As Anne-Marie Desmarais, a consultant hired with a
grant by the Friends & Neighbors of Glen Park, explained in a March
10th informational session, "contamination occurred by dribs-and-drabs,
over many years." The toxins released then slowly spread out through
the groundwater.

Recently, Tufts Medical School interviewed
residents from 39 different households within the affected area and
found no health effects clearly linked to the pollution. The results
were encouraging, said Pirie, but the sample size much too small to be
definitive.

GEI, a firm hired by Unifirst, the company
responsible for the pollution, is currently working at the site to
extract contaminants.

Unfortunately, there is a limit to what
can be accomplished mechanically in such a densely populated area. GEI
looked into possible methods of "cleaning up", like the installation of
a miniature purification plant. They found, however, that the
contamination itself is irreversible, explained Desmarais. "It took 50
years to spread out," she said, "and it could take even longer to be
cleaned up naturally." What is not left up to time, however, is the
action that can be taken by residents.

According to an
investigation undertaken by GEI and the Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection, the only remedy that can guarantee the safety
of residents would be an installation within the basement of each
building in question. Exposure can only occur through the air, after
evaporation, as noxious fumes enter the house through the cellar. At
the cost of Unifirst, the cellar can either be sealed, or a pipe that
pumps toxins out of the basement could be installed. This method has
already been used at the Capuano Center, where four classrooms were
found with traces of the pollutants.

A handful of landlords and
tenants, however, have not been cooperative with GEI and MDEP's
investigation. "They aren't sure what do with people with high levels
of toxins who either won't have their houses tested or who won't allow
for remediation," Alex Pirie, Coordinator of Immigrant Service Projects
and Health. Such landlords are not required by law to notify their
residents of the possible health risks and may fear that doing so will
scare them away. As Desmarais emphasized, such a "head in the sand"
approach is potentially very dangerous. "Based on what we know," she
said, "there shouldn't be alarm, but there should be caution."