Loud Blast and Strong Vibrations

Blast on 8/2/2010 at 11:30 a.m. was very loud. There were two shock waves that shook the house a lot and strongly rattled the windows.

Packed Breakables Away

I packed away all of my good china and took glass ornaments and decorations down from the beams where they used to hang. I didn't want the decorations to fall during a blast and hit us on the head. I didn't want my good dishes to rattle and fall over and break. When guests came over for a dinner party, I had to unpack all my good dishes to use them and then pack them all back up again afterwords. It is a lot of trouble to go through just to keep your things from getting broken. It is a hard way to live every day - like living out of a suitcase in your own home.

PD

Concerns

I am concerned about Benzene getting into my well water form the ANFO used to ignite the blasts, my well going dry and my home becomming damaged and loosing its value in the market because it is now located next to a major nusience.

Concerned

No Peace of Mind

Since CCA has come into the neighborhood, our peace and quite has been taken away. Our peace of mind has been taken away. We have not been able to enjoy our yard as much as we used to before CCA arrived. This greatly impacts our ability to use and enjoy our own property.

Bryant

No Warning - Broken Promises

CCA said they were going to give us a warning just before the blasts and an all clear signal after. We have not heard any warnings or all clear since the very first test blast. CCA is not building a good relationship with the neighbors if they don't do the things they tell us they will do.

Annoyed

Earthquake-like Experience

I was in the yard this summer when the quarry blasted. I felt the earth ripple under my feet. It felt just like an earthquake. It was a very unnerving experience.

Suffering for Other's Profits

It is too bad we should suffer for someone who has millions of dollars and greed to make more money. How much money does CCA need? How many people suffer from noise and property shaking so they can make more money?

Richard

Seriously Shaken

The blasts have been getting stronger and louder since they started. Our house noticeably shakes with each blast. The windows rattle. We put a float in a glass of water on the windowsill and when they blast, you can really see the water and the float shake around - not a little, but a lot. If the shaking continues over many years, I am very seriously concerned about cracks and damage to our house.

Bry

Blast Sounds Like Sonic Boom

(The CCA quarry blast causes) wall tremors with severe window vibrations and shaking with sonic boom type sounds.

Cudworth

Alarmed Resident

My wife said it (the blast of October 19th at the CCA quarry site) was like an earthquake, It was very loud. Everything shook. It was way worse then the "tests" performed.

Shortly after the blast, a fire truck came through the neighborhood - so, obviously other people were alarmed as well - having called the Fire Department.

Obie

Blasting and Wells

Blasting can contaminate groundwater by releasing explosive residue in the ground and by releasing naturally occurring contaminates like radon and arsenic into groundwater wells through shifts and fissures in bedrock.

The Austinite powder that CCA is using for explosives can contaminate groundwater with nitrate. The immediate health concern is the conversion of nitrate to nitrite in the digestive tract by nitrate reducing bacteria. Nitrite is readily absorbed into the blood where it combines with the hemoglobin that carries oxygen. It forms methemoglobin, which cannot carry oxygen. The reduced oxygen supply to the body tissues causes physical stress. When severe enough, nitrate poisoning is life threatening because of suffocation. This condition is called methemoglobinemia. Pregnant women, those with health infirmities and infants are the most susceptible to nitrate poisoning. Cattle, sheep, goats and horses are more susceptible to nitrate poisoning then people or other animals. Many abuters and neighbors to the CCA quarry Freetown/Berkley property own cattle, sheep, goats and horses.

Radon is a gas that is a natural product of the breakdown of uranium in the soil. Blasting can release radon into the groundwater of nearby wells. The EPA states that using household water containing radon contributes to elevated indoor radon levels in the home. Radon is the second largest cause of lung cancer in the United States. The Center for Disease Control warns that ingesting water contaminated by radon may increase chances of developing lung cancer.

Blasting can release naturally occurring pockets of arsenic into groundwater in private wells. Arsenic is odorless and tasteless. When ingested it causes thickening and discoloration of the skin, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, numbness in the hands and feet, partial paralysis and blindness. High levels of arsenic consumption can cause death. The EPA states that arsenic has been linked to cancer of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidney, nasal passages, liver and prostate.

