Letter: Pollution, traffic, noise top concerns for proposed warehouse

As abutters and concerned citizens of Grafton, we are writing to you today to express our concerns about and our opposition to the large-scale warehouse/distribution center or life sciences manufacturing facility being proposed at 244 Worcester Street.

The current plans call for an approximately 340,000+ square foot warehouse/distribution center or life science manufacturing facility with 75 truck bays in the rear-side of the building. This is considered a large-scale warehouse/distribution center operation. Normal warehouses/distribution centers house between 35-45 truck bays. We do not know who the end-user will be, but with 75 truck bays, a considerable amount of truck traffic throughout town will become a reality.

Truck Emissions

“Trucks are the largest source of air pollution from vehicles responsible for 70% of the smog-causing pollution and 80% of the carcinogenic diesel soot…” It is widely known that these emissions can “cause respiratory and cardiovascular issues leading to premature death.” “Diesel emissions are now the primary source of air pollution in the Northeast, leading to a higher-than-average asthma rate, including a child asthma rate that is 10% higher than the national average.”

In typical warehouse/distribution center operations, there are normally 4-8 truck deliveries per truck bay per day. Multiplying by 75 bays and trips to and from the Mass Pike, this equates to 600-1200 trips per day by two densely packed neighborhoods of Grafton and the adjacent neighborhoods of West Millbury. During the 6 months of winter, once the trucks arrive, it is common practice to keep their engines idling to prevent freezing of the fuel. With a 7/24 operation, the neighborhoods will be subject to 24 hours of truck emissions, contributing to unhealthy air outdoors and indoors through fresh air intakes. Fumes can carry up to 2-3 football field lengths which will certainly affect the two adjacent neighborhoods, all of Grafton, West Millbury, and South Shrewsbury. This equates to over 14,268 pounds of CO2 emissions from one truck to and from the Mass Pike. Multiplied by 600 trips is 8.56 million pounds. Multiplied by 1200 trips is 17.12 million pounds per day.

Our concerns as neighbors of a proposed large warehouse/distribution center are mirrored in efforts across the country to confine these projects to non-residential areas: https://sites.google.com/view/distributioncenters/home. In California, where large warehouses/distribution centers have been constructed, residents regularly get notices of poor air quality in large part due to emissions from truck traffic. The research compiled by the People’s Collective for Environmental Justice (PCEJ).… shows how warehouses have proliferated in the Inland Empire, an industrial region 60 miles east of Los Angeles. The warehouses, which bring severe truck pollution to neighborhoods, are correlated with bad air quality and related health problems.”

Safety/Traffic

With 600-1200 daily trips to the warehouse/distribution center, the increased truck traffic will pose a hazard to our neighborhood streets and clog our main access roads, not to mention bus routes for the schoolchildren. Adjacent roads are already seeing extra traffic due to congestion on Worcester Street. These roads (Deernolm, Fairlawn, Maplewood) have become the “cut through”. These are residential areas with no sidewalks.

The approximate distance of this proposed warehouse/distribution center is 50 feet from Worcester Street; this is less distance than running from home plate to first base – on a little league field. In addition, this proposed facility will be less than 300 feet from the nearest residential neighbor directly across the street.

After Northborough installed a large-scale warehouse/distribution center, school track teams can no longer run on the streets due to safety hazards of the trucks going to and from the warehouse/distribution center. Residents are frustrated with the traffic, truck drivers are diverting into neighboring streets, jackknifing and blocking roads, driving onto lawns, taking to neighborhood streets to sleep.

The town of Milford also accepted warehouse/distribution center in their town. Even with all the industry they already had, the traffic has proven to be a nightmare. Since the warehouse/distribution contracts out many of their drivers, the town is left with little or no recourse when problems arise. Bill Buckley, the chairman of the Milford Board of Selectmen, is also frustrated about how Amazon’s employees drive. “Typically, what they’ll say is, ‘Go talk with our contractors. Cite them if they’re not driving properly, “It’s just consistent, backed up traffic. If we knew it was going to be like this, I don’t think we would’ve allowed it in the town,” said resident Michael Rooney. Town officials also believe the volume of delivery vehicles traveling to and from the distribution and transportation centers in Milford is overwhelming. “The benefit to taxes and revenue is far less than the (negative) impact that they’re having on our community and quality of life.”

Wellbeing

Then noise from a 7/24 facility will be a constant – the increased truck traffic and including the reversing of the truck to get into the loading docks: “The Information’s report highlights that the trucks cause a significant disturbance in the previously quiet New England town. The publication observed 52 tractor-trailers at the Amazon facility between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., and measured sounds from the trucks above 85 decibels — similar to a lawn mower.” Light pollution is also a concern, lights will be on 16 hours per day (winter) and 12 hours per day for the rest of the year, both for the facility and parking lot for 1000 employees.

Environmental Concerns

It is our right as taxpayers, to ask and expect answers to these questions during the public hearing process:

• Has Wyman Gordon cleaned the land prior to selling the parcel?
• Will all the vegetation be removed from 244 Worcester Street?
• Will development restrict the flow of wildlife?
• Will the toxic emissions travel to Flint, Hovey Ponds into our drinking water wells?
• How will the large parking lots be treated during the winter?
• What is the groundwater mitigation plan?
• What is the environmental mitigation plan?
• Will there be a noise mitigation plan?
• Is earthwork involved in the project?
• Where in the project is the buffer that will be enjoyed as open space?
• What will be stored in the warehouse/distribution center?
• If life science manufacturing facility, what will be housed in the facility and what will be emitted?

Thank you for listening to our concerns.

Respectfully,

Rosemarie Boulanger, 10 Fairlawn Street

Chris & Amy Thornton, 15 Maplewood Drive

Lindsey Holdsworth, 9 Fairlawn Street

James Shannon, 237 Brigham Hill Road

On Behalf of Abutters to 244 Worcester St., Concerned Citizens of Grafton

Reports Cited

• Union of Concerned Scientists: Diesel Engines and Public Health, January 8, 2008.
• California Air Resources Board, Overview: Diesel Exhaust and Health, 2021.
• Northeast Diesel Collaborative, 2021.
• Science Daily, Large trucks are biggest culprits of near-road air pollution, September 10, 2018, University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.
• Rutgers University, November 19, 2018.
• Center for Public Integrity, Jaime Smith Hopkins, May 2017
• Near Roadway Air Pollution and Health, EPA, Frequently Asked Questions, 2021
• Shearston, J., et al. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health and Opening a Large Delivery Service, Warehouse in the South Bronx: Impacts on Traffic, Air Pollution, and Noise, Volume 17, Issue 9, 2020.
• Warehouse Operating Statistics, local distributor, November 5, 2021.
• REGIONAL WAREHOUSE TRIP PRODUCTION ANALYSIS Chicago Metro Area, September, 2008, Report Number: ICT-R27-15 Report Date: 9/19/08 Jon DeVries & Dr. Sofia Dermisi Marshall Bennett Institute of Real Estate Walter E. Heller College of Business Administration Roosevelt University, GB 810
• Environmental Defense Fund, Green Freight Math: How to Calculate Truck Emissions for One Move.
• Blindsided, Ted Wayman, Reporter, WCVB – Boston. Northborough Residents Frustrated with Truck Traffic Using Local Streets, April 26, 2021.
• Amazon Trucks Creating Headaches in Milford, Todd Kazakiewich, Reporter, WCVB – Boston, February 19, 2020

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