Subject: "A Civil Action", Behind the Story
THE GALLON ENVIRONMENT LETTER
Canadian Institute for Business and the Environment
Institut Canadien du Commerce et de l'environnement
506 Victoria Ave., Montreal, Quebec H3Y 2R5
Ph. (514) 369- 0230, Fax (514) 369- 3282
Email cibe@web.net
Vol. 3, No. 2, January 12, 1999=20
*************************************************************************
=93A CIVIL ACTION=94, BEHIND THE MOVIE, A SPECIAL REPORT
*************************************************************************
A TRUE STORY ABOUT POLLUTED DRINKING WATER
IN WOBURN, MASSACHUSETTS
The movie, =93A Civil Action=94, starring John Travolta, is based on a tr=
ue
story of toxic contamination of drinking water in the 1970's in an
industrial town, Woburn, Massachusetts. The massive pollution of
the groundwater in Woburn and an even larger chemicals pollution
event at Love Canal near Buffalo, N.Y., were, in part, responsible
for helping move the U.S. government to establish the =93Superfund=94
legislation to finance the clean up of severely polluted sites across
the country.=20
The movie is based on a book with the same name written
by Jonathan Harr, that focuses on the 1986 civil lawsuit by local
citizens and the public trial and prosecution that ensued. The citizen
action was sparked by a much higher than normal occurrence of=20
leukemia and other serious illnesses amongst neighborhood families
in East Woburn, Mass., who were all drinking severely contaminated=20
water from two municipal wells G and H that were drilled in an old=20
industrial area on the banks of a very polluted river running through=20
the industrial area. The river is called the Aberjona River. The citizens=
=20
rose up in alarm, led by Anne Anderson, whose son, Jimmy was=20
diagnosed with leukemia in January 1972 and died January 1981.
Jan Richard Schlichtmann, a young Boston attorney (graduated Cornell
University), was an =93ambulance chaser=94, who made his money on acciden=
ts=20
and injury claims, agreed with the Woburn townfolk. In May 1982, he=20
filed a lawsuit on behalf of his clients, who were six Woburn families, a=
ll=20
of whom had a child who had died of leukemia or who was being treated for=
=20
the illness. He had taken the case in 1981 to court, against the advice o=
f
his=20
law associates. The trial and appeal drag on for years, and resulted in t=
he=20
bankruptcy of Schlichtmann and his small law firm. The legal, laboratory,
and hydrogeology (drilling and testing the groundwater) expenses had left=
=20
him and his partners penniless and over a million dollars in debt to thei=
r
many
creditors. Schlichtmann eventually filed for bankruptcy. See Natural Reso=
urces
Defense Council=92s website http://www.nrdc.org/s.ca.s/finlord.htm.wables/renewable.energy=en
*****************************************************************
FOCUS ON W.R. GRACE & CO., BEATRICE FOODS,=20
RILEY TANNERY, AND UNIFIRST CORP., IN WOBURN
Three companies were named in the civil lawsuit brought by Schlichtmann
on behalf of the East Woburn citizens. The companies were:
o W.R.Grace Co.=92s Cryovac (heavy equipment manufacturing) Plant,=20
on Washington Street
o Beatrice (Foods) Properties recent purchaser of the John=20
Riley Tannery, located at the corner of Wildwood Ave., =20
and Salem St.
o UniFirst Properties, which ran an industrial dry cleaning
operation on Olympia Ave.,
The companies were suspected of using one or more of the five chemicals=20
named in the lawsuit, which were detected in water samples taken by the=20
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Quality Engineering from=20
municipal wells G & H on May 14, 1979. They were trichloroethylene=20
(TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE), 1,1,1 trichloroethane, dibromochlorometha=
ne,=20
and chloroform.=20
See website http://www.geology.ohio-state.edu/courtroom/defendants.html.gy=en
***************************************************************
W.R. GRACE COMPANY
The W.R. Grace Cryovac Plant operated from 1960 until 1988. It
manufactured food processing and packaging equipment. TCE and
PCE were common liquid solvents used regularly to degrease and
clean heavy equipment and other metal products manufactured there.
The plant is about 3000 feet northeast of well H. It too was alleged
to have dumped its liquid solvents and other used chemicals on, or
near its own property, with much of the chemicals finding their way
into the Aberjona River and into the G & H municipal drinking water
wells.
