Boston Globe Article
Informational document from FNGP (pdf)
A group of concerned residents met to learn about the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's new report on the contamination at 50 Tufts St. in Somerville. Organized by Leanne Darrigo, coordinator of the Friends and Neighbors of Glen Park (FNGP), the meeting drew about 40 people looking to learn how the contamination affects the neighborhood.
Tufts University professor Anne Marie Desmarais explains the contamination to Glen Park residents.
Inspectors discovered the contamination six years ago after a chemical sales company moved out of the building at 50 Tufts St. During the 50 years they had owned the site, the cleaning chemical Percholoethylene (PERC) seeped into the ground around their building.
The chemical is not mixing with the drinking water, which comes from a reservoir out of town. Anne Marie described that the only way residents would be exposed is through "vapor coming from the ground water getting into your house." The 50 Tufts St. site has started a running a vapor-extraction device to clean up the soil, but the larger area affected and the surrounding homes have been asked to mitigate their own exposure with fans and other safety precautions in their basements.
I urge everyone living in the area to get involved with Leanne Darrigo and the FNGP to learn as much as you can. I will be working closely with the group to help spread the word to the neighbors and investigate further steps to protect the residents, school, and businesses of Glen Park.
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