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Donna Robbins


Robbie (age 9), Kevin (age 6), and Donna Robbins

Woburn, MA

It has been 20 years since the city of Woburn was diagnosed with toxic well water that was responsible for the illness and deaths of many people, especially children with Leukemia.

My son, Robbie, was one of those children. He was diagnosed in 1976 at the age of four, and died in 1981 at the age of nine. He never had the opportunity to grow up, or to ever know who was responsible for poisoning the water he drank and bathed in. I am sure he would be unforgiving to know it was the irresponsible corporations who found it easier and less expensive to dump toxins in their backyards.

Since 1979 the water wells were permanently closed to public consumption, when it was discovered that corporate toxins, such as TCE, were seeping into the drinking water. Water that we trusted to be pure. The aquifer which fed the wells continues to be contaminated with TCE. It will take thousands of years to ever clean it, and that would only happen with strict compliance of all remaining and future industry surrounding the aquifer. Who will be responsible?

With the event of A Civil Action the movie (based on the book written by Jonathan Harr), it is my sincere hope that all audiences will feel the need to think in a different way about the future of our children and the environment. It is our responsibility now to protect the future of both.

Unfortunately, there are many Woburns in the world, yet to be discovered. And so many have already been diagnosed with toxic land, water and air!

It is very scary, especially when it is left up to someone else to find the solution. When will it all end? Who will help us? Where do we go for help? Who will be responsible?

We can work together through this network. It is a start!

I just finished reading the book documenting the woburn trials.  I was extremely moved by all the sickness and hardships the families of your community had to endure.  I grew up in a very small town of Bella Coola in the central west coast of British Columbia.  I was never able to get all the details, however I discovered that the water supply had to be changed in our community in either the late 80’s or early 90’s due to pcb’s seeping in from transformers bc hydro had buried in the ground.  This was done on land belonging to First Nations people therefore deemed federal land.  I don’t even think the people there realize how serious this is and there has been no cleanup whatsoever.  I was on the hospital board as well as part of the parent groups in school and I was very interested to find out that a co member of both hospital and school board was in fact a lawyer for bc hydro.  I don’t even know where to start in my quest for answers.  After reading of the injustices your families encountered I’m not sure I even dare.  If you can give me some direction or forward this to someone who can I would greatly appreciate it. Thank-you for your time.

Posted by  on  08/14  at  07:27 PM

Donna,
First off, I am so very sorry that you lost your son Robbie!  As a mother of three children, I can’t imagine what it is like to have a child pass away.  My heart goes out to you.  You raise a good question; who will be responsible?  I believe that our children will be the ones with the answer.  We have the power to educate our children from birth on the effect they have on our beautiful earth. They have been born into a time of eco awareness and we need to see that they learn from the start how to take care of what they will some day inherit.
Suzanne DeRosa

Posted by  on  03/23  at  10:51 AM

Wouldn’t you agree that the planets water needs to heal? For too long the benefits of water and drinking it have had to do with the impact on us. It’s time for us to pay far more attention to what water is like in its natural “alive” state so we can adapt the way we treat it – therefore healing ourselves more too

Posted by water purifier  on  04/17  at  08:58 AM

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Over a century ago, naturalist John Muir noted, "When we try to pick out anything by itself we find that it is bound fast by a thousand invisible cords that cannot be broken, to everything in the universe." We certainly see this today with our increasing awareness that the gas we burn in cars is linked to killer hurricanes in Louisiana and polar bear deaths in the … Read More »