Community Corner

We Are Entitled to Full-Disclosure of Soil Contaminents

Windsor resident Douglas Woods read the following to the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission and Dollar Tree representatives Thursday evening during a scheduled public hearing:

Enough!  I can’t believe we are here again this evening in a continued discussion as to whether this project should move forward.  While I understand the potential tax revenue the project means to the town, I still find it unconscionable that members of the town council could even consider 1) approving the tax abatement and 2) the construction of this project without having all of the facts at hand-specifically the level of concentrations of pesticides present in the soil of the proposed construction site,  the over-saturation of the wetlands as a result of this project,  and a full evaluation of pollution levels (truck noise, diesel fumes, etc by a certified traffic engineer- not by a group of volunteers on a few town committees.

The overwhelming concern of myself and other residents in this area is the long standing presence of known carcinogen-causing pesticides in the land on the proposed building site. The site has been used agriculturally for farming for the past 50 some odd years. It is public record that the existing landowner- Griffin Land has used both chlordane and dieldrin as pesticides during this entire time.  (Chlordane was discontinued for use in 1988 after being classified as a known carcinogen by the EPA).  Our concern is that if construction begins on the site, these pesticides will be released not only into the air but also seepage will take place into the aquifer below which is the water source for our residential drinking wells including mine.  I live within a quarter mile of the proposed site- others within 150-200 feet.  On several occasions, I have noticed farm workers working in this same field with entire white suits covering their bodies as well as respirators for breathing- yet Mr. Simon, Mr. Trinks and others in the town council sit here calm as can be this evening and tell us there are
no health concerns that we should be worried about?  

As residents, we have repeatedly asked the Town of Windsor, Griffin Land, and Dollar Tree for results of soil and land issues but with no success.  We are legally entitled to this information- hence the presence of Attorney Ainsworth here this evening- in the event you haven’t met.   If the soil is free of contaminants, why are Griffin Land and Dollar Tree afraid to release the information??  In a phone conversation with Eric Barz Windsor Town Planner  it was stated that " even the Town of Windsor is not getting information as to contaminants from Dollar Tree and Terracon as there is a non-disclosure agreement between Dollar Tree and Griffin Land". Under the Freedom of Information act, we as residents  are entitled to full disclosure of all contaminants present in the soil as well as an "unbiased" professional study to disclose all environmental hazards present before any construction could be contemplated. We also believe that these contaminants if released into the atmosphere in the form of dust during a 14 month construction project will be DEADLY to our families, children, pets, and quality of life.  We are not talking roto-tilling the land for one to two days but a continuous onslaught of toxic dust.  My research has also demonstrated that these pesticides- Chlordane and Dieldrin become even more reactive when the soil is upturned and further reactive when exposed to sunlight.

On a side note, I called the town health department this past Wednesday to inquire about any well water testing that has been done in our area.  While I was not able to speak with Dr. Petrillo about this, I did speak with someone in his office who stated that they had no information in town records about any well water testing that had been done in this neighborhood (conveniently) - specifically to test for pesticides such as the Chlordane and Dieldren that Griffin Land has admitted are present in the soil.  In informed him that I was having an independent test of our well water on Karen Circle to establish a “baseline” in the event there is any future contamination as a result of this construction project.  He stated, “I don’t blame you; I would do the same thing myself”.   I hired a private laboratory to conduct the tests this past week. 

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To summarize, I want to thank all of you for turning a blind eye to the welfare of the local residents in order to promote your business agenda and fastrack this site for immediate construction.  While there are several alternative sites in the town of Windsor (Combustion Engineering and a soon to be vacant Fed Ex building a quarter of a mile away) you have specifically chosen to rape and ravage our neighborhood, families, plant, and wildlife.

Thank you,

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Douglas Woods


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