Dina Padilla: Tesla Motors should avoid toxic Downey site

by: Stewart A. Alexander for California Governor

Dina J. Padilla for California Insurance Commissioner

Peace and Freedom Party 2010

http://www.peaceandfreedom.org/home/



December 05, 2009

After winning a court battle in a case that developer Stuart Lichter had charged that Dina Padilla had made false claims regarding human health hazards that exist on a property that he owns, Dina Padilla says the battle will not be over until the toxic site in Downey, California is no longer a threat to the public and workers. The case against Padilla, along with other injured workers that were also named in the suite, was dismissed because it violated their 1st Amendment right.

In August 2008, Stuart Lichter and his attorney David White filed a slapp suite against Dina Padilla and Vickie Travis charging that the two had maliciously posted information on the website of Vickie Travis about the Downey Studios; that the site, owned by Stuart Lichter, is a toxic Superfund-Brownfield site. The website further exposed the grievance of other injured workers that have been exposed to dangerous chemicals that presently exist on the 160-acre property in Downey, California.

Dina Padilla, a candidate for California Insurance Commissioner, has listed many concerns regarding the Downey site; to include: a Kaiser Permanente medical complex now exist on the property, hundreds of workers at the Downey Studios have already been exposed to deadly chemicals, and the entire community remains at risk.

The Downey Studios has had many movies made on the property and many workers, actors, extras, and children have been exposed to many of the deadly chemicals that remained on the site with the departure of NASA, Rocketdyne, Boeing North American Inc., and other military projects that were produced at the site. Kaiser Permanente was also allowed to build a medical facility on this toxic Brownfield site which has exposed patients, workers and visitors to many deadly contaminants. Many of the Kaiser employees have suffered serious health problems resulting from exposure to the dangerous chemicals that still remain on the property.

These concerns have recently been elevated by ongoing negotiations with the City of Downey, Stuart Lichter and Tesla Motors to build an electric car manufacturing facility on this toxic Superfund site. Padilla cites that the City of Downey, Stuart Lichter and the federal government have already invested millions to clean this toxic site; however, many experts estimate the site remains far too dangerous for human exposure. Padilla is also opposed to Tesla Motors receiving a U.S. DOE loan for $465 million to build a green auto production plant that may be built at the Downey site.

Dina Padilla and Stewart Alexander are now calling on California Attorney General Jerry Brown and California Assemblyman Dave Jones to investigate the threat that this toxic site presents to workers and the community. Padilla says, “Tesla Motors has a responsibility to its customers and to its employees to insure that they are working in a safe environment without fear of being exposed to deadly toxins.

For more information search the web for: Dina J. Padilla

Dina Padilla, advocate for injured workers

http://www.peaceandfreedom.org/home/articles/partisan-number-26/413-dina-padilla

Defend the Downey Injured Workers & Community: The Toxic Hell Hole Is Still Killing

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/10/14/18625430.php

Peace and Freedom Party

http://www.peaceandfreedom.org/home/