Wilmington Town Manager Hull Calls On EPA To Act On Cancer Study

WILMINGTON, MA — Wilmington Town Manager Jeffrey Hull called on the Environmental Protection Agency Friday to act following the publication of the long-awaited state study of a 1990s cluster of childhood cancers.

The study, published March 24, found a link between maternal, pre-natal exposure to the chemical NDMA in the town's water and childhood cancers including leukemia and lymphoma during the 1990s.

The chemical originated from the Olin Chemical site, now an EPA Superfund site. The agency announced a $48 million proposed cleanup plan last year.

In his letter to the section chief Lynn Jennings, Hull called on the agency to "finally establish a federal standard for NDMA concentration in drinking water."

"The Study's findings speak loudly to the need for a clear standard," the town manager wrote.

He also called on the agency to "redouble your efforts to adopt remedial solutions that are appropriately stringent" for the Olin site.

"The lack of a standard must not be allowed to dictate remediation goals for the Olin site," he said. "Remediation protocols need to be designed and executed with the goal of restoring the Town's drinking water. Wilmington's water must be a source of sustenance for its residents and never again unwittingly a medium for private contamination."

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.