Hooray for the union representing Department of Public Works employees working at Memorial Hall. I felt so encouraged reading Fred Thys’s article about the temporary closing of the hall due to the [alleged] presence of silica dust. Union president Dale Weber voiced the identical concerns about silica dust – a carcinogen known to cause severe and even fatal respiratory problems – as the citizens of Plymouth, Carver, and other South Shore communities have brought to zoning boards of appeal, earth removal and town planning committee hearings.
And today I read Chloe Yu‘s letter voicing the same concern: silica dust is a carcinogen and we don’t want to be forced to breathe it. [I have included] a photo taken during a high wind event in my neighborhood in Carver last year, where we abut a large A.D. Makepeace sand mine. In response, Makepeace offered to sweep our streets free of sand (our board of directors accepted the offer).
The response from the Town of Plymouth, this time from Town Manager Derek Brindisi, is the same as that of the aforementioned boards and committees, basically saying we’re making a big deal out of nothing, that they would never agree to expose us to health risks. Thys’s article is such a great example of what I wrote about just two days ago – risking health and environmental well-being to turn a profit. Fortunately, in the case of the Memorial Hall crew, health concerns predominate. One of many examples of the importance of unions.
A.D. Makepeace representatives sought to calm the concerns of people in my neighborhood, living next door to their sand mine. At that meeting I asked their engineer if Makepeace had sampled the sand to determine its silica content. He said they had not and proudly stated, “I know sand and there’s no silica in that sand.”
I am heartened by the union’s actions, by Chloe Yu’s letter, by all the residents of South Shore communities who have stood up and tried to stop big business from poisoning us and destroying natural habitat for untold number of creatures. I hope that our actions will encourage others to do the same. I agree with Yu’s call for town officials and state legislatures to support the two bills on Beacon Hill calling for a moratorium on sand mining to study its effects.
– Linda Jacobs