Staying Safe in a Toxic World
Problem Solved? Residents Work to Make Sure Clean-Up is a Success
The lagoons in the small town of Alton, Rhode Is- land, were large. Picture - water giving off smells that caused nausea, breathing problems, and head-aches. For years, neighbors suffered from the effects of Charbert Dye Company’s operations. Neighbors formed a group and, with help from Toxics Action Center, they asked for and got testing. They learned were so high they violated the state’s air pollution regulations. In 2004 the De- partment of Health recom-
mended that residents stop using well water for drinking, cooking, or bathing infants. Working with the state to get Charbert Dye Company to clean up its land was a slow process. competition. Charbert hired GZA Environmental to clean-up the site. The company submits quarter-
Making Sense of the Tables: Step by Step Tips for Reading the Tables
1. Look for the contaminant names on the left.
2. Look across the top for the dates.
3. Find the column with the levels for the clean-up objectives.
4. Find the unit. 28 The Change Agent — March 2011
ly reports that are 100s of pages long, but it is hard to tell if the clean-up is working. See the test re- sults on p. 29. What would you think if you lived
Sylvia Broude is the organizing director of Toxics Action Center. For more practice, see “Assessing Conditions Using Maps” and “Assessing Conditions by Comparing Levels” in SfA’s Manual.
Tips for Interpreting a Table
1. Locate the well. Is it next to a river, a known spill, or near homes?
2. Compare the amounts with the clean-up objectives. Make a graph to get a sense.
3. Find the highest and lowest levels. How do they compare over time?
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