As a thick, black substance rose out of the drinking fountain, factory worker Dorothy Ellis knew something was terribly wrong.
Yet it was only another episode in a disturbing series of events that occurred in the basement of Shop 428 at the former Defense Personnel Supply Center, 20th Street and Oregon Avenue.
"When there was a hard rain, black oil used to make its way into our work station, and we were told to sit in the recreation room until management cleaned it up," recalled Ellis, a former sewing-machine operator who developed tuberculosis during her employment at the factory.
Stories like Ellis’ and other environmental concerns in the area prompted former workers and others to hold a rally Friday in front of the former DPSC site.
At the forefront was Mable Mallard, executive director of the Right to Know Committee and a former factory worker.
Mallard is convinced that substandard working conditions she and others were exposed to resulted in illness and even death of former employees. She has been fighting to bring attention to the cause for years.
While working as a seamstress for the DPSC, also known as the Quartermaster — which manufactured clothes and other goods for the Army — Mallard said she was exposed to DDT, an insecticide that was banned in 1972, but still prevalent in the building’s dust, sewing machines and needles.
"The basement area had no ventilation or windows," described Mallard, who worked at the factory for 10 years, until it closed in 1994.
The activist said workers were exposed to additional hazardous chemicals and substances. Other problems included asbestos as well as fumes that made breathing difficult for certain workers, said Mallard.
While developing her own survey of 500 workers and residents in the area, Mallard discovered many had fallen ill or died, allegedly due to working conditions in the factory and other environmental hazards.
"They never informed us that the chemicals we worked with were hazardous," said Victor Pelzer, a former DPSC employee who worked in the shipping room. "We sent people over to Iraq because of chemical warfare, but the military has been exposing chemicals on us."
One of the main purposes of the rally was to collect signatures for a petition headed to Washington, D.C. Mallard is asking for a congressional hearing into DPSC workers’ toxic exposure.
"I would like to see a health assessment of ex-workers so they can be properly compensated," she said.
The activist recently accepted a position on the board of the Military Toxics Project, whose mission is to develop and implement preventive solutions to toxic and radioactive pollution caused by military activities nationwide.
"I’ve been trying to network with other environmental groups so we can all come together and fight this issue," said Mallard.
A spokesperson for the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (formerly the DPSC) said the military-run workplace facilitated some initial health screenings of a few workers, who were then told to check with their own doctors for further tests. The spokesperson could not be reached for further comment.
The long-term illnesses experienced by DPSC workers raise a broader issue, said Tina Daly, military toxics team leader for the Pennsylvania Environmental Network.
"We’re trying to make people aware of the cost of militarism," she said. "Another part of this whole picture is the disposition of these publicly owned lands and the way they are not cleaning up these places while turning them over to private interests."
A portion of grounds of the former Quartermaster has been developed as a large shopping plaza, with stores opening within the last month. The foundation of the shopping center’s buildings are restricted to a depth of 10 feet below ground to avoid disturbing a pertroleum plume.
Brownfield regulations currently allow certain sites to avoid the cleanup process while transferring the liability away from the landowner, said Daly.
"The public is always saying we need lands for parks or schools," she said. "Yet this land is going off into private hands and is not getting cleaned up."
Compounding concerns are the area’s infamous petroleum plume, which stretches 62 acres and contains an estimated 3 million gallons. That plume was located directly under the factory in which Mallard worked.
According to Environmental Protection Agency documents, the source of the plume is still under investigation and, as of July, approximately 900,000 gallons of product have been removed.
The federal government gave the city $35 million toward the cost of extracting the petroleum.
Yet, Mallard pointed out, "workers and people living in the area were never given any kind of compensation."
Myrtle Carter didn’t work at DPSC, but claims she was still affected by the plume. A resident of Passyunk Homes for 20 years, she was given a housing voucher and told to transfer to another location in the city. Passyunk Homes eventually was closed completely.
Carter said she knew of residents who were exposed to unbearable fumes that she believed were plume-related.
Mallard also blames such fumes for diminishing the area’s air quality.
Now, plans are in the works to activate two "thermal oxidizers," or incinerators, at the former DPSC complex.
A project of the Defense Energy Support Center, the incinerators are installed, yet they are not yet operating.
"[The incinerators] are one more thing we have to worry about in this area," Mallard said.
But before the incinerators are fully functional, Mallard and the Right to Know Committee are requesting that Air Management Services — a division of the city’s Health Department — hold a public hearing so that citizens can voice their opinions.
According to Jeff Moran, director of communications for the Health Department, construction on air-quality-testing facilities at 24th and Ritner streets has been completed. The agency is currently testing for volatile organic compounds and heavy metals, said the spokesperson. Fine particulates and sulfur dioxides will be added to the list within the next few weeks.
A public hearing will be held to discuss the incinerators, Moran said, but a date has not been set.
But some say it is too late for some residents to benefit from environmental monitoring.
"Sadly, this is a bit like installing stop signs," said Jim Moran (no relation to Jeff), director of Philaposh, an organization that fights for the rights of injured workers. "You’ve got to show a body count before you can get the stop sign installed."
