After years of living with horrible odors that badly damage our quality of life and that may threaten our health, many residents from both Tewksbury and Wilmington are filing a lawsuit against the Krochmal hog operation. The people currently being represented by Attorney Richard Middleton of Savannah, Georgia, are passing along this message to those who may want to contact his firm and join the suit. We understand he is working with Massachusetts counsel in this matter.

Time is passing while our quality of life is diminished and our reasonable concerns for our families’ health go unanswered. It’s been long enough. There’s strength in numbers.

Attorney Middleton can be reached at 912-238-1941.

The Krochmal hog facility, apparently without any regard for your quality of life, changed into a factory style farm without permits, Town consultations, or any public discourse. It has acted improperly time and time again without permits for large buildings, animals, wetland-fillings, etc., while your homes, yards and a school are too often immersed in foul air.
Adding insult to injury, your complaints have been questioned, and some deceptively portray you as new neighbors invading a farm’s area. The Commissioner of the Mass. Dept. of Agriculture told the Boston Globe you should have known better than to live here!
After years of meetings and hearings in which residents asked for answers, our officials still have not assured us that the foul air we breathe isn’t harmful to our families’ health. Why not? (See below)
Our Towns and State have failed to protect us. The actions that were taken appear to be window-dressing. After years of petitions, complaints, hearings, meetings, drafting of regulations, community activism, etc. we still suffer. Why?

Members of the TewkburyOdor.org group
Residents of Tewksbury
Residents of Wilmington

According to the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production:

Ammonia emissions from hog farms react with other gases in the air to form fine particle pollution, a public health threat linked to decreased lung function, cardiovascular ailments and most seriously, premature death.
Air emissions from lagoons, spray-fields and hog houses have been linked to neurological and respiratory problems.
Unpleasant odors have been found to be a nuisance and emotional stressor on neighbors, and are known to contain irritants that can cause damage to mucosal linings in the nose, throat and respiratory tract.
Researchers from the UNC School of Public Health and Duke University found that neighbors exposed to odors from hog operations showed evidence of reduced immune system function. Evidence is also emerging that indicates that the health of citizens living near hog operations is negatively affected.
Hog waste contains disease-causing pathogens.
Evidence indicates adverse impacts on workers’ and children’s health.
Manure land application rates at hog Animal Feeding Operations result in high levels of pollutants in groundwater and pose risks for drinking water wells.

Source: www.ncifap.org