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It is at the far end of a pretty spread out town, so most residents who are aware are likely well more than a mile away. I think Concord Center is probably 4 miles away and West Concord is 1.5+ miles away, I'd guess. Here is a map of where the water is drawn from (Concord, MA - Water Supply), but I don't know if the radiation from Starmet hits the water supply.
Unfortunately, most people are unaware of how many towns are affected by this in Massachusetts.
Woburn isn’t alone when it comes to facing “the ugly truth” hidden in its soil and water. Twenty-five other Bay State communities, all home to Superfund sites, still live with a toxic legacy despite millions of dollars spent to clean them.
From Cape Cod to the Berkshires and beyond, few communities are left untouched by the contamination. With between 3,000 and 5,000 polluted sites currently listed with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and 40,000 others already cleaned up by that agency since 1985, the state remains a patchwork of toxicity.
“They’re everywhere,” Eugene Benson, legal counsel and program director for Alternatives for Community and Environment, said of the many contaminated sites that dot the Massachusetts landscape. “They range from sites that aren’t serious to sites that are very serious. Some of the worst and most extensive sites are on the Superfund list,” he said, “but there still are some very bad sites, as far as contamination and the toxins, that are not on the Superfund list too.” http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/05/the_ugly_truth_some_massachuse.html
During the 19th century Massachusetts and the New England region became a national and world leader in the Industrial Revolution,with the development of machine tools and textiles. The economy transformed at the time from primarily agricultural to industrial, making use of its many rivers, and today old industrial cities are full of historic toxic contamination. Massachusetts has thousands of potential and identified hazardous waste sites awaiting cleanup, some of the worst air quality in the nation, and rivers and lakes polluted by industrial contaminants and toxic mercury. Asthma and cancer rates are some of the highest in the country, and both can be linked to environmental causes. Massachusetts is also plagued by economic disparities. Poor urban areas are often the most overburdened by toxic pollution.
Looking at the Concord water supply map, it's apparent that the Second Division Well is right next to the Starmet site at the west corner of the town, and more to that, three other wells (Jennie Dugan well, Robinson well, and Hugh Cargill well) are all within the same water resource protection area as the Second Division well.
Should I be panic?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackshaw
It is at the far end of a pretty spread out town, so most residents who are aware are likely well more than a mile away. I think Concord Center is probably 4 miles away and West Concord is 1.5+ miles away, I'd guess. Here is a map of where the water is drawn from (Concord, MA - Water Supply), but I don't know if the radiation from Starmet hits the water supply.
Looking at the Concord water supply map, it's apparent that the Second Division Well is right next to the Starmet site at the west corner of the town, and more to that, three other wells (Jennie Dugan well, Robinson well, and Hugh Cargill well) are all within the same water resource protection area as the Second Division well.
Should I be panic?
I don't think so because the Starmet site is downhill from the Second Division well. Look at a topo map. As I've posted before, Starmet is a vestige of the area's history as a powdermill dating way back to the 18th century. The "shot heard around the world" was almost certainly fired using gun powder from this area. Any contamination would almost immediately go into the Assabet and then downstream, away from any wells. Concord also rigorously tests its water and the data is readily available online.
I find it laughable when realtors on here post blanket statements about avoiding the entire western area of Concord but highly recommend the north end of Sudbury and south end of Acton. IF that area of Concord was under immediate threat, the areas of Sudbury, Acton, and Maynard that meet in a corner mere meters away would also be in the same boat.
Realtors usually don't tell the truth, from my personal experience, they tell you what you want to hear.
I agree that Acton, Sudbury, Maynard, and even Bedford and Lincoln are also subject to the existing or potential danger of Starmet.
So, the mentality is like: hey there are enough big wigs out there living in the same town, they are not worried so I shouldn't be worried either? It's just hard to believe, I mean people shop in Whole Foods paying premium for "whole" foods and yet inhale toxic elements!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cato the Elder
I don't think so because the Starmet site is downhill from the Second Division well. Look at a topo map. As I've posted before, Starmet is a vestige of the area's history as a powdermill dating way back to the 18th century. The "shot heard around the world" was almost certainly fired using gun powder from this area. Any contamination would almost immediately go into the Assabet and then downstream, away from any wells. Concord also rigorously tests its water and the data is readily available online.
I find it laughable when realtors on here post blanket statements about avoiding the entire western area of Concord but highly recommend the north end of Sudbury and south end of Acton. IF that area of Concord was under immediate threat, the areas of Sudbury, Acton, and Maynard that meet in a corner mere meters away would also be in the same boat.
Realtors usually don't tell the truth, from my personal experience, they tell you what you want to hear.
It's not necessarily about truth vs. falsehood, but getting the commission in hand asap. You can't blame them because it's how they get paid, but it's naive to think that a client's well-being has any primacy when the bottom line is at stake. Most agents in my experience will allow people to think this is the case, and at worst, the sleaziest ones will actually try to cultivate this fiction to their advantage. On the flipside, there are plenty of tools out there looking for house and you couldn't pay me enough to deal with them on a daily basis.
Is Lexington, MA also affected by radiation?
I read the recent water reports and see radium in drinking water
Don't know how much land based pollution is there in Lexington given that it is near Concord
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