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A Civil Action
An Introduction to Woburn
Environmental Quality Class 2
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Woburn, Massachusetts
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Woburn, Massachusettes O Officially
incorporated in 1642
O Total area of 12.9
square miles
O Located 12 miles
north of Boston
O Census of 2000,
population of 37,258
people
O Industrial and
residential
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Too many illnesses O 1972 - Jimmy Anderson was four years
old when doctors told his mother Anne that Jimmy had a rare form of childhood cancer -- acute lymphocytic leukemia.
O After Jimmy's diagnosis, Anne began to hear about other children in her neighborhood who had also contracted this rare and fatal disease.
O Twelve children had leukemia, eight of them within a 1⁄2 mile radius of Anne, six of them living almost next door to each other
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Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)
O ALL is a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow — the spongy tissue inside bones where blood cells are made.
O The word "acute" comes from the fact that the disease progresses rapidly and creates immature blood cells, rather than mature ones.
O “Lymphocytic" refers to the white blood cells called lymphocytes, which ALL affects. Also known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
O Most common type of cancer in children,
O Now treatments result in a good chance for a cure.
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CDC Cancer Cluster Report – P. 50
O CDC and Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health
conducted a study of health status of Woburn
residents
O Study Results for 1969-1978
O Overall death rate in Woburn was 8% higher than
expected on a statewide basis
O Deaths from cancer were 13% higher than the
state cancer mortality rate
O Significantly more deaths than expected were
reported from cancers of the kidney and cervix
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Childhood Leukemia Cases O Study results indicated
O More than twice the number of expected
childhood leukemia cases were identified in
Woburn (statistically significant)
O Leukemia is a rare cancer occurring in fewer
than four out of one hundred thousand kids
O Likelihood of such a large difference occurring
by random was less than 6 in 1,000
O Within a census tract where six of the leukemia
cases were located, the incidence of leukemia
was 7 and ½ times higher than expected
(random probability was 2 in 10,000)
O Cancer Cluster 7
Childhood Leukemia Cases
O Source/Cause was unknown in the
1970s/1980s
O No scientific data to support external
factors as a cause
O Chemicals, like TCE and PERC, were not
known to cause leukemia at the time
O Prognosis at time very poor regarding
treatment
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Childhood Leukemia Cases
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Drinking Water – Potential Source P.21
O Anne Anderson believed that the water in Woburn may have been a cause of the illnesses
O The water in Woburn had long been suspect for its color and bad taste, and her questions about the water were met with disbelief by doctors, city officials, and even some friends who doubted that such a thing was possible.
O Then other health problems of family members surfaced-skin rashes, vision difficulties, miscarriages, headaches.
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Aberjona River Watershed
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O Woburn located in the
Aberjona River
Watershed
O Aquifer that underlies
the entire eastern
portion of Woburn
O Source of drinking
water for Woburn
Water – A Potential Source O Drinking water supplied from aquifer
from a number of municipal wells
O City, state and federal officials ignored
the claims regarding problems with the
water
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Municipal DW Wells
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Woburn, Mass - 2014
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Overview - Current
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Wells G and H O Wells G and H were opened in 1964 and
1966 respectively
O Well G = 88 feet deep/Well H = 90 feet deep
O Wells drew on an aquifer previously untapped by the city
O Were intended as a supplemental water supply and not constantly in use.
O Drawn on heavily between 1964 and 1979
O Provided most of the domestic water supply to the homes near to and east of Main Street
O P. 22-23
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Wells G and H
Well G Well H
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Drums Found – P. 36 O 1979 – Woburn police find 184 drums of
industrial waste on a vacant plot of land northeast of Woburn (left by mid-night dumper)
O Area was near where the City of Woburn had drilled two wells, G and H for drinking water.
O State environmental inspector orders nearby wells G and H tested and results show high levels of TCE contamination (Perc also present)
O Barrels contained polyurethane resin, not TCE, so probably not source of well contamination
O Wells closed 1979 18
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TCE
O TCE is a common groundwater pollutant, known to cause neurological disorders, cell mutations, liver damage and cancer in laboratory animals
O Designated by EPA has a hazardous waste
O Level of lifetime exposure to TCE which can be expected to pose a cancer rate of one additional cancer in an exposed population of one million people is 2.7 ppb
O Recommended standard in drinking water is zero
O TCE detected in Wells G and H as high as 400 ppb (148 times over limit)
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Tetrachloroethylene (Perc)
O Known carcinogen which can affect central nervous
system, including leukemia
O Can be dangerous if absorbed through skin or ingested
O Designated as a hazardous waste by EPA
O Recommended standard in drinking water is zero
O Level of lifetime exposure to T which can be expected
to pose a cancer rate of one additional cancer in an
exposed population of one million people is 0.8 ppb
O Concentration detected in Wells G and H = 43 ppb (51
times over level)
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Source of Groundwater/Wells Contamination
O As a result of detected contamination, EPA
undertook evaluation of quality of groundwater
that feeds Wells G and H.
O Within one square mile of the Wells, the highest
concentration of the contaminants were found
O 1372 ppb of TCE
O 240 ppb of Tetrachloroethylene (aka Perc)
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Wells G and H on NPL – P. 78
O EPA conducts investigation as to contamination of Wells and sources of contamination
O Factors considered included: proximity to residential areas, nature of chemicals involved and whether drinking water contaminated
O Wells added to NPL (1982)
O At time 418 sites on list
O Well site in Woburn ranked 39th
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Exposure to Contaminated Water
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Potential Sources O EPA determined that contaminants entering
Wells G and H were coming from at least 2 different directions
O High levels of TCE and Perc were found in groundwater northeast of wells, indicating a plume from a source northeast of wells where W.R. Grace is located
O Highest concentrations of TCE found in groundwater west and slightly south of wells and were detected in a well located on property owned by Beatrice foods
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Wells
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Questions to be Answered
O How did TCE get into these drinking water
wells?
