Where’s Erin Brokovitch?

I appreciate when I see people and organizations helping others in a time of need. Though many times it is when a situation is in the public light and affects a great number of people. So, I ask where is the help for New Bedford High School, Keith Middle School and the neighbors of the Parker Street Dump? The Environmental Protection Agency has mandated that the City of New Bedford monitor these sites, but people are still being affected. Recently, in the news was an article about the “seep” in the boiler room of the high school. Custodians, engineers and other staff have been questioning this substance for years. The NBEA was alerted to it last year and asked Mr. Alphonse to investigate. It took Central Administration many months (5 months to be exact) before they responded to our query. The NBEA was told it was a water pipe that broke and posed no threat to employees. Now, we discover that we were not told the truth, and that our suspicions were correct, the mysterious substance was and is hazardous.

Over the summer, it was discovered that several rooms needed to be remediated because the cabinets and caulking contained PCB’s. The workers, who did this remediation, cleaned in full hazmat suits. I ask, when the building was built, weren’t all the materials the same? The cabinets and caulking in one room are the same cabinets and caulking in others rooms. So how come only random rooms contain PCB’s? Are they doing adequate testing in EVERY room? And what of the students and faculty who were in those “contaminated rooms” all year last year- as well as those in all the other rooms that have not been “remediated”?

I applaud the NBEA and Mr. Eddie Johnson and his group of community activists for keeping a watchful eye on the situation. If not for them, faculty, staff, neighbors and students would not be getting the truth. We have been told of over 100 of our colleagues who have been diagnosed with cancer- those that are directly linked to the contaminants on this “burn dump”. Every day, it seems we are hearing of another person exposed to these toxins falling ill. What of those who have graduated and retired- what effects will their exposure have in the future? What of those who are still there- what does their future hold health wise? To add insult to injury, if some of these employees do develop an illness related to the pollutants in this building, they would only be able to file a worker’s compensation claim, and maybe file for disability with the Commonwealth- yeah good luck with that!

The EPA has stationed several trailers with mobile labs on campus to analyze more soil samples. But what about those who work in this environment every day? We were told they would not be testing in the High School, nor would there be any more blood work for those who desire it. Where are the epidemiologists to listen to our stories and medical histories to make the connection? The latest news is that TRC, the CITY’s environmental consulting firm, wants to decrease the amount or quality air tests done at Keith Middle School so they can save a few bucks. Isn’t that just the message? They will do only what is within their budget to do. That leads me to question the reality of their tests. Are they truly “random” or are they “randomly selected” to meet the needs of the one paying the bill. Any scientist will tell you that statistics can be skewed to serve the purpose of the research. Not that they’re lying, but just making the evidence prove their hypothesis. When are we going to have someone research and select according to our needs? What are our lives worth?

We need help! I say contact Erin Brokovitch!