Asbestos

• Asbestos protection ordinance (Cambridge MA) - full text
  Passed unanimously by Cambridge City Council on Nov. 1, 1999.
  
  Asbestos protection ordinance (Cambridge MA) - background
  Soil testing at W. R. Grace chemical plant revealed contamination requiring cleanup under Massachusetts Law. Neighbors pushed for extensive soil testing, while W. R. Grace maintained there was no reason to expect asbestos. Testing revealed various levels of asbestos contamination throughout the site, in areas which are planned for development and parking.
  
  Dangers of asbestos and laws related to asbestos are briefly described.
  
  
• Statements by Sam Lipson, Director of Environmental Health for the City of Cambridge - Ordinance Committee, August 25, 1999
  
  
• Grace's asbestos sampling plan is incomplete - 1998
  
  
• Asbestos manufactured at W. R. Grace site
  (under ownership and operation by Dewey and Almy)
  
  
• Analysis of Soil-Sampling Data Provided by Haley & Aldrich for W. R. Grace.
  
  
• Public health and contamination by asbestos
  
  
• Ordinance passed; link to Cambridge Chronicle, 11/3/99
  
  
• Cambridge Asbestos Protection Ordinance (draft - Oct. 25 1999)
  
  • Definitions
  • Jurisdiction
  • Soil sampling plan
  • Asbestos soil management plan
  • Access to property
  • Exemptions
  • Fees
  • Coordination with city departments
  • Enforcement and penalties
  • Regulations
  
  
• Cambridge Asbestos Protection Ordinance (draft - early Oct. 1999)
  
  
• Relation of the Asbestos Ordinance to other existing legislation
  
  
• Protecting Kids from Asbestos - why children are more vulnerable - 1999
  
  
• 453 CMR DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIES 6.00: THE REMOVAL, CONTAINMENT OR ENCAPSULATION OF ASBESTOS
  
  
• Links - health risks, legal actions, and W. R. Grace

Brief introductions, detailed news reports (updated regularly), photographs and descriptions of people with mesothelioma (cancer) or asbestosis.

Contact the Alewife Study Group, North Cambridge Massachusetts, by email at information@alewife.org