Monday’s designation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of nearly four miles of Neponset River as Superfund sites was a step in initiating the Superfund status. A long-term solution to the cleanup of hazardous material in the riverThrough Milton and the Boston neighborhoods Hyde Park, Mattapan, and Dorchester
The lower section of the river has been polluted for decades by elevated levels of polychlorinated phenyls (a group of chemicals made by humans) that have been found in high concentrations. The EPA considers these “probable human cancergens”.Several studies have shown that they can cause cancer in animals.
David Cash, EPA Regional Administrator, described the designation as a win for local communities and the environment. “We now have a mechanism for addressing the contamination and sediment that has plagued this river for decades.” He made the announcement in a Mattapan park near the river, where he joined Senator Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Ayanna Pressureley, and Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
According to the EPA, an investigation of the site has been scheduled for before the end of the year. Cleanup could begin in late 2023, or 2024.
Wu stated that dangerous chemicals don’t belong in our water. They don’t belong in our communities.
In 2015, state environmental officials lobbied to include the 3.7-mile stretch along the river in the EPAs National Priorities List. Three years later, a preliminary evaluation was completed and the site was inspected by the EPA in 2019.
Pressley expressed gratitude to advocacy groups for their grassroots efforts in fighting for the review of the river’s contamination. The river runs through low-income neighborhoods.
Two-thirds of the nation’s Superfund locations are within one mile from public housing. This poses serious risks to Black, Brown, and low-income communities. Communities such as Dorchester and Hyde Park are home to many of their lowest-income Black siblings. “This is the meaning of environmental racism.
A bipartisan Infrastructure legislation was passed last year and invests $3.5 Billion in the Superfund Remedial Program.
Pressley said that we know that environmental racism can be stopped by prioritizing environmental justice. This is because it is intrinsically linked with racial and health justice.