Conference 7.286::maynard

The Fort Devens Sudbury Annex was declared a Superfund Site in 1989 because 
EPA and the Army had confirmed at least twelve definite hazardous waste dumps 
in the Annex.  According to various EPA and Army studies done over the
years on the Annex, there are approximately 50 more sites that have not yet 
been identified for clean-up under Superfund.  

The military used the Annex for a variety of activities from the early '40's 
to today.  During WWII, it was used primarily as an ammunition storage 
facility.  During the 50's, 60's, and 70's it was used for development and
testing of military field equipment (blankets, chemical warfare suits, food 
packaging).  It was also used for disposal of weapons from various military 
agencies, including the Watertown Arsenal where new and exotic weapons were 
developed. Now it is primarily used for storage of old stuff and training of 
troops from Fort Devens and the National Guard.

The contaminants known to be contained within the Annex come under a few 
classifications: pesticides; herbicides; volatile organic compounds; bases, 
neutrals, and acids; metals; petroleums; war chemicals; and possibly
radiocatives. 

Pesticides & Herbicides
_______________________

D.D.T., Ureabor (a pre-emergent defoliant), Agent Orange (suspected, 
unconfirmed), Kepone (carcinogenic pesticide)

Volatile Organics
_________________

Methylene Chloride (paint stripper), Tetra Chloroethylene (degreasing agent 
and cleaning fluid), Acetone, an assortment of others

Bases, Neutrals, Acids
______________________

Phthalates (plasticizers), Alcohols, Phenol, Fluorene, etc.

Metals
______

Arsenic, Copper, Lead, Chromium, Manganese, Zinc

Petroleums
__________

Oil, PCB's, various fuels from fire academy testing (jet fuel, etc)

War Chemicals
_____________

Mustard Gas, RDX (an explosive and a rat poison), explosives, possibly nerve 
gas.

Radioactives
____________

We know cobalt-60 (a radiocactive source used in medical research and for 
radiation therapy) was owned by Natick Labs and that they planned to store it 
in the bunkers inside the Annex.  We have not been able to confirm whether 
this is on the site or not.  

    Hmm - I don't know but whether I'm sorry I asked ...
    
    Steve, what is the source of your info?
    
    Gene

    Before Steve has a chance to answer .2, let me say that his wife,
    Cindy, is absolutely THE local source of knowledge on what's in 
    the Ammo Dump.  She has spent hundreds and hundreds of hours digging
    out information from all the various government agencies involved
    in the dumping.  The biggest problem she has faced is that no one
    agency is solely responsible for the mess.   Each agency involved 
    knows of it's own involvement, but there is little coordination
    among the various Government agencies that could come up with a
    single site plan.  Cindy has had to go to each one for it's piece of 
    the puzzle and has had to try to put the pieces together by hand.  
    She has been helped by a few concerned citizens in Maynard and 
    surrounding towns, but Cindy has clearly been the focal point and has 
    done an outstanding.
    
    Steve, perhaps you could fill everyone in on the Citizens Group that
    has been formed to address this issue?
    
    _____________________________________________________________________  
    In my opinion, while many people in Maynard are focused on Regional-
    ization of our Schools, on the difficulties of the financial condition
    of our Town and on whether the Downtown will ever be "revitalized",
    the single most important issue that we in Maynard will have to deal
    with in this decade is the condition of the 2 SQUARE MILES of Maynard
    that has been used as a dumping ground for hazardous waste by our
    Federal Government for over 45 years!  This is the land that many of
    us thought would be the recreation/conservation land for our children
    and our grandchildren..... 
    
    I don't mean to alarm you all, because the situation is not hopeless,
    and in fact, most if not all of the sites have been identified and 
    can be removed, but time is the enemy, since there is evidence that
    surrounding groundwater is beginning to show traces of some of this
    waste.  We all need to get involved in this and yell real loud that
    we want someone in the Federal Government to take ownership and get
    this problem corrected.
    
    The worst thing we can do is to do nothing....
    
    Frank  
      

    Frank, both Cindy and I thank you for your kind words.
    
    Cindy has done a great deal of work researching the superfund dumps in
    the Annex, but other people have done so, too.
    
    The citizens group is FOCUS, Families Organized to Clean Up Sites.
    We have members in the four towns affected by the annex: Maynard,
    Stow, Hudson, and Sudbury.  FOCUS was formed when Cindy and other
    people in Maynard were opposing the Mass Air National Guard's
    proposed training center in the Annex, across the street from
    White's Pond, where Maynard gets about half its water.  They met a
    group from Stow and Hudson which had been looking at the pollution in
    Lake Boon (and had determined that the pollution was coming from the
    Annex). Debbie Schumann has been particularly active there, and in
    FOCUS since it was formed.
    
    I would like to go on about the toxic waste in the Annex, but I've
    been so busy at work lately, that it has caused a serious decline in my
    notesfile activity.  Perhaps after I get a couple of customer problems
    resolved.
    
    -Steve

It's been too long since I've been in this topic.

.2>    Steve, what is the source of your info?
.2>    
.2>    Gene

The information comes from Army, EPA, DEP, and other government studies.

Of the original 68 sites identified, it now appears that only 65 are
likely to be real toxic waste sites. 

The main concern is water supply; eight sites are within 700 feet of Whites
Pond, Maynard's primary water supply, including an aviation fuel test site.

Also, back of Green Meadow, the Army gave land to the town of Maynard
for a well.  They also gave us two toxic waste sites, thought they are
on the list to be cleaned up.  That well is not currently in use; the
water reportedly has excessive metals, though I don't know what kind. 
Municipal wells for Hudson and Sudbury are reasonably close to waste
sites, as are private wells in Stow. 

