
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 1, 1995                   TAG: 9502010042
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RALEIGH, N.C.                                 LENGTH: Medium

VA. GETS WARNING ABOUT MOTOROLA

Officials with Motorola Inc. say they're serious about protecting the environment, but some Arizona residents say folks in Virginia and North Carolina should think twice about trying to land a new Motorola factory.

According to Motorola spokesmen and Arizona environmental officials, the company is responsible for several hazardous-waste sites in Phoenix and surrounding cities. The two most serious are Motorola's semiconductor plant in east Phoenix and its government electronics complex in Scottsdale. Both sites are on the federal Superfund list of the nation's most hazardous waste dumps. According to Motorola, the company has spent $30 million trying to study and contain the underground contamination.

In the 1950s, thousands of Phoenix and Scottsdale residents found work at the electronics giant; few considered what the company did with its leftover chemicals.

Now, toxic waste from the two Motorola plants has seeped into an aquifer, poisoning miles of underground water supplies in a fast-growing region. More than 600 homeowners have sued the company, claiming their land no longer can be sold.

``Motorola is a big company, and they can bring a lot of money to your town,'' said Velma Dunn, a real estate agent who has led a class-action lawsuit against Motorola. ``But if they come, make sure you have everything in writing. Once your water is polluted, there isn't much you can do about it.''

In Durham, civic boosters are touting the Treyburn industrial park for a $1 billion Motorola plant that could employ as many as 5,000 workers. Treyburn sits about a mile upstream from Falls Lake - Raleigh's drinking water supply - and has been the focus of years of zoning disputes.

Motorola officials last week played down reports that Durham, N.C., and Richmond, Va., are two finalists for the factory.

``No decision has been made,'' said Jeff Gorin, a spokesman for Motorola's Semiconductor Products Sector in Phoenix.

But even if the company were to build a new plant, said Gorin, it is going to meet or exceed the regulations anywhere it goes.

by CNB