Residents voice concerns about toxic waste at meeting

By Jordan Mazza

DARTMOUTH, MA (WLNE) — Dartmouth residents are voicing concerns about toxic waste found in their neighborhood.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection held an informational meeting at Dartmouth High School Thursday night.

“This is a project that we take very seriously,” said Gerard Martin, a deputy regional director for the D.E.P. who led the meeting.

It all started when a developer building a new house in the Bliss Corner neighborhood found toxic waste there this past summer. The D.E.P. says there could be decades of waste on the site, dating back to as early as the 1930s.

Leila Teixeira lives three doors down from that spot. Her family applied for construction permits and spent thousands of dollars on their home months after the toxins were found. She wonders why no one told her sooner.

“That was a home that we planned on living in a very long time with our kids,” Teixeira said. “And it makes me really sad.”

The D.E.P. says it will be boring holes at sites throughout the neighborhood to see if the contamination has spread.

In the mean time, they’re advising residents to avoid digging holes on their own properties.

The agency also says it’s examining records to determine who might be responsible for the waste — and therefore responsible for funding its cleanup.

But residents say they still have more questions than answers.

“I think it’s frustrating because people did come here for concrete answers,” said Michael Cordeiro. “And sometimes they just weren’t there.”

The questions are leaving residents in limbo.

“This is a place that we called home,” Teixeira said. “And we can’t enjoy it now.”

The D.E.P. says it’s still very early, but the entire process could take years to complete.

(c) WLNE-TV 2019