"Framingham chemical company fined after spills" by John Dyer, Globe Correspondent | June 4, 2010
The General Chemical Corp. in Framingham has been fined $6,000 by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for violations stemming from how it was storing toxins during an inspection last year, the agency announced yesterday.
The company’s hazardous waste facility on Leland Street in Framingham has come under fire recently by residents who accuse executives of ignoring their concerns about spills that contaminated the southside neighborhood’s ground water.
The town’s Board of Health discovered elevated levels of neurotoxins from solvents kept in the facility in Carrie Lyn Woodsum’s basement after record rainstorms in March. Health officials inspected the facility soon after and said chemicals were stored improperly, among other violations....
Residents especially have expressed concern about the potential effect of chemicals on children who attend Woodrow Wilson Elementary School on Leland Street.
I thought kids were our most precious commodi... ah, never mind.
But Principal Robin Welch has said the toxic plume emanating from the facility is too deep to harm students. The company is attempting to clean up the plume.
You think I'm believing any level of lying government these days?
Would you want your kid going to school down street of this place?
The order issued yesterday states that General Chemical mislabeled hazardous waste containers, kept chemicals in a collapsing container, left plywood covers unsecured, stacked containers where they could spill, and failed to label a container of mercury-filled fluorescent lamps....
And a $6,000 fine was all they got?
Slap on the chemical checkbook if you ask me.
Update:
"Company fined for toxic water release
General Chemical Corp. in Framingham was fined $23,300 yesterday by the state Department of Environmental Protection for pumping toxic water from its basement onto its property. The fine is the second the department issued this month for violations at the hazardous waste facility on Leland Street. Residents and town officials have been critical of the company since flooding in March drew attention to ground-water pollution from the site. On June 3, the department fined General Chemical $6,000 for improperly storing toxic substances after a 2009 inspection. General Chemical and its corporate headquarters in Elizabeth, N.J., did not return calls seeking comment.
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