Work begins on 40 Massachusetts homes to protect residents from contamination

June 8, 2007 - Ashland - Federal officials have started installing equipment in about 40 homes to protect residents from potentially harmful vapors caused by contamination from the long-closed Nyanza dye company.

These homes sit on or near a three-quarter-mile long plume of groundwater contaminated by the old Nyanza factory, which operated from 1917 to 1978, according to the EPA. Several commercial buildings also are affected by the pollution.

An EPA risk assessment announced last year found that people who breathe air contaminated by the vapors from Nyanza for 30 years may have an increased risk of developing cancer.

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