Follow-up

Cleaning up after the clean-up crew

by Lisa Birk

Last Thursday, about a dozen citizens and three representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) waited patiently on wooden chairs in Middleborough's handsome town hall. They were there to meet a new team of scientists hired to clean up one of the state's filthiest hazardous-waste sites, Rockland Industries, Inc., on Plymouth Street in Middleborough (see "Who's Watching the Fox?", News and Features, August 25). The clean-up has been a long time coming -- residents have complained about the site for 32 years. The team hired to clean the site predicts that it will take about five years to complete the job.

In 1995, the DEP classed the site "Tier IA" -- a designation reserved for the dirtiest sites whose clean-ups lagged the furthest behind schedule. Over the years, studies have documented the presence of 41 contaminants at Rockland, including high concentrations of probable carcinogens such as dichlorobenzene, which in animal experiments has been linked to liver and kidney problems, birth defects, and increased rates of cancer. The site has stagnated at Phase II of the state's five-phase clean-up program for 13 years. In Phase II, scientists identify and locate contaminants. The actual clean-up doesn't come until Phase IV.

For the past five years, the Striar family, who own Rockland, retained scientists from KEY Environmental Services, Inc., to clean the site. But neighbors complained to the DEP about KEY's work: barrels of chemicals disappeared, but the papers documenting their disposal were missing; birds were feathering their nests with asbestos fibers. Nothing happened until March, when DEP's southeast section chief, Gerard Martin, stumbled on a hazardous-waste release that KEY hadn't reported for four months. Regulations stipulate that scientists inform DEP within 72 hours.

In July, the Striars let KEY go and then hired a phalanx of consultants: a lawyer from Nutter, McClennen & Fish, an environmental project manager from De Maximis, Inc., and a second environmental company, Roux Associates, Inc., for on-site work. And last week, Middleborough residents finally got to meet the new team.

Nancy Enos, whose property abuts the site, came seeking "peace of mind," as did most of the others in attendance. They peppered the presenters with questions, referring to formal studies as well as to their own observations of still-discharging pipes. The presenters predicted they'd complete Phase II by next September. That came as welcome news, but the residents still had questions.

Tom Sylvia, who lives in nearby Lakeville but grew up in Middleborough, and who works as a remediation engineer cleaning hazardous-waste sites for a living, wanted to know how "substandard" work could buy the owners another year before they have to pony up remediation money. Meanwhile, neighbors are exposed to serious pollution. "It doesn't seem fair," said Sylvia.

"We've been requesting an audit [from DEP] for one year," said Russell Enos, citing several violations -- including some that concerned missing documents. DEP lawyer Kevin Kiernan noted that the department couldn't audit the site, because it is already receiving DEP oversight, but he said that the agency would review KEY's work and is considering disciplinary action.

Bruce Thompson of De Maximis summed up the new team's commitment: "We have to find the end of the contamination. If it leads off site, we will chase it. If it leads to private houses, we'll be the first people at your door." On a scale of one to 10, Nancy Enos left the meeting with a peace of mind ranked at "seven" as a result of the consultants' efforts. "The only reason they're not an eight is they could be very well versed [in presentation]," she said. Her husband agreed, "This company's pretty good." He had just one other thought: "The state needs to be a little more aggressive."