"EPA Probes Its Actions in Town With Toxic-Waste Dump"

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched an internal investigation into its permitting and oversight in a San Joaquin Valley farming community dominated by a hazardous-waste facility, agricultural pesticide spraying and truck exhaust that may be contributing to health problems including severe birth defects.EPA regional administrator Jared Blumenfeld said the internal investigation would run concurrently with a broader inquiry in which state and local agencies will examine health and environmental issues facing Kettleman City, a town of 1,500 mostly poor, Spanish-speaking farmworkers.Many residents suspect that problems including a cluster of babies born with facial defects may be connected to a toxic-waste dump operated by Chemical Waste Management."Louis Sahagun reports for the Los Angeles Times January 29, 2010,