When I arrived at the Poetry Center in the Sawyer Library I knew this talk was going to be very informative and important for the students due to the location and the increase in attendance. What I did not know is the famous case that Jack Guswa was going to discuss nor did I know that a movie was produced because of its famous court case. A Civil Action is what it was called. It is interesting because at the end of the day, it seems like no action really was done. The purpose of the court case was to find the companies and factories that were responsible for the chemicals that have found its way into the drinking water for the residents of the town that eventually got sick. Jack Guswa said that the Judge did not want to have these individuals in the trial, as it would give too much sympathy to the jury and they might overlook the facts. The Judge wanted to make sure that the facts were straight, that there were companies to blame for the chemicals that seeped into the water supply, and that those specific chemicals can cause the illnesses that the residents have been complaining about for years. To me this makes a lot of sense and I agree with the Judge’s implications, but what I did not agree is that at the end of the day, no one was found responsible for these illnesses. It is obvious that the contamination that has found its way in the Nashua River has also found its way in the drinking wells and they were derived from the manufacturing practices that have been conducted in the area for over a hundred years. The problem with this case is that the pollution has come from a non-point source. This means that you might have an idea where it came from but there is no real way of determining where it exactly came from. In the court law, you cannot assume things, you need proof. Non-point source pollution does not have the proof to link a company or a factory to the pollution. This is why it was so difficult to link the factories malpractices to the illnesses to the residents in the town of Woburn. It sadly shows that justice is not always served in the court of law. It would be nice if the factories admitting from their wrong doings and gave money back into the community to help aid those who have been sick from the wrongdoings of their own actions. It would be honorable for them to claim responsibility.
The town received most of their drinking water from two wells that were placed not far from the Nashua River. This is common practice for wells, as they usually take in water from the river, but allow the ground to filter most of the pathogens and bacteria that is usually found in surface water. The Nashua River at that time was one of the most contaminated waterways in the entire United States, making the well very vulnerable from contamination. My wastewater design class talked about wells and how they are constructed and how they function. They work by a theory called “cone of depression,” which draws in water around the well creating a cone shape, hence the name. This cone of depression draws water into the well, usually drawing water from local rivers, which allows the water to go through the filtration process I have already mentioned. If the Jury in this case were educated in hydrology, hydraulics, and environmental engineering, they would have understood this principle. The reason why I am giving you this information is because one of the other people who were challenging Mr. Guswa’s expertise was saying that the well was not drawing water from the Nashua River. If you had the level of education I have previously stated, you would know that was a false statement, especially after Mr. Guswa and other agencies did a study and found out that when the wells were on, the total flow of the river decreased, meaning that the water had to go somewhere else. That water went to the wells, and the water contained many harmful VOCs, and that water got many people sick. To me, it is plain and simple. In the court of law, it does not seem to be the case, and the people did not get the justice they deserve.