Newspaper articles by Dan Kennedy (and more links)
www2.shore.net/~dkennedy/woburn.html
"From 1979 to 1989 I worked as a staff reporter and editor for the Daily Times
Chronicle, of Woburn, Massachusetts. During this time I covered
the Woburn toxic-waste lawsuit, a landmark federal case brought by eight families
who accused industries of contaminating their water, causing illness and death.
I have also written about the case for the Boston Phoenix, where I have worked since
1991. ... Below are some of my more significant Woburn-related articles."
(quoted from the site)
Website, including articles, copyright Dan Kennedy.
Newspaper articles by Charles C. Ryan (and more links)
www.northshoreonline.com/woburn/
"... some of the early investigative stories from 1979-1981 written by Charles C. Ryan that provided the foundation for the
lawsuit filed by eight Woburn families, which ultimately resulted in the book A
Civil Action by Jonathan Harr..."
(quoted from the site)
Articles copyright Charles C. Ryan, The Daily Times Chronicle & Essex
County Newspapers.
EPA Wells G & H Superfund Site
link no longer works - info provided for access to source's archives: www.epa.gov/region01/remed/sfsites/wellsgh.html
United States Environmental Protection Agency of site that includes W. R. Grace.
"Backgrounder...Overview ...Timeline...The Settlement...Fact Sheet...Site Summary
...Photographs...Map...Contacts"
(quoted from the site)
Massachusetts official health assessment
www.magnet.state.ma.us/dph/beha/woburn.htm
"The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) and the Bureau of Environmental
Health Assessment (BEHA) ... provide a history of our
involvement in ... Woburn, Massachusetts. ... [The] study on Childhood Leukemia which ...
became final in 1997 after a public comment period ... suggests
that 'the risk of developing childhood leukemia was greater for a child whose mother
drank water from contaminated wells while pregnant with the child.'
... The staff at MDPH and BEHA are continually updating this site."
(quoted from the site)
Zonolite / W. R. Grace asbestos-tainted vermiculite mine - Libby, Montana
(Zonolite was the predecessor to W. R. Grace.)
Alphabetically, by source
ABC TV 20/20 coverage...
Interviews with workers and wives who have asbesteosis, Apr. 7 2000
link no longer works - info provided for access to source's archives: www.abcnews.go.com/onair/popoff/000407libby_video_popoff/index.html
(link is to a brief part of this segment of the show).
"Asbestos-contaminated vermiculite was transported by train from Libby, Montana to cities all
over the country. In Minneapolis, Minnessota many of the men who worked at the processing
facility have died of asbestos-related diseases."
(quoted from the website text)
(Text and video copyrighted property of ABC News/Starwave Partners)
Billerica Minuteman coverage...
"
Former Billerica plant linked to tainted ore" March 1, 2000
www.townonline.com/northwest/billerica/news/newBIasbestos_0302_7.1_4.html
"...the Environmental Protection Agency plans to conduct soil tests around the North Billerica
plant and at a W.R. Grace facility in Easthampton."
(quoted from the article)
(Article copyright Community Newspaper Company)
Boston Globe coverage...
"
Agencies to probe former W.R. Grace sites ...in Massachusetts", March 1, 2000
As of December 2004, it appears this article is no longer available online: www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/061/metro/Agencies_to_probe_former_W_R_Grace_sites+.shtml
"The Department of Environmental Protection will conduct soil tests around the former
plants in North Billerica and Easthampton. The Department of Public Health, which already
examined cancer rates around the Easthampton plant, now plans to study them in North
Billerica."
..."
Candor on asbestos, Feb. 18, 2000 editorial
link no longer works - info provided for access to source's archives: www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/049/editorials/Candor_on_asbestos+.shtml - - search www.boston.com Boston Globe Archive for candor on asbestos - reading the article requires payment.
"W. R. Grace Co. is not a name to inspire confidence when it
comes to environmental hazards. ... The company can restore some of its credibility
by assisting homeowners in identifying suspect materials and paying for tests to
evaluate the extent of any problem."
(quoted from the article)
...
on homeowner's testing for Zonolite insulation, Feb. 15, 2000
As of December 2004, it appears this article is no longer available online: www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/046/metro/Worried_homeowners_told_to_have_insulation_tested+.shtml
"Homeowners who suspect they may have Zonolite Attic Insulation in their homes,
a product that contains asbestos, should have it tested, the Boston office of
the federal Environmental Protection Agency said yesterday."
