Contaminated Soil and Health Effects By Sally Ann Connolly
Essex Agricultural Technical High School Construction Site, 2012
Photos from EA&TI July 22, 2012, construction & campus photos, www.facebook.com
OPINION LETTER JULY 15, 2013
Look a little harder in hiccups case To the editor: hen you don’t know the cause, “It’s all in your head” is an easy, but ineffective, explanation. My friend’s psychosomatic headache turned out, in the end, to be fatal.
W
Before attributing the hiccups afflicting North Shore Tech and Essex Aggie students to contagious conversion disorder, respiratory and neurological factors should be rigorously investigated. Were the students exposed to an irritant in the athletic field or in other soils disturbed by the extensive construction? Methane in manure is one contaminant that has been linked to environmental pollution. Were the students’ immune systems compromised by previous bacterial or viral illness? Strep, Lyme, mono and the flu are being studied in relation to the sudden and dramatic onset of obsessive-compulsive behaviors. When hunting for a cause of the students’ vocal tics, the town formerly known as Salem Village should avoid like the plague any explanation that points a finger at mass hysterics.
Also published in The Gloucester Daily Times (July 17, 2013)
Uncovering a dirty secret LETTER TO THE EDITOR, The Boston Globe, Unpublished JANUARY 15, 2014
I
f only I had daily scoured the legal notices in my local newspaper, I would have learned of the hazardous materials nearby. Rather, a simple mention of a delay in construction (Kathy McCabe, “Tech school construction is on track,” Globe North, January 9) led to my discovery of the existence of contaminated soil and groundwater on the campus of the new Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School in Danvers. Now I am aware of previous oil spills at Smith Hall and Berry Hall, which were left unresolved for approximately ten years; of contaminated soil that was stockpiled on site; of contaminated soil on the footprint of the Animal Sciences building (formerly the farm office, milk barn, and rodent lab); of the disposal of 2300 cubic yards of contaminated soil; of remediation currently underway for Buildings 18 and 29. Let’s hear it for serendipity. We have unearthed a more plausible explanation for the persistent hiccups that plagued North Shore and Essex Aggie students: the extensive disturbance of contaminated soil.
Exposing contamination and a health risk LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Unpublished FEBRUARY 22, 2014
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n 2012, during the months of October and November, 2,300 cubic yards of oilcontaminated soil were unearthed, stockpiled, and removed from the construction site the new Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical High School in Danvers. Also in 2012, during the months of November and December, several Essex Aggie and North Shore Tech students sought medical attention for the sudden appearance of vocal tics. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Environmental Health, notes having “received signed medical records consent forms for nine students who have been reported as having vocal tics or chronic hiccups.” Oil contamination poses a serious health risk. Danger lies in the inhalation and ingestion of and skin exposure to contaminated soil/dust and vapors. In the past, the Essex Aggie campus experienced oil spills at Berry Hall and Smith Hall. Approximately a decade passed before these situations were remedied, and not to background level. Currently, two other contaminated sites on the campus are being remediated. Health officials must keep the general public informed about the cleanup process. And those investigating the sudden appearance of the vocal tics should look into the possibility of exposure to respiratory and neurological irritants. Surely, a more plausible explanation than “mass hysteria” can be unearthed.
How can total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) affect my health? “Some of the TPH compounds can affect your central nervous system. One compound can cause headaches and dizziness at high levels in the air. Another compound can cause a nerve disorder called "peripheral neuropathy," consisting of numbness in the feet and legs. Other TPH compounds can cause effects on the blood, immune system, lungs, skin, and eyes. Animal studies have shown effects on the lungs, central nervous system, liver, and kidney from exposure to TPH compounds. Some TPH compounds have also been shown to affect reproduction and the developing fetus in animals.” — Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tf.asp?id=423&tid=75
COMMENT FEBRUARY 26, 2014
A move in the wrong direction
E
asing the standards for acceptable levels of pollutants in the soil, as proposed by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (“State is easing rules for some pollutants,” Feb. 23, A1), is a step in the wrong direction. Contaminated soil poses a real public health hazard. During October and November of 2012, 2,300 cubic yards (or 3,510 tons) of oilcontaminated soil were excavated, stockpiled, and transported from the site of the new Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical High School in Danvers. During November and December of that year, nearly a dozen Essex Aggie and North Shore Tech students sought medical attention for the sudden appearance of chronic hiccups. To this day, the vocal tics remain a mystery. However, a distinct possibility is neurological or respiratory irritation caused by exposure to the contaminated soil. Dangerous vapors and/or airborne particles may have been inhaled, ingested, or absorbed through the students’ skin. In this age of environmental enlightenment, scientific evidence—not deep pockets—should guide regulation of toxic chemicals such as petroleum hydrocarbons, arsenic, and lead. Risk reduction through more rigorous regulation is not only warranted but imperative.