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For over 90 years, ALCOA, one of the world’s leading aluminum companies, operated a smelter at Baden on the Yadkin River. ALCOA shut down the smelter in 2002, but has sought to renew its license for the dams for another 50 years. The proposed license has one step left to become legal: the company must obtain a certification from the state that operation of the dams won’t violate water quality standards.
 
Here’s the problem: for years, ALCOA dumped toxic wastes in various places around the Yadkin. The company has admitted to 53 sites along a 38 mile stretch of the river, but has only agreed to clean up 6 of them so far. Known contaminants include cyanide, fluoride, PCBs, solvents, metals, hydrocarbons, benzene, naphthalene and methane, all of which are toxic to humans and the environment.

Please take action today. Let the state Division of Water Quality – and your legislators – know that (1) ALCOA’s contamination needs to be cleaned up, and (2) the license shouldn’t be approved until we know for certain that dam operations won’t spread contaminants around the river system.

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