Tomorrow, West Lafayette’s City Council will vote on the SK hynix rezoning.
In Dave Bangert’s recent interview with Judith Barish, Director of CHIPS Communities United, she offered this sobering warning:
“Here’s the thing I would say to the city council members: A few years from now, if there's a gas leak that sends workers to the hospital – and that's something that has happened at Intel; if there's a leak of caustic chemicals into the Wabash River that kills aquatic plant life – and that's happened at Samsung in Texas; if the concentration of PFAS chemicals in the drinking water goes up – those city council members are going to own those problems. I think that’s what I would say to the city council: You’re going to own those problems. So, I would be really careful with my vote.”
— Dave Bangert, Sometimes David Wins
Here are the incidents she referenced:
Intel chemical leak hospitalized workers in Arizona
Four Intel employees in Aloha treated for possible hazardous materials exposure
Samsung Spills Toxic Water in Texas
These examples matter here.
Behind the mask of “advanced packaging” lies the truth of a semiconductor fab, made clear by SK hynix’s own claims:
2.8 million gallons of water used per day
At least 1.4 million gallons of wastewater generated daily
Tons of liquid chemical waste requiring off-site transport
Toxic waste stored on-site
It’s a toxic plant embedded in a residential area, serving the financial interests of a foreign corporation enabled by massive subsidies and the ambitions of a few, regardless of the cost to our health, environment, or trust in local government.
The odds don’t always favor Goliath.
And when truth, courage, and community align, sometimes David wins.
- Email the councilors (see below)
- Show up tomorrow (Monday, May 5th, 6:30pm
Margerum City Hall,
222 North Chauncey Ave.
W. Lafayette- across from WL Library ). - Talk to a neighbor today.
Let’s make sure our voices are heard, by the people who were elected to represent us.
Resources: check petition, links provided in the content.
Council member emails:
West Lafayette City Council Members:
District 1 - Laila Veidemanis: lveidemanis@westlafayette.in.gov
District 2 - Michelle Dennis: mdennis@westlafayette.in.gov
District 3 -Colin Lee: clee@westlafayette.in.gov
District 4 - Larry Leverenz: lleverenz@westlafayette.in.gov
District 5 - Kathy Parker: kparker@westlafayette.in.gov
District 6 - Stacey Baitinger Burr: sburr@westlafayette.in.gov
At Large - Iris O'Donnell Bellisario: ibellisario@westlafayette.in.gov
At Large - James Blanco: jblanco@westlafayette.in.gov
At Large - David Sanders: dsanders@westlafayette.in.gov