??The Savannah Riverkeeper has the difficult task of trying to protect the fourth most polluted river in America. We had the pleasure of going out with Savannah Riverkeeper Tonya Bonitatibus and her loyal dog Boudreau on a patrol near the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site. SRS is a huge contributor to pollution in the river, but, sadly, only one of many. It was on that trip that Tonya told of the struggle against horrendous industrial pollution in the river involving companies like the Olin Corporation.
The Savannah Riverkeeper has the difficult task of trying to protect the fourth most polluted river in America. We had the pleasure of going out with Savannah Riverkeeper Tonya Bonitatibus and her loyal dog Boudreau on a patrol near the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site. SRS is a huge contributor to pollution in the river, but, sadly, only one of many. It was on that trip that Tonya told of the struggle against horrendous industrial pollution in the river involving companies like the Olin Corporation.
Savannah Riverkeeper launched the “Olin Go Mercury Free” campaign after Frank Carl, the founding executive director, and a local high school student, Lauren Smith, tested Olin’s outfall channel into the river and found the mercury content of the soil to be over 10,000 times higher than state limits. With help from the Oceana Foundation, Riverkeeper was able to keep the pressure on Olin to stop polluting the river with mercury as part of its chlorine production process. After years of fighting, Savannah Riverkeeper won the battle earlier this month.
The Olin Corporation announced that they will stop making chlorine products that create mercury at its Augusta, Georgia, plant by 2012. “The Savannah Riverkeeper has been pushing Olin to convert for over 6 years now, and couldn’t be more proud with today’s announcement. Olin has proven today that they are committed to being a responsible steward of our area, and we couldn’t be prouder of them for making such a wise decision. They have made the step forward needed to remain an economic leader in the Augusta area and are taking steps to become environmental stewards of our community,” said Executive Director, Tonya Bonitatibus.
For questions or comments, please contact Riverkeeper@savannahriverkeeper.org or visit savannahriverkeeper.org
