A town that grew up top of toxic dump sites
Saturday, 14 July 2007
Rob Barry
IT is no secret that the predominantly African-American Newhall neighbourhood, in south Hamden, grew up on top of a number of toxic dump sites. Children at the old Hamden Middle School on Newhall Street used to be told they could not play out back because it once was a battery dump. A 2000 testing of the school's grounds for a planned expansion proved that very fact.
That was just the tip of the iceberg: About 100 acres between Dixwell Avenue and Prospect Street were contaminated with excessive levels of lead, methane, arsenic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Olin Corporation, then Winchester Repeating Arms Co., had dumped batteries, old ammunition shells, slag and other industrial waste in the area for several decades after 1890. Toxins have since found their way into backyards, fields and foundations throughout the neighborhood.
Facing dismal property values and a host of illnesses that have not officially been linked to the contamination, Newhall residents and pols are blasting state officials for not acting on promises to clean up the site.
"We have some homes that are settling and their walls are cracking," says state representative Peter Villano, who serves the district. He says the toxic fill in the ground has caused many houses in the neighbourhood to slant or sink into the ground. "We can't afford to leave," says one resident who wished to remain anonymous. "We can't go out and sell the property."
Responsibility for the cleanup was agreed on in an April 2003 consent order: Olin, the town of Hamden, the state Department of Education and the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority would split the costs.
"I am certainly sympathetic with their frustration and think that it is well founded," says state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. "I am going to contact the DEP to determine what is happening." Blumenthal assured the Advocate that he never promised the cleanup would be finished by 2006 as some residents have claimed. He says he did not have any direct involvement in the consent order.
According to newhallinfo.org, a website set up by the state Department of Environmental Protection, the town initially permitted filling in the Newhall area because it was, historically, a swampland area. Mosquitoes breed most heavily in swamps, and residents were fearful of contracting malaria. Only much later was it discovered that what was buried at the dumping sites had polluted the soil and groundwater.
There is no proof that the contaminated soil has caused any health problems. A study by the Quinnipiac Valley Health District in 2003 concluded that the cancer rate in the area for ages 22-74 was not particularly high. But participation in the study was low, says Elizabeth Hayes, one of the founders of the Newhall Coalition, which has been fighting for a total cleanup of the area.
"The people didn't participate because they were afraid they might be discriminated against," she says. "They didn't want to discuss health with strangers."
The cleanup can't begin until DEP commissioner Gina McCarthy chooses one of several "remediation options" drafted as a result of the consent order. They range from demolishing 168 properties and removing all contaminated fill--a cost of $200 million--to removing the top four feet of fill from selected properties and dumping it behind the old Hamden Middle School, for about $10 million.
It would cost the parties in the consent order much less to dump the excavated fill behind the school, but that would create a 62-foot high mountain of toxic material. And if 100 per cent of the fill were removed, the Newhall neighbourhood would be utterly destroyed in the process.
It's no wonder, then, that the decision about what to do has taken so long. "The commissioner originally promised a decision by December '05," says Villano. "The people are getting most impatient and frustrated not knowing where they stand and what the future holds for them."
The state, meanwhile, says the issue is too complicated to be rushed.
"The first thing we have to look at is what is protective of the environment and human health," says DEP spokesman Dennis Schain. "We understand the frustration people are feeling because it has taken some time.... The key is to propose the right plan, and that's what we're working on right now."
IT is no secret that the predominantly African-American Newhall neighbourhood, in south Hamden, grew up on top of a number of toxic dump sites. Children at the old Hamden Middle School on Newhall Street used to be told they could not play out back because it once was a battery dump. A 2000 testing of the school's grounds for a planned expansion proved that very fact.
That was just the tip of the iceberg: About 100 acres between Dixwell Avenue and Prospect Street were contaminated with excessive levels of lead, methane, arsenic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Olin Corporation, then Winchester Repeating Arms Co., had dumped batteries, old ammunition shells, slag and other industrial waste in the area for several decades after 1890. Toxins have since found their way into backyards, fields and foundations throughout the neighborhood.
Facing dismal property values and a host of illnesses that have not officially been linked to the contamination, Newhall residents and pols are blasting state officials for not acting on promises to clean up the site.
"We have some homes that are settling and their walls are cracking," says state representative Peter Villano, who serves the district. He says the toxic fill in the ground has caused many houses in the neighbourhood to slant or sink into the ground. "We can't afford to leave," says one resident who wished to remain anonymous. "We can't go out and sell the property."
Responsibility for the cleanup was agreed on in an April 2003 consent order: Olin, the town of Hamden, the state Department of Education and the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority would split the costs.
"I am certainly sympathetic with their frustration and think that it is well founded," says state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. "I am going to contact the DEP to determine what is happening." Blumenthal assured the Advocate that he never promised the cleanup would be finished by 2006 as some residents have claimed. He says he did not have any direct involvement in the consent order.
According to newhallinfo.org, a website set up by the state Department of Environmental Protection, the town initially permitted filling in the Newhall area because it was, historically, a swampland area. Mosquitoes breed most heavily in swamps, and residents were fearful of contracting malaria. Only much later was it discovered that what was buried at the dumping sites had polluted the soil and groundwater.
There is no proof that the contaminated soil has caused any health problems. A study by the Quinnipiac Valley Health District in 2003 concluded that the cancer rate in the area for ages 22-74 was not particularly high. But participation in the study was low, says Elizabeth Hayes, one of the founders of the Newhall Coalition, which has been fighting for a total cleanup of the area.
"The people didn't participate because they were afraid they might be discriminated against," she says. "They didn't want to discuss health with strangers."
The cleanup can't begin until DEP commissioner Gina McCarthy chooses one of several "remediation options" drafted as a result of the consent order. They range from demolishing 168 properties and removing all contaminated fill--a cost of $200 million--to removing the top four feet of fill from selected properties and dumping it behind the old Hamden Middle School, for about $10 million.
It would cost the parties in the consent order much less to dump the excavated fill behind the school, but that would create a 62-foot high mountain of toxic material. And if 100 per cent of the fill were removed, the Newhall neighbourhood would be utterly destroyed in the process.
It's no wonder, then, that the decision about what to do has taken so long. "The commissioner originally promised a decision by December '05," says Villano. "The people are getting most impatient and frustrated not knowing where they stand and what the future holds for them."
The state, meanwhile, says the issue is too complicated to be rushed.
"The first thing we have to look at is what is protective of the environment and human health," says DEP spokesman Dennis Schain. "We understand the frustration people are feeling because it has taken some time.... The key is to propose the right plan, and that's what we're working on right now."