****************************************************************
BEATRICE (FOOD) PROPERTIES
Beatrice (Food) Properties made the mistake of purchasing an old
family leather tannery owned by John Riley and his sons in Woburn
in 1978. Beatrice did not own the tannery long and sold it back to the=20
employees five years later in 1983. However, Beatrice was still required=20
to retain liability for any pollution impacts. Beatrice also owned the=20
15 acre woodlot between the Aberjona River and the Boston & Maine=20
railroad line, an area where there was suspected dumping of
TCE, PCE and other liquid industrial toxics by John Riley Tannery
and others throughout the 1960's and 1970's. For more information see=20
the website http://www2.shore.net/~dkennedy/woburn_trial.htmldants.html.gy=en
**************************************************************
RILEY TANNERY
The Riley Tannery was opened in 1910. Tanneries are notoriously dirty.
They use and dispose of all kinds of chemicals, metals and acids, in the=20
curing and processing of cattle hides into fine leathers for shoes, belts=
,=20
and jackets. Northeast of the tannery was the 15acre parcel, undeveloped=20
land that the tannery had purchased in the 1950s for its water supply.=20
Schlichtmann alleged that the Riley Tannery regularly dumped the used
waste chemicals on the ground at the plant an on the adjacent 15 acre
property, allowing the toxic chemicals to leachate down into the=20
aquifer and pollute the drinking water supplies. Schlichtmann alleged
that the chemicals flowed about 700 feet northeast into wells G and H.=20
Riley sold the tannery to a group of longtime employees in 1985. Riley
Tannery shutdown its business permanently January 1, 1989.
**************************************************************
UNIFIRST PROPERTIES
UniFirst Properties Inc. in East Woburn, was industrial dry cleaning=20
operation that used perchloroethylene and other solvents to clean=20
thousands of pounds of dirty clothes weekly. Unifirst was suspected=20
of dumping in barrels and on the ground thousands of gallons of the=20
chemical cleaners. It is interesting to note that UniFirst settled in 198=
5
out of court with Schlichtmann and the citizens prior to trial for about
US$1.1 million without admitting responsibility.
********************************************************************
FINDING OF GUILT IN THE COURT TRIAL
In July 1986, following a 78day trial, a sixmember federal jury found=20
that W.R. Grace had negligently contaminated the wells. But US District=20
Judge Walter Jay Skinner threw out that verdict because of inconsistencie=
s=20
as to when the wells had become contaminated a ruling that led to=20
an $8 million out of court settlement with no admittance of wrongdoing=20
on Grace's part. Unfortunately, already, over $6 million was used by=20
Schlichtmann and his law group just to pay the legal, research, drilling,
and scientific bills.=20
The jury dismissed the charges against Beatrice (Food) Properties. But=20
a three judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit rul=
ed=20
in late 1988 that Beatrice's lawyers engaged in =93misconduct" by failing=
prior=20
to the trial to give Schlichtmann test results of which they had knowledg=
e.=20
This is according to Dan Kennedy who was a staff reporter for the Woburn=20
Daily Times Chronicle, from 1979 to 1989. He covered the trial for which =
he=20
won the 1987 New England Press Association's top newsreporting award for=20
his coverage of the Woburn civil action. See his complete comments on web=
site
http://www2.shore.net/~dkennedy/woburn_trial.html=20ts.html.gy=en
***********************************************************************
THE PROBLEM BEGAN WITH GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
It was the municipal government that allowed the pollution and ignored
the warnings. Hungry for industry employment and the tax dollars from
those companies to fill the municipal bank account, they turned a blind
eye to the serious pollution in the area. For decades Woburn's municipal
works had drawn water from six wells A through F. The water was generally
clean and healthy. No problems. But in the 1950s, as demand for water
increased, city officials considered drilling wells in groundwaterrich Ea=
st=20
Woburn. However, some officials warned that the water obtained from such=20
wells would be of poor quality. But the city moved ahead and drilled well=
=20
G in 1964, near the east bank of the Aberjona River, south of Route 128 a=
nd=20
north of Salem Street. In 1967, Woburn municipality drilled well H about =
500=20
feet north of well G, even closer to the polluted river. Almost from the
moment
the new wells went on line, residents of East Woburn complained the water=
=20
smelled and tasted bad. The municipality said that while the water tasted
bad, there were no health effects. Don=92t worry, you can drink the water=
, they
said.