What happens to the Annex after it's cleaned up?  Fort Devens owns it now.
Will it be cleaned up, and then given to another military agency to be
dumped on again?

The best proposal I've heard for the Annex after cleanup is to turn it
into a wildlife refuge, like Great Meadows in Sudbury, owned by the
Federal Fisheries and Wildlife.  That way, it won't get polluted, and it
will be maintained; the Feds appear to do a good job of that.

We're trying to get the four towns to endorse the idea.  If they do, 
then Rep. Chet Atkins will file legislation to fund a study under
Fisheries and Wildlife, so they can decide if they like the place.
There's a good chance this will work; Fisheries and Wildlife looks
to aquire land with varied habitats, and the annex has wetlands, ponds,
meadows, and hills.  And quite a bit of wildlife, as was reported in 
note 221.170.  There are a couple of biologists are work finding 
threatened species.  So far they've found two kinds of rare turtles, and
a couple kinds of threatened salamanders, and some unusual birds.

Anyway, I'm going to create a new note to get the attention of anyone
who decided this was getting tedious and hit N for NEXT...

                            TAKE A WALK FOR WILDLIFE
                              Saturday, May 9, 1992

	Support the community effort to designate the Annex a wildlife
	refuge!  Come and take a walk in the Annex on Saturday morning
	and find out why this land should be protected.  The Walk is 
	about 3.6 miles on a trail through woods, wetlands, and around 
	Puffer Pond.  The habitat is varied and the birds are abundant.
	The trail is not suitable for strollers or wheel chairs.  All 
	kids under 14 must have an adult with them.  It would be wise to 
	wear appropriate clothing and insect repellent to avoid deer
	ticks. 

	Registration for the Walk starts at 9:30 a.m. at the Army Guard
	gate on Hudson Road in Sudbury.  At 10 am, we will have a 
	pre-walk rally with Congressman Chet Atkins as our primary 
	speaker.  The Walk will start promptly at 10:30, no late 
	arrivals will be allowed (after all this is the Army).

	For directions to the Guard gate, or other information, call
	Cindy at 897-6160. 

    Check out the Boston Pheonix cover article on Military toxic waste
    sites in New England.  Our own Sudbury Annex is one of many described.
    While we're on the subject of the Annex...
    
                            TAKE A WALK FOR WILDLIFE
                             Saturday, May 22, 1992

    Support the community effort to designate the Annex a wildlife refuge! 
    The second annual Walk For Wildlife is this Saturday, May 22nd.  Take a
    walk in the Annex and find out why this land should be protected.  The
    Walk is about 3.6 miles on a trail through woods, wetlands, and around
    Puffer Pond.  The habitat is varied and the birds are abundant. The
    trail is not suitable for strollers or wheel chairs.  All kids under 14
    must have an adult with them.  You should wear clothing and shoes
    appropriate for a trail.  Insect repellent is strongly recommended.

    This year, we have an ornithologist and a botanist on the tour.

    Registration for the Walk starts at 9:30 a.m. at the Army Guard gate on
    Hudson Road in Sudbury.  At 10:15 we step off. No late arrivals will be
    allowed (after all this is the Army).

    For directions to the Guard gate, or other information, call Cindy at
    897-6160. 

    Bring your camera and join Four Town FOCUS on their third annual "Take
    a Walk for Wildlife" on Saturday, May 14, 1994 at 9:30 AM in the Fort
    Devens Training Annex.  This Walk, sponsored by FOCUS and made possible
    by fort Devens, is approximately 3.6 miles long.  The Annex contains
    some of the most beautiful and unusual wildlife habitat in the
    communities of Maynard, Stow, Hudson, and Sudbury.  Last year's Walk
    was a great success, with about 75 people attending. 

    Maynard residents are especially encouraged to attend the Walk to see
    the Annex wetlands, the subject of a citizens' petition for the Maynard
    Town Meeting on May 16.  Town Meeting attendees will be asked to vote
    on a resolution that directs the Board of Selectmen to advocate for the
    cleanup of the Annex and the future designation of the Annex as a
    wildlife refuge.  The Walk is your opportunity to see what you will be
    voting on. 

    We will meet, rain or shine, at the Army Guard Gate on Hudson Road in
    Sudbury at 9:30 AM.  The Walk is free and everyone is invited.  Most
    trails are unpaved and are inappropriate for baby strollers.  We must
    ask that all children under 14 are accompanied by an adult.  Also, we
    highly recommend wearing tall socks and bringing insect repellent. 

    For more information about the Walk, please call Cindy Ruzich at
    897-6160. 

    Is the area that is going to be covered by the walk normally open to
    the public or is it restricted (except for guided tours)?
    
    Jim

.9>    Is the area that is going to be covered by the walk normally open to
.9>    the public or is it restricted (except for guided tours)?

Restricted - It's an Army base, so the Army has to have a reason to let you in. 

Most of the local people who go into the Annex go there to fish in Puffer Pond.
Fishing is done on a catch-and-release basis.  Unless you really like the
taste of mercury, releasing the fish is a good idea.

The official way to obtain permission is to go to Ft. Devens in Ayer, and
get it in writing.  In fact, people say that if they go up to the Annex guard
gate on Hudson Road in Sudbury, and show the guard their fishing license, he
has always let them in. 

There are also people who fly radio-controlled model airplanes.
They've been going in as a group for some time, so the guard knows then.

If you have any questions about access, probably the best thing to do is
call Tom Strunk at Ft. Devens, at 796-3839.  Tom is the project manager for the
cleanup; he's a civilian working for the Army, and he's a reasonable guy.  He
can either answer your questions, or refer you to the right person to ask. 

-Steve