jesse christianson: The case of the Woburn toxic trail (A Civil Action)

“Several people of a small town are affected by two deaths of children due to leukemia. In 1982 a year after her son’s death Donna Robbins, Anne Anderson and six other families sued companies W.R. Grace & Co. and Beatrice Foods Inc. claiming that the companies had been dumping toxic chemicals into water sources. Jan Schlichtmann and three other lawyers from a small town law firm are put to the challenge of proving this accusation and case. Jan keeps the case and refuses to quit on his clients so they may get their money (even though it was to everyone considered to be a non-profiting case). However the sum of money was so large, so Jan goes to a higher company which he is in agreement with but there not easy to contact or cooperate. Jan and his colleagues face each other with struggle using everything, eventually frustrated of no success after several years and no money coming in Jan’s three colleagues leave him and move on. Eventually a surprise comes across jan in 1991.”

1979 had the largest daily discharge which was a discharge of 950 cfs compared to 1987’s daily discharge of aprox. 795 cfs. So data shown dose prove that there is something and someone adding major chemicals in to the water that are hazardous to human health. The case of the Woburn toxic trail is long over now. Jan Schlichtmann continued being a lawyer after word instead of other cases he became more involved with health and environmental cases. The most interesting is perhaps this link: http://serc.carleton.edu/files/woburn/resources/drobinski_field_map_1985.pdf

If you zoom in you will see many labels some which are simple ones such as “rusty can or metal and scrap pile”, scientific such as “200 ppm (parts per million) of a substance or something, and coordinates or something like “SP-13”. Clearly during the 1980’s and before Woburn was a very wasteland like area wet from the wild life wet lands and dirt dark from thick peat and fallen leaves, garbage here and there it would be a very depressing sight for me to see. Over all the big point of the toxic problem in Woburn is not that companies polluted and refused casually to admit it. It should be based on fact and moral which the fact was they were the cause and the EPA finalized a $69.5 million settlement with five responsible parties for the cleanup of the Wells G & H Superfund Site. The responsible parties were Beatrice foods, W.R. Grace, UniFirst, Hemingway Trucking, and New England Plastics. Lastly is never give up in something in which you believe in, be selfish, don’t let go of what you desire most. Jan Schlichtmann is that man who lived by a moral somewhat like this he lost his money, his law firm, and colleagues. Most of all he never gave up

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