From: | Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com> |
Date: | 16 Oct 2007 15:20:47 -0000 |
Reply: | cpeo-irf |
Subject: | [CPEO-IRF] South Weymouth, MA |
Subject: Health and the Westgate Landfill From: DCatbird37@aol.com Dear Protectors,Having with great interest read the Boston Globe South article 10-14-07, highlighting the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's (MDPH) announcement of high incidence rates of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease) in proximity to certain southeastern Massachusetts designated CERCLA (Superfund) sites, including the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station, I am again asking for your support in seeing justice served. The Navy, over the past year has released findings purporting that both Public Health and Ecological Health of the former airbase are in no way jeopardized. I believe these recently released findings brings the Navy's presented findings into serious question. If the Navy were forthcoming with the health records that the MDPH requested of them, I've little doubt the highly elevated incidence of 9.5 per 100,000(the National expected rate = 4-6 per 100k) would be further inflated. But, as in all the stonewalling of full disclosure in this military environmental cleanup, the facts are held from the public. The Environmental Protection Agency falls short in it's mission to protect the Public Health, by approving the Navy's report of ecological soundness, even as no living creatures are found downstream of the toxic WestGate Landfill site, beyond a young pickerel that shot up there, no doubt, to escape the snapping jaws of it's larger, cannibalistic brethren in Thompson's Pond. The Navy's proposed capping of this poisoned landfill, completely disregards any kind of precautionary health protection for our citizens, and again the EPA sides with this method, being signed off by someone for the inabsentia EPA Region 1 Director James Owens. I received the final Record of Decision (ROD) on remediation of this wetland situated, stream abutting, toxic legacy just this week, and justice is not being served. Few have bothered to pay attention to this environmental cleanup, but the unsuspecting people in these abutting towns as well as those downstream, risk elevated health problems for generations, due to the precautionary health-protective remediation costing 30+ million, while the "preferred" and chosen method is 3+ million. I have no doubt that if the Navy, EPA, MDPH and state department of environmental protection (DEP), got together with all the geographically tagged data at their disposal, they would not only solidify their ALS study, but find other, increased incidence of multiple sclerosis for one, interesting correlations between contaminated areas and disease. This moral imperative is overlooked for purely financial and political reasons, and those of us here, in declining health, after being outspoken for years, find inadequate, or no support from our elected or appointed officials, in positions to protect our welfare. The Congressman, I helped elect, after years of interest, inviting myself and others to round table discussions with himself and staff, no longer even feigns interest. The board(South Shore Tri-Town Development Corp.), appointed to protect the town's peoples best interests with the redevelopment, have shown no interest in repeated public health warnings. LNR, the "Master Developer" prior to town votes on the Master Plan, announced in the Patriot Ledger newspaper, that they would pay to remove the toxic WestGate Landfill themselves. Since the vote took place, in their favor, they've fallen silent on the subject. There is no justice here. The EPA refuses to answer questions posed regarding the stalled, lack of enforcement of there announced need to upgrade their models of ascertaining Maximum Contaminant Levels(MCL) of substances, to be protective of children's health. (The currently used model continues to use a 160-180 pound man as a variable). There is no justice here. The EPA, although promised months ago, has failed to explain how the bioaccumulative properties of the heavy metals borne in the waters of base test wells, will not adversely effect the health of the planned new residents of the base, as irrigation from well water is being counted on. There is no open, honest, timely communication here. The EPA provides no adequate explanation of how the extreme levels of known neuro-toxic metals are allowed to persist on the former base without any health precautions being deemed federally approved for health protective tracking. Our government continues to overlook an increasingly overburdened health care system screaming for solutions, to address the short-term bottom line for a Department of Defense that truth be told, would benefit the American Public more by addressing their legacy of military released toxins, than continuing to dump hundreds of billions into an impossible war we have no right to be waging. This injustice, brought on by what I can only assume is political foot-dragging fueled by financial structures in place , endangers our children. I ask the Congressman and those EPA officials engaged to revisit their approval of this Final WestGate Landfill Plan. I also would ask the aforementioned protectors to revisit their approvals of the Public Health and Ecological Risk Assessments, in lieu of the MDPH's stated concerns. As previously stated, geographically-tagged data already collected by state and federal agencies(EPA,DEP,USGS and MDPH), along with that collected by the Navy could be easily combined in the existent Geographical Information System(GIS) that the Navy and EPA currently employ. If this is not insisted upon by elected officials, then justice will not be served. sincerely, David Wilmot 10 Arch St. Abington, Ma. 02351 -- Lenny Siegel Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight a project of the Pacific Studies Center 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041 Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545 Fax: 650/961-8918 <lsiegel@cpeo.org> http://www.cpeo.org _______________________________________________ Installation_Reuse_Forum mailing list Installation_Reuse_Forum@list.cpeo.org http://www.cpeo.org/mailman/listinfo/installation_reuse_forum | |
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