Environmental settlement is record $5.15B
WASHINGTON » The federal government Thursday reached a $5.15 billion settlement with Anadarko Petroleum Corp., the largest ever for environmental contamination, to settle claims related to the cleanup of thousands of sites tainted with hazardous chemicals for decades.
The bulk of the money — $4.4 billion — will pay for environmental cleanup and be used to settle claims stemming from the legacy contamination.
The settlement resolves a legal battle over Tronox Inc., a spinoff of Kerr-McGee Corp., a company Anadarko acquired in 2006.
The Justice Department said Kerr-McGee, founded in 1929, left behind a long legacy of environmental contamination: polluting Lake Mead in Nevada with rocket fuel, leaving behind radioactive waste piles throughout the territory of the Navajo Nation, and dumping carcinogenic creosote in communities throughout the East, Midwest and South at its wood-treating facilities.
The company, rather than pay for the environmental mess it created, decided to shift the liabilities between 2002 and 2006 into Tronox, the Justice Department said, while Kerr-McGee kept its valuable oil and gas assets.
"Kerr-McGee’s businesses all over this country left significant, lasting environmental damage in their wake," Deputy Attorney General James Cole said. "It tried to shed its responsibility for this environmental damage and stick the United States with the huge cleanup bill."
The settlement releases Anadarko from all claims against Kerr-McGee. The settlement funds will be paid into a trust that covers cleanup of contaminated sites across 22 states and the Navajo Nation.
Mozilla CEO quits after furor over gay rights
Mozilla co-founder Brendan Eich is stepping down as CEO after protests over his support of a gay marriage ban in California. The Mountain View, Calif.-based nonprofit maker of the Firefox browser infuriated many employees and users last week by promoting Eich.
At issue was his $1,000 donation in 2008 to the campaign to pass California’s Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment that outlawed same-sex marriages. The ban was overturned when the U.S. Supreme Court last year left in place a lower-court ruling striking down the ballot measure.
Eich’s contribution had drawn negative attention in the past but took on more weight when he was named CEO. Mozilla employees and users criticized the move online.
FireChat offers new phone communication
SAN FRANCISCO » A new mobile messaging application called FireChat is empowering nearby smartphone users to stay in touch even when there’s no cellular service or Internet connection.
In just two weeks since its release on the iPhone, FireChat already has provided a flicker of hope for people pining for more effective, secure and affordable ways to communicate. That’s because the free messaging app harnesses a technology called wireless mesh networking, which might someday allow myriad devices to connect like links in a chain.
The technique might someday be used to tie together thousands of devices with built-in radios and make it possible to be online without having to pay for the access. It also could enable online communications in remote areas or disaster zones without Wi-Fi or cellular signals.
ON THE MOVE
Atlantis Adventures has appointed Shannon Wilson cruise manager of the company’s tour experiences. She previously was a retail manager for Atlantis from 1993 to 1995 and held management positions at Ross Stores in California, Nevada, Washington and Hawaii. Wilson’s experience also includes serving as district director of retail sales and operations at Ross in Hawaii and Guam the past three years.
Aloha Natural Health has announced Ronja Giesser as a licensed massage therapist. She has five years of experience and specializes in injury care and chronic pain syndromes through myofascial, trigger point and neuromuscular techniques.
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation has awarded $150,000 to Hale Kipa. Over the next three years, $50,000 will be disbursed each year to Hale Kipa. The funds will go toward Haloa Home, which provides a safe and supportive environment for young women who are moving from foster care to being self-sufficient adults.
