Winchester Representatives Object to HAZMAT Route Proposal from Boston

Winchester Representative has voiced its concern with a proposal that would force trucks carrying hazardous materials to drive through Winchester on Route 93.

State Representative Jason Lewis (D-Winchester) and State Senator Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville) drafted a letter to send to the state Department of Transportation and also asked residents to send comments before Friday’s deadline.

“This proposal would move an estimated 400 HAZMAT vehicles from Boston city streets to those of surrounding communities,” the letter reads. “This, in turn, shifts the risk and the responsibility of managing a HAZMAT incident away from those most able to address them.”

According to a July 25 release from Boston Mayor Thomas Menino's office on May 13 of this year, the city of Boston released the results of a Hazardous Transport Study conducted by a private contractor that determined that hazmat trucks traveling through Boston at any time present an unacceptable level of risk in accordance with federal government standards. The report strongly recommends that only hazmat vehicles with drop-off or pick-up locations within Boston should be permitted to travel through the core of the city.

According to the letter, every one of Boston’s fire and EMS personnel has HAZMAT training. Boston also has an array of specialized equipment at their disposal.

The letter goes on to state that the MassPort Fire, has the largest foam capability in the state, which is vital in a HAZMAT response, is located within the borders of Boston.

“The surrounding communities have a fraction of the personnel and resources of Boston to respond to an event,” the letter continued. “Boston is uniquely qualified to respond rapidly and effectively to a large scale HAZMAT incident.  Boston and Cambridge maintain their own HAZMAT response teams.  All other communities are dependent on the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services Regional Hazardous Materials Team of which there are six across the state.”

According to Lewis and Jehlen, it would take a HAZMAT unit 60 minutes to respond to an incident along 93 and 95, while Boston’s HAZMAT team can make it to a situation in the city in 15 minutes.

“This does not account for the traffic on Routes 93 and 95 which currently operate at 130 [percent] capacity with cars utilizing the breakdown lanes during rush hours,” the letter said. “At those times it would be virtually impossible for response teams to get to an incident in a timely manner. The addition of hundreds of trucks a day carrying hazardous materials poses a real and significant threat to the communities along these roadways.”

Lewis and Jehlen requested that no action be taken “before the ramifications of such a change on the surrounding communities are thoroughly studied and well understood.”

Residents can learn more about the proposal by visiting http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/ProposedHazmatRoute.aspx .   Comments can be emailed to: bostonhazmat@state.ma.us, or sent by mail to: Mr. Thomas Broderick, P.E., Acting Chief Engineer; MassDOT; 10 Park Plaza, Suite 4160; Boston, Massachusetts 02116; ATTN: Boston HAZMAT Route.

The deadline for comments is Sept. 23. Letters will be accepted until Oct. 7 as long as they are postmarked by Sept. 23.