I-Team: Cleanup complete at Chelsea hazardous debris pile
CHELSEA – Efforts to clean up a toxic pile of debris in Chelsea are now complete.
MassDOT changed its policy after a WBZ-TV I-Team investigation into its dumping of asbestos contaminated soil in Chelsea. The state says it will no longer use the area off Route 16 to store excavated material and has offered to reimburse the city for the cost of air quality testing.
The I-Team found the pile containing asbestos uncovered with caution tape around it and signs warning of health risks.
Last July, the state Department of Transportation brought the contaminated soil from a bridge project on the Lynn-Saugus line and dumped it in Chelsea – next to public housing. The city had no idea it was there until WBZ told them.
With residents concerned about possible cancer-causing asbestos, the city tested the air in the homes around the pile but did not find high levels of concern.
Folks voiced their anger and frustration at the state during community meetings, worried about the lack of precautions and testing when the soil was trucked in and dumped in their backyard, as well as all of the months it sat out in the open with the wind blowing.
State Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver would only apologize for the miscommunication in failing to contact Chelsea but refused to apologize for dumping hazardous waste in their neighborhood.
It took MassDOT nearly a month to remove the contaminated soil which was shipped out of state.
Environmental justice leaders are now looking for mitigation from the state for what it calls a classic case of environmental racism.
The state says it followed all guidelines but is not putting new policies in place to ensure something like this does not happen again.