Hazardous waste buried under Pacific Mills
Last week we published Mayor Rivera’s plan to create more housing in the city. Among the developers listed was Brady Sullivan, owner of Pacific Mills located at 300 Canal St.
Since last year, a criminal investigation against Mr. Sullivan is taking place in New Hampshire regarding the disposition of contaminated building materials. Investigators with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection are investigating whether toxic debris was illegally moved across state lines from New Hampshire and Brady Sullivan is the subject of these investigations.
They found that in the past three months, up to 10 truckloads of black beauty sandblast grit with lead paint chips and asbestos from Mill West, a building he renovated in Manchester, New Hampshire have ended up buried under cement in the basement at Pacific Mills in Lawrence.
The violations during the renovations of his Manchester building were so many that prompted state and federal authorities to investigate and fine Mr. Sullivan and he was ordered to clean up hazardous lead dust from dozens of apartments in Mill West. The rents in his apartments range from $1,200 to $2,550 monthly.
Twenty-two tenants have filed a lawsuit against Brady Sullivan and a petition with over 20,000 signatures was sent to Washington, D.C. calling for Environmental Agencies to Protect Families Exposed to Dangerously High Lead Levels. Today, the City of Manchester, federal regulators from the EPA and OSHA, and the state’s Department of Health and Human Services are looking into it because Mill West is considered the biggest known lead hazard in recent New England history.
According to New Hampshire Public Radio, one spot tested showed a lead level more than 600 times the legal limit.
Thanks to a confidential informant who notified MassDEP, Tim Dame visited the Building 3 where the informant told him he would find the contaminated debris.
Removing asbestos, lead, arsenic, cadmium and any solid waste is very expensive. Burying it under a site that will be occupied by families is criminal, indeed.
The EPA is still considering a range of actions, including a potential audit of all of Brady Sullivan’s converted mills in New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.
These are some of the unscrupulous developers doing business in this city.
This information was taken from the Manchester Union News and New Hampshire Public Radio. I want to thank Kevin Ksen of Carpenters Local #107 in Worcester for providing it to me. If you want to receive these documents, please call me at (978) 794-5360 or request them via email at DaliaDiaz@rumbonews.com.
We cannot continue to allow this abuse against our community and our families. It is time to ask MassDEP, EPA, OSHA, and the state’s Department of Health and Human Services to come, inspect and approve ALL the buildings Mayor Rivera announced last week that will be converted into housing.
My personal thought about Brady Sullivan is that he should be forbidden to do business in Massachusetts and preferably, go to jail.
Remember W. R. Grace?
In 1972 there was a similar situation in Woburn, Massachusetts, with a population of 40,000 where W. R. Grace, a center of industrial and chemical production began poisoning the residents through their drinking water. Women started having headaches, fatigue and pregnant women had miscarriages, among other things. According to court records, there were also cases of heart disease, liver damage, skin problems, neurological dysfunction and lessened immune system response. Children and one adult developed leukemia with more than 18 of them dying. The 33 plaintiffs received a settlement of $8 million.
Making room for the Friends and Family Plan
Assessor Belkis Jimenez, an 18-year city of Lawrence employee who held that position in the Assessor’s Office for about six years, was fired by Mayor Dan Rivera this week. She was a supervisor earning $56,000 and for what I hear, well-liked by everyone for being a good worker. The mayor’s reasoning: She didn’t pass the state test required.
My first thought was why doesn’t he apply that rule to the unqualified city engineer? Theodoro Rosario has been in that position for two years with no hope of ever passing an engineering license because he is not a civil engineer and there are no signs that he is going to school anywhere to be able to become one.
I also wondered why her union didn’t try to work with her finding another position that she could move into. I think she got the short end of something there! She has one daughter in college and another one graduating from high school this year.
I don’t want to mention anyone’s name but it is clear to me that he is making room for someone of his preference.
Fires in my neighborhood
I am afraid that we may have a pyromaniac in the neighborhood.
Just three houses from our house, Friday night, April 15, around 9:00 PM there was a fire in the acre of woods behind the houses on McCarthy Rd. Six fire engines and rescue trucks responded to a call about fire in back of a garage. They were here for almost two hours.
Sunday evening, April 17, there was another fire in the same location again around 8:00 PM. This time it was next to the home of the first incident had the same thing happen behind their garage. Several of the neighbors were able to keep the fire contained until the firefighters arrived. Three fire trucks responded to put it out.
The captain in charge of the firefighting unit informed the neighbors that, “This was the third fire today” in wooded areas in the Mt Vernon neighborhood.
The Lawrence Fire Department wants to alert residents to be vigilant for similar incidents and to call 911 to report suspicious individuals.