In a meeting with residents in February, CCA refused to place monitoring wells on their property for the neighbors who are down gradient of their site. These residents would be most vulnerable to well contamination. CCA has placed monitoring wells on the Berkley portion of their property which is up gradient of the site. In their presentation to the Berkley Board of Health they asked for a permit for the monitoring wells in order to help them proceed with their plans for bringing the larger portion of the quarry into Berkley.

Flyrock Video

http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/local/060109_Neighbors_unhappy_with_blasting_next_door

This is a link to viedo of a flyrock accident at a quarry in West Roxburry, MA. That quarry is owned and operated by Sam Larrouso and Sons, the same owners and opperators of Cape Cod Aggregates - the company trying to start a quarry in our neighborhood. The blasting company that had the accident, A-1 Drilling and Blasting, is the same company currently blasting at the quarry site in Freetown.

Citizens

Flyrock

Flyrock is rock debris that is propelled from the top of the blast hole during an explosion. Flyrock can be small rocks or large boulders. According to NIOSH, flyrock and failure to secure the blasting area dominate blasting-related accidents in mining, especially in surface mining. A report issued by NIOSH states that flyrock and lack of blast area security account for 58.7% to 77.4% of all surface mining blasting injuries. The Cape Cod Aggregate mine will put the neighborhood at risk for flyrock hazards for 30 years. According to the SME Mining Engineering Handbook, flyrock can travel as far as 3,300 feet. Cape Cod Aggregates has only proposed to help homeowners pay for damages if their homes are 500 feet or less from the blast site in Berkley and have made no proposals to pay for any property damages for homeowners in Freetown. Flyrock can occur even when all correct blasting procedures have been followed. Flyrock can and has smashed through roofs, walls, windows and doors of homes and buildings. At the April 7th public meeting of the Soil Board in Berkley, Cape Cod Aggregates representatives admitted they have had flyrock incidents that caused damage to neighbor’s homes. The same quarry owners using the same blasting company - A-1 Drilling and Blasting, had a serious flyrock accident at their site in West Roxburry this June. Flyrock flew 700 feet into neighbors' yards. One rock flew with such force, it broke through a stone wall in a neighbor's yard. Rocks were imbedded into the ground of yards, they landed with such force on impact. One man was on his deck with his grandchildren when their yard and deck were pelted with rocks. It was simply luck that no one was seriously injured in the accident. Flyrock poses a safety threat to the community. It has the potential to cause death and injury to people sheltered inside their homes during a blast.

Raymond, NH Scoundrel’s Salon was pelted with rocks after a blast at Raymond Sand and Gravel. Large rocks shattered windows and doors. Large rocks were embedded in walls. “The rocks came through at the level of my head,” said stylist Cilla Clement on WMUR, Channel 9 News.

Stuarts Draft, VA “Construction Worker Hurt in Blasting Accident Dies” A worker suffered a head injury when other workers were blasting at a Target Distribution Center construction project. A 10 to 15-pound rock propelled by the blast struck the worker who was then taken to an Intensive Care Unit via helicopter. He died the next day after undergoing surgery. Other workers said he ran for cover and was behind a van when the rock struck him, piercing his hard hat. [The Richmond Times Dispatch, Richmond, VA]

Braintree, MA “Hitting too Close to Home - Rocks from Blasting Rattle Neighbors” Blasting was being done at a cemetery to create more space for graves. Some rocks from the blast flew nearly800 feet, reaching some private property near the cemetery. A rock, the size of a softball, struck the roof of one of the neighbors’ houses. No one was injured. [Patriot Ledger Quincy, MA]
Appalachia, VA “Boy Killed by Flyrock; Va. Residents Cite Flawed Regs” A boulder crashed through a bedroom wall and onto the bed where a 3 year old boy was sleeping. The huge boulder continued its path, crashing through a closet before finally stopping at the foot of an 8-year-old boy’s bed. The 8-year old was fine. The 3-year old was crushed to death. [Washington Post, Jan. 6, 2005]

Why should people in Freetown and Berkley be worried that their personal bodily safety and the safety of their farm and domestic animals, cars and homes be jeopardized by flyrock?

Allowing a quarry to operate in a residential neighborhood puts residents at risk for hazards that did not previously exist. No one should be expected to pay property taxes and live with the potential for rocks to suddenly come crashing through their home.