LETTER: 'Company Looking To Add 552 Hazardous Materials To Roads'

NORTHBOROUGH, MA—This letter was submitted by Laura Ziton. Want to get in on the conversation? Send your letters to the editor to charlene.arsenault@patch.com.

You may have seen some of my comments and posts regarding the upcoming Board of Health Public Meeting regarding the toxic waste transfer station taking place on June 12. If you would like some insight in to why I’m working so hard to raise awareness and mobilize people - I would like to share some thoughts.

The application which the board is reviewing on June 12 can be seen below. It's long so I thought I would break it down to the best of my abilities.

The company is looking to add 5-7 trucks of various sizes carrying 552 hazardous materials along our roadways. I’m pretty sure they won’t be going down many of the roads we live on but they undoubtedly will be traveling down Main Street, Route 20, Church Street, Bartlett Street and likely others.

Those trucks will sit on a property at 345 West Main St. where they will be parked for a maximum of five days from the hours of 5 a.m.to 7 p.m. holding loads of hazardous waste. The facility is located near wells, conservation land, two schools, and countless pedestrians and cyclists traversing that street daily. I’m sure you’ve seen the gridlock downtown during rush hour but never really thought about the time it would take the hazmat team to get across town due to an emergency. Disasters can’t be planned for but we need to consider are truck leaks, facility problems, equipment failure, accidents while they’re transferring the hazardous waste, fires, human error, and many things we haven’t even considered yet.

Also, I think we have to consider how those 18 children’s lives who live in those homes abutting 345 West Main St. will be impacted. I’m sure the folks in Ashland would have some pretty heart-wrenching things to say about their experience with toxic waste and innocent children playing around the contaminated water at Nyanza. The Buckhill children love to play on their street, too, and while there is a fence blocking them from accessing 345 West Main St., those chemicals that spill/get exposed to the environment won’t abide by those same rules to keep out.

I was surprised to also learn that the facility is planning to be in operation from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. Currently, due to the operation of trucks, many days in the summer these families can’t even be outside or keep their windows open because the diesel exhaust from idling trucks is so noxious. Not to mention how the abutters have to already deal with hearing those idling engines for hours starting at 4 a.m. while the trucks and drivers prepare for their routes.

I’ve spent countless hours reading the company’s proposal feeling sick about the list of chemicals. I’ve reviewed the 310 CMR 16:00, I’ve reviewed Mass General Laws, I’ve reread our town’s bylaws and it is so abundantly clear that approving this permit is absolutely the wrong thing to do for our town. The laws explicitly state where these types of operations should be located and without a doubt - 345 West Main Street is not an appropriate location. To be honest, I can’t get it around my head how a permit was ever approved for this type of facility at 345 West Main Street but this was well before our time.

16.01: General Requirements (1) Purpose and General Description. The purpose of 310 CMR 16.00 is to protect public health, safety and the environment by comprehensively regulating: (a) the siting of solid waste facilities; and (b) operations which recycle, compost, or convert recyclable or organic materials.

Some of you may also have to decide which meeting you are going to attend on June 12 because that night also happens to be the first public meeting on the Master Plan. While I had hoped to attend that meeting and learn about how the zoning will be changed and where we can add sidewalks, this unfortunately is impossible with something so much more pressing on my mind. I feel strongly that standing with the abutters and supporting them in this fight is the only place I can consciously be.

When you make your decision on which meeting to attend, I hope you will consider all the factors that impact our community, health, safety and environment and join me at the Board of Health Public Hearing on June 12.