***************************************************************
MUNICIPALITY WARNED NOT TO DRILL DRINKING WATER WELLS
Engineers hired by the City of Woburn issued a report in 1958 warning=20
that groundwater in the Wells G & H area was "too polluted to be used=20
for a public water supply." Entitled, the =93Report on Improvements to th=
e=20
Woburn, Massachusetts Water System=94, it was prepared by the engineering=
=20
firm of Whitman & Howard, Inc., in August 1958. They wrote that,=20
"The Aberjona River Valley still has a potential for ground water supply=
=20
for certain industrial uses, but the ground waters of this valley are, in
general, too polluted to be used for a public water supply." (Page 34)
The report appears to have been ignored.
****************************************************************
DISCOVERY OF TOXIC BARRELS AND THE CLOSING OF
WELLS G AND H
Dan Kennedy reported that repeated tests of wells G and H by=20
local and state health officials showed the water was unpleasant=20
but was what said =93safe=94. Then, in 1976, a state official nearly=20
stumbled on the truth. While testing an experimental instrument=20
designed to detect extremely small quantities of organic solvent=20
chemicals, he came across inexplicably high readings from wells=20
G and H. But rather than explore the matter further he assumed the
readings were wrong, and used them to calibrate the testing device.
The truth was finally learned in May 1979. Officials discovered that=20
in a "midnight dumping" incident someone had ditched a large quantity=20
of barrels several thousand feet north of the wells. The Massachusetts=20
Department of Environmental Quality Engineering (DEQE) [now the=20
Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP] immediately tested=20
the wells to determine whether the water had been contaminated. The=20
agency found that while there was not enough time for the contents of
the barrels to leached through the soil to the wells, they still found
that the wells were contaminated with several chlorinated organic=20
compounds, including trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene,=20
also known as perchloroethylene (PCE).
*****************************************************************
LEUKEMIA RATE FOUR TIME HIGHER
The wells were closed on May 22, 1979 and have not been used as a=20
source of drinking water since. The Metropolitan District Commission=20
[now the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority] agreed to replace the=20
lost water by connecting East Woburn to the state=92s regional distributi=
on=20
system. The discovery of contaminants in the wells led to numerous=20
community meetings and to the formation of the local citizen group called
FACE which stands for =93For a Cleaner Environment=94. The discovery also=
=20
led to studies that showed Woburn's leukemia rate was as much as four=20
times higher than would be expected for a community of its size and=20
that most of the leukemia cases were among families who had received=20
most of their water from wells G and H. For an excellent article go to
website=20
http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archive/features/98/01/01/DON_T_QUOTE_ME.htm=
l
**********************************************************
INDUSTRY AND CHEMICAL COMPANIES DID THE POLLUTING
While those three companies were charged, there appeared to be many
other sources of toxics to the drinking water, in addition to the three t=
hat
were pursued by the citizens and Schlichtmann. For example, about two=20
miles upstream from the wells on the Aberjona River was the former site=20
of the Woburn Chemical Works, a leading producer of arsenicbased=20
insecticides. Between 1853 and 1933, Woburn Chemical Works was one=20
of America's largest industrial complexes. From 1934 to 1969, numerous=20
other chemical companies occupied the site that was to become known as=20
the Industriplex Superfund Site, with an arsenic pit, chromium lagoons an=
d=20
numerous buried piles of animal hides topping EPA concerns.
*************************************************************************
U.S. $70 MILLION CLEAN UNDERWAY IN EAST WOBURN
INDUSTRIAL AREA
Recently the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a=20
plan to clean up the groundwater in East Woburn and restore it to drinkin=
g
water quality. It is expected to take between 30 and 50 years and cost as=
=20
much as $70 million. Much of the costs will be voluntarily contributed
by the responsible businesses in East Woburn.
**********************************************
****************************************************************
$180.90 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION TO
THE GALLON ENVIRONMENT LETTER=20
Subscribe to, "The Gallon Environment Letter". The 8 to 10 page newslette=
r is
loaded with up to date business and policy information that your company,=
=20
government agency, or organization can use immediately. It is provided tw=
ice=20
a month. It is also accompanied by the =93Green Jobs Available Report=94 =
that is=20
sent to you once a month. Subscribe now. Send a cheque for $180.90 a year=
=20
($169.00+ $11.90 GST) and help finance the research that delivers inside=20
information and breaking news on environment business in Canada and the
world.=20
Make your cheque out to, "Gallon Letter", 506 Victoria Ave., Montreal,
Quebec,=20
H3Y 2R5.
