What lies beneath Tufts Street?
By George P. Hassett

The soil at 50 Tufts St. is contaminated with harmful chemicals spreading to the surrounding East Somerville homes, according to a consulting firm hired to investigate the land.
  The pollutants most likely stem from the days when the address was used as a warehouse for the storage and transfer of tetrachloroethylene, a chemical used in the dry cleaning industry, said Ileen S. Gladstone, vice president of GEI, a Winchester-based environmental firm.

  ‚ÄúAfter storing chemicals for 50 years there was likely a lot of spillage on the property,‚Äù she said.
  In 2004, Father and Sons Moving Co., initiated an environmental investigation of the land as part of a deal to purchase it. What they found was a highly contaminated soil according to the Department of Environmental Protection. Since that time, state officials have been working with the Unifirst Corp., a previous owner of 50 Tufts St., and GEI Consultants to investigate the extent of the pollution, Gladstone said.
  GEI has also found contamination in the soil of nearby Morton Street and is setting up tests for Milton and Dell streets.
  ‚ÄúIf we find more contamination, we will widen the circle and go out further. We plan to chase it as far as we must to learn the boundaries,‚Äù Gladstone said.
  GEI plans to archive all case files in the city‚Äôs public library and to create a mailing list to inform residents of their street‚Äôs test results.
  Gladstone said the air contamination found in the Tufts Street neighborhood is at very low levels and pose no immediate health risks. The Unifirst Corp. has supplied the infected homes with air purifiers, while Gladstone and GEI investigate any long-term health risks for the people who live there.
  An April 3, 1980 phosphorus trichloride spill in the city is another possible factor in the infection of 50 Tufts Street, she said. The spill was the most dangerous in the history of the state, according to then Mayor Eugene C. Brune
  Ward 1 Alderman Bill Roche said in the past 20 years several neighborhood residents have died of cancer and questioned if there could be a connection. Gladstone said she was not aware of any relationship between the health problems of local residents and the close by contaminated property.
  Delores Devellis lives at 11 Tufts St., directly across the street from the diseased land. She said the news of polluted soil mere yards from her home initially frightened her.
  ‚ÄúIt was very scary, I didn‚Äôt know the extent of the damage. I have tenants and I was afraid I would lose all of my income,‚Äù she said.
Devellis said GEI and Unifirst helped allay her fears by meeting with Tufts Street residents and answering all questions.
  Gladstone said Unifirst owned the property for 10 years in the 1970s and 1980s. She said the company has been the only business to step up and take responsibility for the state of the property.
   ‚ÄúUnifirst has been a very good, responsible corporate citizen,‚Äù she said. ‚ÄúThey have been working diligently to investigate the site.‚Äù
   The DEP has also cited a local bank, Somerville Two, as being responsible for repair of the land. Somerville Two is the current property owner. The bank took possession of the land through mortgage default, and therefore bears less responsibility because of its status as a bank, said Gladstone. According to GEI, the bank has yet to match Unifirst‚Äôs commitment to cleaning the site.
Devellis said the bank must realize the effect its property could have on the people of East Somerville.
   ‚ÄúWe‚Äôre living with this danger all the time, why not go in, spend some money and just clean up the site? The bank should know our homes and livelihoods are affected by this,‚Äù she said.
Aldermen scheduled a Dec. 13 hearing to discuss the issue and planned to invite neighbors, bank representatives, GEI representatives and city officials.