Chemicals in water in ’90s linked to cancer
Toxic chemicals in Wilmington’s public water supply during the 1990s have been linked to elevated levels of childhood cancer during that time period, a study conducted by state health officials has found.
“I wish to express my deepest sympathies to the families who were forced to deal with a cancer diagnosis of a child. There is no more terrifying diagnosis,” Wilmington Town Manager Jeffrey Hull said in a statement.
An epidemiological investigation was launched in 1999 after concerned residents contacted the Massachusetts Department of Public Health about a cluster of childhood cancer.
The study found a link between pregnant moms’ exposure to cancer-causing compounds in contaminated water and the development of childhood cancer such as leukemia and lymphoma in their babies.
Two cases of childhood cancer were diagnosed in Wilmington between 1982 and 1989, and the study found a total of 22 Wilmington children diagnosed with cancer between 1990 and 2000, well above the expected case rate of about one per year.
The study focused on exposure to n-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a contaminant that came from a nowdefunct chemical manufacturing facility at 51 Eames St. in Wilmington.
Another analysis looked at exposure to trichloroethylene (TCE), which was also in the water during the time of the study and had an association with the cancer rates.
Since 2001, local childhood cancer rates returned to normal and the public water supply is no longer contaminated. Some underground wells in Wilmington still have NDMA, but were closed in 2003, according to DPH.
“We take the findings of this study very seriously and will be conferring with the Town’s environmental consultant, Geo Insight, to evaluate the findings before determining next steps,” Hull said.
The Eames Street manufacturing site was last bought by Olin Chemical Corp. in 1980 and is now managed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The site was placed on the EPA’s list of superfund sites slated for “immediate, intense attention” in April 2019 to facilitate cleanup.
The facility was used to produce blowing agents, stabilizers, antioxidants and other chemicals for the rubber and plastics industry. Before 1970, the chemicals were discharged into several unlined pits and ponds and waste percolated into the soil or overflowed into streams, according to the EPA.
The EPA cleanup plan includes constructing new groundwater extraction systems, excavating contaminated soil and sediment, and capturing and treating oily water and groundwater.
The Wilmington Board of Public Health declined to comment on the study results, but confirmed it had worked with DPH throughout the years on the matter.