=20
*************************************************************
*****************************************
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Copyright (c) 1999 Canadian Institute for
Business and the Environment (CIBE), Montreal
All rights reserved.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
THE GALLON ENVIRONMENT LETTER
Canadian Institute for Business and the Environment
Institut Canadien du Commerce et de l'environnement
506 Victoria Ave., Montreal, Quebec H3Y 2R5
Ph. (514) 369- 0230, Fax (514) 369- 3282
Email cibe@web.net
Vol. 3, No. 2, January 12, 1999=20
*************************************************************************
=93A CIVIL ACTION=94, BEHIND THE MOVIE, A SPECIAL REPORT
*************************************************************************
A TRUE STORY ABOUT POLLUTED DRINKING WATER
IN WOBURN, MASSACHUSETTS
The movie, =93A Civil Action=94, starring John Travolta, is based on a tr=
ue
story of toxic contamination of drinking water in the 1970's in an
industrial town, Woburn, Massachusetts. The massive pollution of
the groundwater in Woburn and an even larger chemicals pollution
event at Love Canal near Buffalo, N.Y., were, in part, responsible
for helping move the U.S. government to establish the =93Superfund=94
legislation to finance the clean up of severely polluted sites across
the country.=20
The movie is based on a book with the same name written
by Jonathan Harr, that focuses on the 1986 civil lawsuit by local
citizens and the public trial and prosecution that ensued. The citizen
action was sparked by a much higher than normal occurrence of=20
leukemia and other serious illnesses amongst neighborhood families
in East Woburn, Mass., who were all drinking severely contaminated=20
water from two municipal wells G and H that were drilled in an old=20
industrial area on the banks of a very polluted river running through=20
the industrial area. The river is called the Aberjona River. The citizens=
=20
rose up in alarm, led by Anne Anderson, whose son, Jimmy was=20
diagnosed with leukemia in January 1972 and died January 1981.
Jan Richard Schlichtmann, a young Boston attorney (graduated Cornell
University), was an =93ambulance chaser=94, who made his money on acciden=
ts=20
and injury claims, agreed with the Woburn townfolk. In May 1982, he=20
filed a lawsuit on behalf of his clients, who were six Woburn families, a=
ll=20
of whom had a child who had died of leukemia or who was being treated for=
=20
the illness. He had taken the case in 1981 to court, against the advice o=
f
his=20
law associates. The trial and appeal drag on for years, and resulted in t=
he=20
bankruptcy of Schlichtmann and his small law firm. The legal, laboratory,
and hydrogeology (drilling and testing the groundwater) expenses had left=
=20
him and his partners penniless and over a million dollars in debt to thei=
r
many
creditors. Schlichtmann eventually filed for bankruptcy. See Natural Reso=
urces
Defense Council=92s website http://www.nrdc.org/enix.com/archive/features/98/01/01/DON_T_QUOTE_ME.htm=
*****************************************************************
FOCUS ON W.R. GRACE & CO., BEATRICE FOODS,=20
RILEY TANNERY, AND UNIFIRST CORP., IN WOBURN
Three companies were named in the civil lawsuit brought by Schlichtmann
on behalf of the East Woburn citizens. The companies were:
o W.R.Grace Co.=92s Cryovac (heavy equipment manufacturing) Plant,=20
on Washington Street
o Beatrice (Foods) Properties recent purchaser of the John=20
Riley Tannery, located at the corner of Wildwood Ave., =20
and Salem St.
o UniFirst Properties, which ran an industrial dry cleaning
operation on Olympia Ave.,
The companies were suspected of using one or more of the five chemicals=20
named in the lawsuit, which were detected in water samples taken by the=20
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Quality Engineering from=20
municipal wells G & H on May 14, 1979. They were trichloroethylene=20
(TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE), 1,1,1 trichloroethane, dibromochlorometha=
ne,=20
and chloroform.=20
See website http://www.geology.ohio-state.edu/courtroom/defendants.html._QUOTE_ME.htm=
***************************************************************
W.R. GRACE COMPANY
The W.R. Grace Cryovac Plant operated from 1960 until 1988. It
manufactured food processing and packaging equipment. TCE and
PCE were common liquid solvents used regularly to degrease and
clean heavy equipment and other metal products manufactured there.
The plant is about 3000 feet northeast of well H. It too was alleged
to have dumped its liquid solvents and other used chemicals on, or
near its own property, with much of the chemicals finding their way
into the Aberjona River and into the G & H municipal drinking water
wells.
