

There are a couple of things you can do. First, If you are experiencing health problems you should consult your personal physician and let them know that you may have been exposed to high amounts of trichloroethylene in the drinking water where you worked. Don't expect your physician to understand you when you tell them about your exposure. We have heard that many physicians have told former workers "not to worry about it." This is an understandable response because many physicians are not familiar with the suspected disease processes or health problems associated with TCE exposure. One of the ways to encourage the medical community to educate themselves is if more and more patients report their exposures and ask the physicians to be aware of the associated health risks of TCE exposure.

Second if you have not reported your employment or a family member's employment at the View-Master plant to VOTE you may do so by calling the hotline number at 1-800-305 3133. This number was set up so that anyone could use it at any time for any reason free of charge. It is a toll free number that rings to Amanda's home in Pasadena, California. She answers the calls in the order they are received. She does not have an assistant and does most of VOTE's administrative work when she is not working her regular job. Another reason VOTE asks you to report your employment is that Mattel will not release a list of workers to VOTE because it views this information as confidential. This has meant that VOTE has had to locate former workers by surveying former workers that contacted VOTE and attended the silent auction in October of 2002.

After you contact VOTE we can give you information on how to attend the View-master Citizen's Advisory Group meetings and other meetings pertaining to the health studies done on former workers. If you are interested in legal assistance or workman's comp claims VOTE can assist you with answers to your questions. In short we are here as a clearing house of information regarding this issue facing the former Hall Street View Master workers, Powell's Bookstore Employees, and Fanno Creek/Greenway Park Residents. By contacting us you will be joining over 1200 former View-Master employees and their families get the information they need to cope with the publicly little known realm of TCE exposure.

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Is V.O.T.E affiliated with Mattel?

No. After doing research online and speaking with other community groups dealing with TCE exposure it was easy to see that the former View-Master workers were not getting the full story from the facility operators and the state health agency. The reason for this omission of information seems to be due to the fact that Mattel and the state agencies deemed the science on TCE exposure "inconclusive". However it is Victims of TCE Exposure.A Lasting Legacy belief that inconclusive information should still be presented to those exposed to TCE so that they can come to their own conclusions and take action based on what each former worker and family deems is right for their needs. In order to facilitate this VOTE has sent information on scientific studies that have been done on TCE to former workers who have requested such information. VOTE has also set up a 1 800 number so that former workers can contact VOTE free of charge and get answers to their questions.

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Is there a lawsuit I can join?

Part of VOTE's purpose is to help facilitate former workers education on what legal rights are available to them. It is for this reason VOTE has invited several different legal experts to speak to former workers who are interested in learning about their legal rights. After these meetings VOTE is then no longer involved. If any legal claims are filed on behalf of any workers due to their exposure to TCE it is between the former worker and their legal counsel.

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Please Feel free to email anyone on our contact page for any other information