In 1970s Woburn, Massachusetts, families noticed too many children with leukemia on too few streets, and two municipal wells were found laced with industrial solvents. Mothers organized, and the trial later told in A Civil Action showed how hard it is to prove causation in court. That lesson fed Congress toward the 1980 Superfund law, built on strict, retroactive liability.
Who's who
- Anne AndersonEast Woburn mother who organized the families and led the lawsuit
- Jan SchlichtmannPlaintiffs' lawyer, bankrupted by the case
- Jerome FacherBeatrice Foods' lead trial counsel
- Walter Jay SkinnerFederal judge who structured the trial in phases
- Jonathan HarrAuthor of A Civil Action
- Lois GibbsLove Canal organizer and later founder of an environmental justice center
- Jimmy Carter+12 more episodesPresident who signed the Superfund law in December 1980
Where it happens
- East Woburn, MassachusettsNeighborhood served by contaminated wells G and H
- Love Canal, Niagara Falls, New YorkBuried chemical waste site that drove Congress to act
- Aberjona River valley, MassachusettsIndustrial watershed where the wells were drilled
Timeline
- 1979State testing finds trichloroethylene in wells G and H; both are shut.
- December 1980President Carter signs CERCLA, the Superfund law.
- January 1981A state and CDC study counts 12 childhood leukemia cases where about 5.3 were expected.
- May 1982Eight families sue W.R. Grace, Beatrice Foods, and UniFirst.
- July 1986The jury finds Grace liable and Beatrice not liable.
Still debated
Whether the well water caused the leukemias is formally open: the cluster is established but the causal link is probable, not proven. Fairness of the Beatrice verdict and the accuracy of A Civil Action are also argued, as are Superfund's costs and benefits.
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