****************************************************************
BEATRICE (FOOD) PROPERTIES
Beatrice (Food) Properties made the mistake of purchasing an old
family leather tannery owned by John Riley and his sons in Woburn
in 1978. Beatrice did not own the tannery long and sold it back to the=20
employees five years later in 1983. However, Beatrice was still required=20
to retain liability for any pollution impacts. Beatrice also owned the=20
15 acre woodlot between the Aberjona River and the Boston & Maine=20
railroad line, an area where there was suspected dumping of
TCE, PCE and other liquid industrial toxics by John Riley Tannery
and others throughout the 1960's and 1970's. For more information see=20
the website http://www2.shore.net/~dkennedy/woburn_trial.htmldants.html._QUOTE_ME.htm=
**************************************************************
RILEY TANNERY
The Riley Tannery was opened in 1910. Tanneries are notoriously dirty.
They use and dispose of all kinds of chemicals, metals and acids, in the=20
curing and processing of cattle hides into fine leathers for shoes, belts=
,=20
and jackets. Northeast of the tannery was the 15acre parcel, undeveloped=20
land that the tannery had purchased in the 1950s for its water supply.=20
Schlichtmann alleged that the Riley Tannery regularly dumped the used
waste chemicals on the ground at the plant an on the adjacent 15 acre
property, allowing the toxic chemicals to leachate down into the=20
aquifer and pollute the drinking water supplies. Schlichtmann alleged
that the chemicals flowed about 700 feet northeast into wells G and H.=20
Riley sold the tannery to a group of longtime employees in 1985. Riley
Tannery shutdown its business permanently January 1, 1989.
**************************************************************
UNIFIRST PROPERTIES
UniFirst Properties Inc. in East Woburn, was industrial dry cleaning=20
operation that used perchloroethylene and other solvents to clean=20
thousands of pounds of dirty clothes weekly. Unifirst was suspected=20
of dumping in barrels and on the ground thousands of gallons of the=20
chemical cleaners. It is interesting to note that UniFirst settled in 198=
5
out of court with Schlichtmann and the citizens prior to trial for about
US$1.1 million without admitting responsibility.
********************************************************************
FINDING OF GUILT IN THE COURT TRIAL
In July 1986, following a 78day trial, a sixmember federal jury found=20
that W.R. Grace had negligently contaminated the wells. But US District=20
Judge Walter Jay Skinner threw out that verdict because of inconsistencie=
s=20
as to when the wells had become contaminated a ruling that led to=20
an $8 million out of court settlement with no admittance of wrongdoing=20
on Grace's part. Unfortunately, already, over $6 million was used by=20
Schlichtmann and his law group just to pay the legal, research, drilling,
and scientific bills.=20
The jury dismissed the charges against Beatrice (Food) Properties. But=20
a three judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit rul=
ed=20
in late 1988 that Beatrice's lawyers engaged in =93misconduct" by failing=
prior=20
to the trial to give Schlichtmann test results of which they had knowledg=
e.=20
This is according to Dan Kennedy who was a staff reporter for the Woburn=20
Daily Times Chronicle, from 1979 to 1989. He covered the trial for which =
he=20
won the 1987 New England Press Association's top newsreporting award for=20
his coverage of the Woburn civil action. See his complete comments on web=
site
http://www2.shore.net/~dkennedy/woburn_trial.html=20ts.html._QUOTE_ME.htm=
***********************************************************************
THE PROBLEM BEGAN WITH GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
It was the municipal government that allowed the pollution and ignored
the warnings. Hungry for industry employment and the tax dollars from
those companies to fill the municipal bank account, they turned a blind
eye to the serious pollution in the area. For decades Woburn's municipal
works had drawn water from six wells A through F. The water was generally
clean and healthy. No problems. But in the 1950s, as demand for water
increased, city officials considered drilling wells in groundwaterrich Ea=
st=20
Woburn. However, some officials warned that the water obtained from such=20
wells would be of poor quality. But the city moved ahead and drilled well=
=20
G in 1964, near the east bank of the Aberjona River, south of Route 128 a=
nd=20
north of Salem Street. In 1967, Woburn municipality drilled well H about =
500=20
feet north of well G, even closer to the polluted river. Almost from the
moment
the new wells went on line, residents of East Woburn complained the water=
=20
smelled and tasted bad. The municipality said that while the water tasted
bad, there were no health effects. Don=92t worry, you can drink the water=
, they
said.
***************************************************************
MUNICIPALITY WARNED NOT TO DRILL DRINKING WATER WELLS
Engineers hired by the City of Woburn issued a report in 1958 warning=20
that groundwater in the Wells G & H area was "too polluted to be used=20
for a public water supply." Entitled, the =93Report on Improvements to th=
e=20
Woburn, Massachusetts Water System=94, it was prepared by the engineering=
=20
firm of Whitman & Howard, Inc., in August 1958. They wrote that,=20
"The Aberjona River Valley still has a potential for ground water supply=
=20
for certain industrial uses, but the ground waters of this valley are, in
general, too polluted to be used for a public water supply." (Page 34)
The report appears to have been ignored.
