|
Tack Factory Pollution Threatens Water Supply
For 70 years the people of Fairhaven thought Atlas Tack was a good neighbor. Residents of the small Cape Cod community, 55 miles south of Boston, could count on the factory to provide jobs producing tacks, shoe eyelets, nails, and other metal products. Atlas Tack's closing in 1985 left behind a legacy of toxins and has so far cost the EPA $2.8 million in attempts to minimize potential threats to public health.(2) "Until these sites are cleaned and the land and water put back to use, they keep our community from reaching its full potential," stated a recent editorial in the town's newspaper.(3) When the company abandoned the 24-acre plant complex, Fairhaven residents learned that heavy metals such as lead, zinc, and nickel, as well as pesticides, arsenic, cyanide, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contaminated the site.(4) They also found an unlined waste lagoon built in the 1940s that had leaked chemicals into a neighboring salt-water tidal marsh and into Fairhaven's groundwater supply. Now residents and visitors can't eat shellfish caught in the ocean nearby because of health risks from Atlas Tack-related pollution. The marsh, which could provide habitat for a healthy plant and wildlife ecosystem, instead contains dangerous levels of toxins. The chemicals used at Atlas Tack have persisted in the waste lagoon and drained into the marsh, where they now form toxins that pose a severe threat to human health. Cyanide can cause birth defects, damage to the brain and heart, headaches, and at high levels, coma and death. PCBs are a group of synthetic, organic chemicals that can significantly harm the lungs, gastrointestinal system, liver, and potentially cause cancer. The heavy metals that contaminate the land and water near the Atlas Tack site damage the nervous system and kidneys, and they pose an especially serious threat to children.(6) The Atlas Tack site represents a smorgasbord of toxic chemicals that endanger the well-being of any living creature that comes into contact with the site. Wastes seeping from the unlined Atlas Tack lagoon have deeply penetrated the marine ecosystem around Fairhaven. PCBs and other contamination of the tidal marsh, two nearby wetlands, and the adjacent Buzzards Bay have resulted in dangerous conditions for several threatened species of native fish. American shad, striped bass, and alewife all inhabit the bay, and authorities have banned commercial fishing for finfish and clams in the area due to pollution of the water.(7) Once home to a thriving fishing industry, this segment of Fairhaven's economy has moved on to other towns that don't suffer from the pollution invading the waters near Fairhaven.(8) The town now depends largely on tourism to the Cape Cod area, but the tourists might move on as well if a contaminated waste dump continues to pollute the waters and land of the resort community. Unlike many businesses responsible for the pollution on Superfund sites, Atlas Tack has a parent corporation that still possesses a healthy bankroll. Regrettably, Great Northern Industries has refused to comply with EPA-mandated cleanup efforts. Massachusetts had to sue Atlas Tack in 1984 to begin repair of the lagoon, but the company subsequently failed to comply with the cleanup agreements. After agreeing in 1996 to pursue redevelopment of the site for commercial purposes, Great Northern and its CEO, R. L. Lewis, have ignored the needs of the Atlas Tack site and the desperate frustration of Fairhaven residents.(9) The lack of cooperation from Atlas Tack has baffled even the EPA. In 1999, when the EPA had to remove asbestos from Atlas Tack buildings after Great Northern refused to do so, John DeVillars, former EPA Administrator for New England, protested that "Our number one priority is the safety of the community. Unfortunately, Atlas Tack Corporation doesn't seem to share this priority."(10) The refusal of Great Northern to comply with EPA cleanup measures constitutes blatant disregard for public health and the law. The site was placed on the National Priority List of Superfund sites in 1990, and in 2000 the EPA released an $18 million cleanup plan. The plan calls for demolishing the former Atlas Tack manufacturing buildings, excavating soil from the marsh and surrounding lands, and restoring the soil with clean vegetation. The EPA anticipated completing the first two phases of the remediation program by the end of summer 2002, but work has not even begun due to the Superfund funding shortfall.(11) The Atlas Tack buildings and the surrounding land and water remain contaminated and dangerous, and children continue to sneak into the site.(12) A 1997 letter sent to the EPA by the town of Fairhaven's governing board reads, "The residents...are frustrated at the length of time [cleanup] has taken. The building is in very poor condition and continues to present a danger to the children and adults living in this area."(13) Having been abandoned once already when Great Northern Industries refused to take responsibility for the wastes Atlas Tack produced, Fairhaven residents now see the EPA forgetting them as well. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club |
||||||||||||
