Massachusetts Dirty Dozen Awards 2003
Aquatic Control Technology and the Massachusetts Department
of Conservation and Recreation - Natick
Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation has approved
Aquatic Control Technology's proposal to spread the toxic pesticide
Diquat Bromide to control weeds in 52 acres of Lake Cochituate.
Diquat Bromide, also known as Reward, is a highly persistent toxic
pesticide and a suspected carcinogen. Natick's municipal water supply
draws more than one million gallons of water from Lake Cochituate
every day at the Springvale well, a shallow well that sits on a
small peninsula surrounded almost completely by the lake. The Natick
Board of Health has raised concerns of the potential impact of the
pesticide on town drinking water. The residents want the Department
of Conservation and Recreation to use non-toxic methods that have
proven to be effective in controlling weeds.
Dominion Power
Dominion Power is one of nation' largest producers of energy in
the country. While its corporate headquarters are in Richmond, VA,
here in New England it owns the Millstone 2 and Millstone 3 nuclear
reactors in Waterford, CT. Dominion is the only electrical company
currently offering electricity to consumers besides the distributions
companies (i.e. NSTAR and Massachusetts Electric.) Dominion's product
is 100% nuclear. When consumers choose Dominion they are supporting
two power plants that have had a dismal operating and safety record,
are a target for a terrorist attack, impact the aquatic life of
Long Island sound, and each day produce highly toxic radioactive
waste. Consumers should know that Dominion Power is their source
for buying 100% pure nuclear power.
E.L. Harvey and Sons - Westborough
E.L. Harvey and Sons' garbage business has a long history of environmental
contamination. Test wells near the company's unlined landfill went
unmonitored for 10 years yet recent tests revealed high levels of
benzene, chlorinated hydrocarbons and pH in area groundwater. Now
E.L. Harvey and Sons is seeking approval to expand operations of
their facility. The Cedar Swamp Conservation Trust is fighting to
stop E.L. Harvey and Sons' expansion and ensure comprehensive assessment
and cleanup of current contamination at the site.
The Gutierrez Company - Stoneham, MA
The Middlesex Fells parkland contains the first public park land
set aside in the United States. The Gutierrez Company is seeking
approval by Ellen Roy Herzfelder of the Massachusetts Executive
Office of Environmental Affairs to turn 29,000 square feet of public
parkland into parking lots for a giant development in the Fells.
Friends of the Fells is fighting to keep Gutierrez Company off public
parkland, to prevent the conversion of the Olmsted-designed historic
Fells Parkway into a major traffic corridor, and to protect Spot
Pond, a backup water supply, from harmful runoff.
New England Landfill Solutions -- Brockton
In 2000 the City of Brockton contracted with New England Landfill
Solutions to cap and close the city's unlined landfill. Instead
of closing the dump, the "capping" process has brought
tons of new waste into the dump. Residents are now burdened with
this ever-growing mountain of garbage in their backyards and numerous
health threats. Neighbors suffer odors so bad they wake in the middle
of the night dry heaving from the smell, experience vertigo and
irritated mucous membranes, and watch blue ooze leach from the landfill
onto the driveways where their children play. The Citizens Against
The Smell are calling on Brockton Mayor Jack Yunits to stop the
current operations and cap the landfill as soon as possible.
New England Sand and Gravel - Framingham
New England Sand and Gravel's operation in Framingham sits atop
one of the most productive underground water supplies in the state.
Already a source for 50% of Wayland's drinking water, state and
town officials believe this source will supply the needs of Framingham
with clean and inexpensive water for the future. Yet, the operation
of New England Sand and Gravel over the past 65 years have left
toxic contamination and underground storage tanks that threaten
the use of this valuable resource. In addition, the largest housing
development in Framingham history is proposed for the site, which
would further compromise the area and restrict cleanup activities
of the toxic contamination.
RESCO Incinerator - Saugus
For 28 years the RESCO trash incinerator has pumped dangerous mercury,
lead, dioxin, and other hazardous chemicals into the air. The toxic
ash remaining after incineration is dumped into an unlined landfill
in the Rumney Marshes, an Area of Critical Environmental Concern.
Now RESCO has plans to add a third burner to the facility, increasing
their output of toxics by up to 50%. Saugus Action Volunteers for
the Environment and Saugus River Watershed Council are working to
protect the health and safety of area residents and want RESCO to
take the third burner option off the table.
TruGreen ChemLawn- North Andover
The little yellow flags on lawns are there for a reason - they show
that dangerous pesticides have been applied to lawns that pose a
threat to people and pets. Scientific studies link pesticide use
on lawns and playing fields to increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma,
brain cancer and leukemia in children. HealthLink is highlighting
TruGreen ChemLawn's widespread marketing to parents through their
partnership with US Youth Soccer as an example of their disregard
for the health and safety of children. A coalition of statewide
and local groups is demanding that TruGreen ChemLawn stop aggressively
marketing pesticide use to citizens, schools and municipalities
and stop spraying lawns and parks with toxic chemicals.
U.S. Navy and the Department of Defense - South Weymouth
For decades, the US Navy dumped toxic material throughout the South
Weymouth naval air base complex. In 1995, the Navy entered into
an agreement with Abington, Rockland and Weymouth to transfer the
decommissioned South Weymouth Naval Air Station to Lennar Corporation,
a private developer. Since that time, multiple toxic waste dumps
and areas of toxic contamination have been discovered at the base,
twelve of which have been classified as national Superfund sites.
Abnormally high incidents of multiple sclerosis, lupus and other
diseases in residents living near the base have been documented
by the citizen group AWARES, Abington Weymouth And Rockland Environmental
Studies. AWARES is demanding completion of ongoing health and environmental
studies documenting the extent of contamination and possible connection
to abnormally high incidences of sickness in the area, before the
Navy allows development.
Valley Mill Corporation - Pittsfield
Since Valley Mill Corporation began plans in 2002 to build a construction
and demolition waste processing and transfer station in a blue collar
neighborhood , RATSSS (Residents Against the Transfer Station on
South Street) has worked to prevent the Massachusetts Department
of Environmental Protection and the Pittsfield Board of Health from
approving the 250-ton-a-day facility. Toxic dust, fumes, loud noise
and the addition of at least 50 diesel dump trucks pulling in and
out of an already dangerous intersection would severely impact the
quality of life for people living near the site or visiting nearby
Clapp Park. Spills and demolition waste would threaten a rare unpolluted
section the Housatonic River downhill from the site.
Wachusett Mountain Associates - Princeton
Years of mismanagement of Mt. Wachusett State Reservation by Wachusett
Mountain Associates has damaged the natural ecology of the public
park. WEST (Watchdogs for an Environmentally Safe Town) has documented
numerous examples, including felling of and damage to rare old growth
trees along ski trails, runoff from snow making activities flowing
into the City of Fitchburg's water supply, and the recent clear-cutting
of eight acres of protective red oak that served as a critical buffer
to the largest stand of old growth forest east of the Connecticut
River. WEST is demanding that Wachusett Mountain Associates turn
its environmental legacy around and begin to safeguard the natural
beauty of Central Massachusetts' largest public reservation.
2002 Award Winners
2001 Award Winners
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