Submitted by Clementine823 t3_zc9d5y in massachusetts
kellmoops t1_iyve6yr wrote
I seem to remember a Superfund site on the Randolph/Holbrook line? I believe toxic chemical waste dumping there was leading to increased rates of Non-hodgkins lymphoma in the area..
Ex-Pat-Spaz t1_iyvr64e wrote
This ^
It’s the 14th most contaminated site in the US. They discovered it in 1980 and the grounds are so polluted that they are still cleaning it up with probably another 20 to 30 years to go.
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Larrybird420 t1_iyw0qzr wrote
well that’s fucked up
metrowestern t1_iyww230 wrote
Onondaga lake in Syracuse has got to be on that list.
Ex-Pat-Spaz t1_iyypsem wrote
I believe it’s Love Canal that started the Superfund Act and highlighted these kind of issues. I also think it’s listed at the top.
joey0live t1_iyxyp2v wrote
“Cleaning”
Ex-Pat-Spaz t1_iyypnbz wrote
Yeah, no kidding.
johnny_cash_money t1_iyvkfnx wrote
It’s called Baird & McGuire. It’s on South Street in Holbrook but it affected the Cochato River that fed Holbrook, Randolph and Braintree water supplies, and led to a well field closure.
Dseltzer1212 t1_iyvsozr wrote
In the mid 80’s we had put down $5000. on a duplex in Randolph and the next day I read this quote from a woman who lived in Randolph….”when I want to punish my kids, I make them drink tap water” We backed out of the duplex and lost the 5g
MrRemoto t1_iyvpqvd wrote
In my dad's neighborhood 2 kids and several adults died of Leukemia in the 1970s early 80s
SmellsofElderberry25 t1_iywi434 wrote
Can confirm: https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0100392
My first house was within walking distance of it. My block was largely original owners, almost all of whom had someone in their household that had cancer. Small sample size, but not where I wanted to stay with my young kids. The fact that the town refused to fund the Prop 2 1/2 override to fund the schools for 3 years in a row (in the early 2000s) drove the state to nearly take over the school. I loved the diversity, the library and the friends we made, but had to get out to give my kids a better education and healthier environment.
Puzzleheaded_Ad_7204 t1_iyvkiya wrote
The fireworks factory?
Ex-Pat-Spaz t1_iyvrkgs wrote
No, a chemical plant
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>The Baird & McGuire facility is located on a 20-acre site in Holbrook and operated as a chemical mixing and batching company from 1912 to 1983. Later activities included mixing, packaging, storing, and distributing various products, including pesticides, disinfectants, soaps, floor waxes, and solvents. Some of the raw materials used at the site were stored in a tank farm and piped to the laboratory or mixing buildings. Other raw materials were stored in drums on site. Waste disposal methods at the site included direct discharge into the soil, a nearby brook, wetlands, and a former gravel pit. Hazardous wastes historically were disposed of in an on-site lagoon and cesspool. Also included on site were two lagoons open to rain and large areas of buried wastes such as cans, debris, lab bottles, and hundreds of bottles of chemicals. The lagoon area has been capped with clay. The on-site buildings were in various states of disrepair and unsecured; early activities conducted by EPA included demolishing all but one of the buildings and the tank farms. The tank farm area was temporarily capped. The site is completely fenced and a groundwater recirculation system was operated to contain the groundwater plume until permanent remedies were implemented. The site is 500 feet west of the Cochato River. The Cochato River had at one time, been diverted into the Richardi Reservoir, a water system serving nearly 90,000 people in the Towns of Holbrook, Randolph, and Braintree. Currently, the Cochato River is not being used as a supply source for the Richardi Reservoir. The South Street well field, part of the municipal water supply for Holbrook, is located within 1,500 feet of the site and was shut down in 1982.
Puzzleheaded_Ad_7204 t1_iywe32a wrote
Ohhh. I forgot about that one. (I work in env remediation)
[deleted] t1_iyynysn wrote
[deleted]
jitterbugperfume99 t1_iyw6wj5 wrote
Patty Larkin wrote a song about it: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb-uHcEqJKk
Sail-Painter t1_iyvwpx5 wrote
Had to do with Leather Tanning chemicals I believe.
Ex-Pat-Spaz t1_iyw5pks wrote
That was Woburn, not Randolph. It was a chemical factory.
Ken-Popcorn t1_iywe8qd wrote
No, Baird McGuire was agent orange
Sail-Painter t1_iz1d4sq wrote
Seriously?! They made THAT crap? I hope they were held accountable for all the deaths & medical problems it caused
jennybens821 t1_iywv5ey wrote
You’re thinking of the case that the book & movie “A Civil Action” was based on, another famous one.
Ken-Popcorn t1_iywe5gs wrote
The Baird McGuire site was rigorously cleaned and is actively monitored. No water is taken from that area any longer, and I don’t think that Randolph ever drew water from there. If anything, the legacy of Baird McGuire is better water in the area
Ex-Pat-Spaz t1_iywj9p2 wrote
Are you a lawyer for the defendant, perhaps?
Sad when people don’t read all the links provided. They are still cleaning it up and yes, contaminated water got into the drinking water.
https://eu.patriotledger.com/story/news/2014/03/01/three-decades-costly-cleanup-at/38587790007/
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>By then, toxins from the plant had contaminated the soil and the town’s nearby South Street drinking-water wells.
Thirty-five outraged neighbors filed suit against Baird & McGuire. They compared it to Love Canal in western New York, one of the nation’s most publicized Superfund sites, and claimed pollution-induced cancer and other health problems.
Ken-Popcorn t1_iyy435q wrote
I was there. Why would you think I was defending anyone? My point was that because of that problem, the water is better monitored and tested than it is in most communities
The property is adjacent to wells that Holbrook used, and my statement was that I don’t think Randolph drew any water from there. The reservoir that Randolph used is on the other side of the town on the Braintree border
SmellsofElderberry25 t1_iywgibr wrote
Unfortunately not. According to the 2020 update they are evaluating
>new options for groundwater
>
>remediation that involve injecting chemicals into the
>
>groundwater plume to prevent arsenic and other
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>contaminants from entering groundwater. Because
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>the efficiency of the pump-and-treat system has been
>
>in steady decline, EPA and MassDEP have been
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>exploring the potential for alternative treatment
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>methods that could result in a faster and more
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>effective cleanup.
Ken-Popcorn t1_iyy4lny wrote
Unfortunately not what?
SmellsofElderberry25 t1_iyy6q2m wrote
Unfortunately it was not rigorously (or effectively) cleaned up. I’m glad they they stopped pulling water from that reservoir since I was drinking it!
Ken-Popcorn t1_iyynq1u wrote
I would say that the fact that they built an incinerator on site, then excavated and burned the soil for years, among other measures, is a pretty rigorous cleanup
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