O Who was responsible?
O Was TCE the leukemia causing agent in the
children?
O Could the wells supplying the drinking water to
the East Woburn neighborhood be spawning a
leukemia cluster?
O Problem with detecting a cluster – P.43
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Seeking Out Attorney
O Woburn case originated with the Reed
and Mulligan law firm
O Personal injury attorneys who had
represented a future plaintiff (Donna
Robbins) in a malpractice case
concerning her son (p. 33)
O Schlichtmann took over case later as lead
plaintiffs attorney
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Litigation O Anne Anderson v. Cryovac Co., et al.
O May 1982 – Jan Schlichtmann attorney for plaintiffs filed lawsuit in Mass. state court (Pending SOL issue) P. 75 O 3 Year SOL in Mass for Personal Injury cases
(technically may have begun to run May 22, 1979 when wells were closed)
O Defendants later removed case to U.S. District Court in Boston.
O Plaintiffs - six Woburn families, all of whom had a child who had died of leukemia or who was being treated for the illness (two additional plaintiffs added later)
O Defendants - W.R. Grace & Company, of New York, and Beatrice Foods Company, of Chicago,
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Jan Schlichtmann
O Lead attorney for the
Plaintiffs
O Schlichtmann Conway &
Crowley
O Specialized in medical
malpractice cases
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Overview
O Allegations – Defendants had contaminated two municipal wells in East Woburn.
O Plaintiffs absorbed TCE and other pollutants through their skin and ingested by drinking substantial quantities of the contaminated water from the city wells
O The contaminated well water caused the leukemia cases and numerous other illnesses suffered by the plaintiffs, including cardiac arrhythmias and disorders of the immune and neurological systems.
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Anne Anderson O Lead plaintiff in the
Anderson
O Anne and Charles
Anderson moved to
East Woburn,
Massachusetts in
1965.
O She worked for the
City of Woburn as
a librarian.
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Woburn Industrial Development O Woburn’s 1st commercial enterprise was a tannery
built in 1648
O By Civil War, Woburn had 20 tanneries (city known as Tan City)
O Leather trade supported other industries
O 1853, Robert Eaton founded a chemical factory in northern Woburn on the banks of the Aberjona River, to supply tanners with chemicals
O By WWII tanning industry began to wane
O By late 1960s only tanner left was JJ Riley Tannery in east Woburn
O Eaton chemical factory was taken over by Monsanto company.
O WR Grace built another chemical company on land that once had been an orchard
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Beatrice Foods Company O Was a major American food processing company
O Owned the John J. Riley Tannery in Woburn located at 228 Salem Street (East Woburn)
O Tannery was Riley family owned business from 1909 to 1978
O Beatrice Foods Company from Chicago, in 1978, purchased the John J. Riley Company tannery and an adjacent 15 acre unoccupied property from John J. Riley Jr.
O In 1983 Beatrice sold the tannery and 15 acres back to Riley while Beatrice retained legal liability for environmental matters
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Beatrice Foods Company
O West and southwest of Wells G and H stands Beatrice’s 15 acres of undeveloped land bordered by the Aberjona River and railroad tracks
O Private well located on the 15 acres
O Land consisted of woods and marshland
O Numerous drums and tanks found on land – p. 80 O Riley claimed his business never used TCE and
never dumped TCE on the 15 acres p. 92
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Riley Tannery
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Beatrice Foods Company
O Plaintiffs alleged
O Chemicals deposited on the site seriously
contaminated the groundwater, including
the private well on the site
O Contaminants in groundwater moved to the
bottom of aquifer and due to pumping
action moved towards Wells G and H
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Jerry Facher O Lead attorney for
Beatrice
O Hale & Dorr
O 1951 graduate of
Harvard Law School
was also on the Law
review.
O Fellow in the
American College of
Trial Lawyers
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W. R. Grace and Company O Columbia, Maryland, based chemical conglomerate.
O Founded in 1854, in Peru, by William Russell Grace
O Owned and operated the Cryovac Division manufacturing plant located at 369 Washington Street (East Woburn)
O Plant produced equipment for the food-packing industry and used chemical solvents to clean tools and dilute paint
O The Cryovac plant is lcoated 2,400 feet northeast of the Woburn wells G & H
O Note: Grace sued by the town of Acton, Mass for polluting its groundwater (facts similar to Woburn case) p. 95
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Grace (Cryovac)
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W. R. Grace and Company O Plaintiffs alleged that:
O During operation of Wells G and H, plant disposed of on-site wastes, including TCE (on ground and in trenches at the site)
O TCE and other VOC wastes are slightly soluble in water
O Surface and groundwater at Grace site moves towards Wells G and H
O Wastes spilled on surface entered groundwater, moved to bottom of aquifer and towards Wells G and H
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Michael Keating O Lead litigator for
W.R. Grace
O Foley Hoag & Eliot
O Graduate of Williams
College and Harvard
Law School in 1965.
O Specializing in
defense of white-
collar crimes and
other corporate and
individual litigants
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Judge Walter J. Skinner O Graduated from
Harvard College in
1948 and Harvard
Law School in 1952.
O Former prosecutor in
the Massachusetts
Attorney General's
O President Nixon
appointed him to the
federal bench in
1973.
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Relief Requested
O Damages – compensatory and punitive
O Order requiring defendants to halt all
further disposal of hazardous substances
and remove contaminated soil and clean-
up groundwater
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End Class 2 Presentation
