Statement by Nathan G. Phillips                                                January 29, 2020

Today at 1 pm I will be starting a hunger strike to call attention to and to demand immediate addressing of serious public health and safety violations occurring at the site of the ill-conceived Weymouth Compressor station and across the region.

Improperly-labeled dump trucks have been documented to be loaded with suspected arsenic- and asbestos-laden coal ash, and leaving the site in violation of agreed-upon decontamination procedures. This presents an ongoing, unacceptable risk to public health to residents of the Fore River Basin and along the routes across the Commonwealth, New Hampshire, and possibly Maine.

Calls and emails to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection from concerned residents have gone unanswered since October, 2019.

I will cease my hunger strike under three conditions:

  1. All dump trucks leaving the site abide by the decontamination procedures described on page 27 of the Release Abatement Measures Plan of November 25, 2019, which require a decontamination pad/station, and other measures to clean tires and exterior vehicle surfaces of site residue. https://eeaonline.eea.state.ma.us/EEA/fileviewer/Default.aspx?formdataid=0&documentid=525509

  1. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection commences comprehensive testing for asbestos in furnace bricks and in the coal ash matrix, across and throughout the vertical profile of the North Parcel.

  1. The Baker Administration commits to a date certain, no later than two weeks from today, for the installation and operation of an air quality monitor, as Governor Baker pledged action on “within a couple of days” on Radio Boston on Thursday, January 23, 2020.

I am sensitive to the fact that a hunger strike can be triggering to individuals who struggle with food and eating issues, and that serious health consequences can result. My action is not intended to encourage others to take this action, and it is done in hopes that distress this action may cause to others is understood as out of necessity to stop a clear and present danger to the health and welfare of thousands of residents in the Fore River Basin and across the region.

Please support the crucial work of the Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station (FRRACS) by visiting nocompressor.com and pledging your support.