(quoted from the article)
...on selling Zonolite insulation, Feb. 14, 2000
link no longer works - info provided for access to source's archives: www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/045/metro/Grace_Co_fought_asbestos_label+.shtml - search www.boston.com Boston Globe Archive for zonolite grace label - reading the article requires payment.
"Grace Co. fought asbestos label...Insulation maker feared that a warning would hurt
sales, records show...W. R. Grace Co. sold millions of bags of home attic insulation
that contained asbestos, but the company never warned the public, documents
obtained by the Globe show."
(quoted from the article)
Articles copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company
New England Cable News Feb. 14 stories on Boston Globe Feb. 14 article (requires RealVideo)
A story
www.necn.com/vidload/?vidname=/2000/02/14/1830lc01
Another story
www.necn.com/vidload/?vidname=/2000/02/14/1200lc01
Daily Hampshire Gazette coverage
Chemist seeks truth in backyard March 14, 2000
link no longer works - info provided for access to source's archives: www.gazettenet.com/03142000/news/22884.htm
"(EASTHAMPTON) - Through the lace covered windows of Michael E. De Cheke's
Main Street home... one can see the outlines of W.R. Grace & Co.'s
former Zonolite plant."
(quoted from the article)
Includes links to a map and to earlier stories.
Copyright Daily Hampshire Gazette
(GazetteNET covers the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts.)
Environmental News Service coverage
Photos of Libby mine and of tremolite
link no longer works - info provided for access to source's archives: www.ens.lycos.com/ens/feb2000/2000L-02-15-06.html
"company photo from 1970s shows the Libby mine still in operation"
"A polarized image of tremolite, magnified 100 times, shows the typical long fibers of the mineral"
("The
Environment News Service
(ENS) is the original daily international wire service
of the environment. Established in 1990 by Editor-in-Chief Sunny Lewis and Managing
Editor Jim Crabtree, it is independently owned and operated, and is not affiliated
with any business, industry, government or environmental group.
The Environment News Service (ENS) exists to present late-breaking environmental
news in a fair and balanced manner."
link no longer works - info provided for access to source's archives: www.ens.lycos.com/aboutens.html
As of December 2004 the ENS website is www.ens-news.com/. They require paid subscriptions. It is not clear if they maintain an archive.
Hunter College of the City University of New York,
Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Program, Professor J. Caravanos
Historical Asbestos Comments link no longer works - info provided for access to source's archives: www.hunter.cuny.edu/health/eohs/asbcmnts.html
- quotes from asbestos-related companies, including W. R. Grace / Zonolite.
Missoulian (Missoula, Montana) coverage
Search for Missoulian's articles
www.missoulian.com/archives/index.inn
Enter "Grace" into the word one search box
Enter "asbestos" into the word two search box
Be sure and is the selected choice between the two search boxes.
The search will also produce articles from Associated Press.
Multinational Monitor's 10 worst corporations of 1999 includes W. R. Grace
http://multinationalmonitor.org/mm1999/mm9912.05.html
The Multinational Monitor (Washington, D.C.) selected W. R. Grace based on
asbestos deaths and disease from the Libby mine.
"Since 1984, 187 civil actions have been filed against Grace on behalf of Libby's miners and their families, the paper reported.
There are 120 cases pending. In the others, Grace has either been found liable and been ordered to pay damages in a jury trial, or it settled out of court, often shortly before the trial was to begin, the paper reported."
(quoted from the site)
New York Time's coverage
Montana Town Grapples With Asbestos Ills, May 10 2000
www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/051000sci-environ-montana.html
"When W. R. Grace & Company sold them the 21-acre site ... Mel and Lerah Parker were ecstatic
... Now, the [nursery] business is closed, and bulldozers will soon raze everything on the land..."
(quoted from the website)
Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company
Mesothelioma Conference
- Notes from the Fourth International Mesothelioma Interest Group Conference, May 13-15, 1997
www.mesothel.com/pages/mesonots.htm
"The Libby whitewash. Ed Ilgren, a W. R. Grace consultant,
spoke about the incidence of disease in Libby, Montana, home of the W. R. Grace/Zonolite Co."
is part of this.