****************************************************************
DISCOVERY OF TOXIC BARRELS AND THE CLOSING OF
WELLS G AND H
Dan Kennedy reported that repeated tests of wells G and H by=20
local and state health officials showed the water was unpleasant=20
but was what said =93safe=94. Then, in 1976, a state official nearly=20
stumbled on the truth. While testing an experimental instrument=20
designed to detect extremely small quantities of organic solvent=20
chemicals, he came across inexplicably high readings from wells=20
G and H. But rather than explore the matter further he assumed the
readings were wrong, and used them to calibrate the testing device.
The truth was finally learned in May 1979. Officials discovered that=20
in a "midnight dumping" incident someone had ditched a large quantity=20
of barrels several thousand feet north of the wells. The Massachusetts=20
Department of Environmental Quality Engineering (DEQE) [now the=20
Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP] immediately tested=20
the wells to determine whether the water had been contaminated. The=20
agency found that while there was not enough time for the contents of
the barrels to leached through the soil to the wells, they still found
that the wells were contaminated with several chlorinated organic=20
compounds, including trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene,=20
also known as perchloroethylene (PCE).
*****************************************************************
LEUKEMIA RATE FOUR TIME HIGHER
The wells were closed on May 22, 1979 and have not been used as a=20
source of drinking water since. The Metropolitan District Commission=20
[now the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority] agreed to replace the=20
lost water by connecting East Woburn to the state=92s regional distributi=
on=20
system. The discovery of contaminants in the wells led to numerous=20
community meetings and to the formation of the local citizen group called
FACE which stands for =93For a Cleaner Environment=94. The discovery also=
=20
led to studies that showed Woburn's leukemia rate was as much as four=20
times higher than would be expected for a community of its size and=20
that most of the leukemia cases were among families who had received=20
most of their water from wells G and H. For an excellent article go to
website=20
http://www.bostonphoenix.com/archive/features/98/01/01/DON_T_QUOTE_ME.htm=
l
**********************************************************
INDUSTRY AND CHEMICAL COMPANIES DID THE POLLUTING
While those three companies were charged, there appeared to be many
other sources of toxics to the drinking water, in addition to the three t=
hat
were pursued by the citizens and Schlichtmann. For example, about two=20
miles upstream from the wells on the Aberjona River was the former site=20
of the Woburn Chemical Works, a leading producer of arsenicbased=20
insecticides. Between 1853 and 1933, Woburn Chemical Works was one=20
of America's largest industrial complexes. From 1934 to 1969, numerous=20
other chemical companies occupied the site that was to become known as=20
the Industriplex Superfund Site, with an arsenic pit, chromium lagoons an=
d=20
numerous buried piles of animal hides topping EPA concerns.
*************************************************************************
U.S. $70 MILLION CLEAN UNDERWAY IN EAST WOBURN
INDUSTRIAL AREA
Recently the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a=20
plan to clean up the groundwater in East Woburn and restore it to drinkin=
g
water quality. It is expected to take between 30 and 50 years and cost as=
=20
much as $70 million. Much of the costs will be voluntarily contributed
by the responsible businesses in East Woburn.
**********************************************
****************************************************************
$180.90 ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION TO
THE GALLON ENVIRONMENT LETTER=20
Subscribe to, "The Gallon Environment Letter". The 8 to 10 page newslette=
r is
loaded with up to date business and policy information that your company,=
=20
government agency, or organization can use immediately. It is provided tw=
ice=20
a month. It is also accompanied by the =93Green Jobs Available Report=94 =
that is=20
sent to you once a month. Subscribe now. Send a cheque for $180.90 a year=
=20
($169.00+ $11.90 GST) and help finance the research that delivers inside=20
information and breaking news on environment business in Canada and the
world.=20
Make your cheque out to, "Gallon Letter", 506 Victoria Ave., Montreal,
Quebec,=20
H3Y 2R5.
=20
*************************************************************
*****************************************
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Copyright (c) 1999 Canadian Institute for
Business and the Environment (CIBE), Montreal
All rights reserved.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Gallon Environment Letter
506 Victoria Ave.
Montreal, Quebec H3Y 2R5
Ph. (514) 369-0230, Fax (514) 369-3282
email cibe@web.net