"The jury's logic in awarding $250,000 was because it was proven in court that W. R. G
could have built a change/shower room facility years ago that would have saved a lot
of lives of family members."
dated January 7, 1999
Seattle Post-Intelligencer articles, starting in 1999
www.seattle-pi.com/uncivilaction/
"Asbestos from a now-closed vermiculite mine on a mountain near Libby has killed 192
people and left at least 375 with fatal diseases. Doctors say the people of Libby
will keep dying for decades"
"The W. R. Grace Co. knew, from the time it bought the Zonolite vermiculite mine in
1963, why the people in Libby were dying. But for the 30 years it owned the mine,
the company did not stop it. Neither did the governments."
(quoted from two pages on the site)
Articles copyright Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
The Daily Inter Lake articles, starting in 1999 and updated regularly
As of December 2004 it appears these articles are no longer online.
www.dailyinterlake.com/grace/index.html
"An overview of life-and-death lawsuits against a former mining company in
Libby, Montana."
"The W. R. Grace Co. knew, from the time it bought the Zonolite vermiculite mine in
1963, why the people in Libby were dying. But for the 30 years it owned the mine,
the company did not stop it. Neither did the governments."
(quoted from two pages on the site)
Articles copyright Daily Inter Lake.
USA Today. Feb 1, 2000. pg. 08.A
"Town clenched in suffocating grip of asbestos", Feb. 1, 2000
"Helen Bundrocks watched her husband, Art, suffer and die from the consequences of breathing
asbestos at the mine where he worked..."
(quoted from the article)
Copyright 2000 USA Today, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
The USA Today website prevents direct links to an article. Search on "Helen Bundrocks" at
http://www.usatoday.com
There is a charge for the full article.
Multibestos / W. R. Grace asbestos manufacturing - Walpole, MA
(Multibestos was the predecessor to W. R. Grace.)
Detailed government report
atsdr1.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/PHA/blackburn/bup_toc.html
"September 29, 1995 Prepared by The Bureau of Environmental Health Assessment Massachusetts Department
of Public Health Under a cooperative agreement with The Agency for Toxic Substance
and Disease Registry"
(quoted from the site)
Maps and W. R. Grace's comments are in
appendix A
atsdr1.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/PHA/blackburn/bup_p4.html
Asbestos history of W. R. Grace, with documents
As of December 2004, it appears this web page is no longer available online (however, the alternate page - see below - is still online):
Documents and commentary from Prof. David Egilman, Brown University
www.brown.edu/Courses/Bio_Community_Health168C/gracedoc.html
An alternate page on the same website is:
Biological Community Health 168C from Prof. David Egilman, Brown University
www.brown.edu/Courses/Bio_Community_Health168C/index.html
"David Egilman is a very peculiar professor for several reasons: he is part medical
practitioner, part professor of Biology and Community Health 168, section 5,
“Occupational and Environmental Health,” and part expert witness against the asbestos
industry. Egilman testifies against members of the industry—firms that mine asbestos,
those that make the final product, distributors, retailers, installers, and,
significantly, those corporations that provide insurance to the aforementioned groups.
It is an industry that Egilman believes deceives workers and consumers about the deadly
nature of the seemingly innocent asbestos fiber." (quoted from
Witness testimony Professor David Egilman fights the asbestos industry
www.netspace.org/indy/issues/4.8.99/current/news3.html
by Markus Nystrom)
Find W. R. Grace information on the "mesothel" site
(brief items not listed above, under Grace / Zonolite, and future substantial items),
by searching for
"W. R.Grace" or "W. R. Grace" or "WRG" (searches for "Grace" include results with the word grace)
www.mesothel.com/SiteSearch.htm
"Can The New England Journal of Medicine be up to some old and long-discredited tricks...
with a long-discredited company such as W. R. Grace?"
link no longer works - info provided for access to source's archives (it appears the archive on this website goes back only 1 year): www.igc.org/trac/corner/worldnews/other/oldtricks.html
"So who is Jerry H. Berke and why is he so anxious to convince the readers of The New England
Journal of Medicine that (a) there is no cancer epidemic, and (b) it can't possibly be related
to exposure to toxic chemicals and pesticides in the environment? Dr. Berke is the Director of
Medicine and Toxicology for W. R. Grace & Company, of New York City, one of the nation's largest
chemical manufacturers." (quoted from the website)
copyright 1997 Paul Brodeur/ Bill Ravanesi
