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___ UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
L REGION I
J. F. KENNEDY FEDERAL BUILDING. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02203
BOSTON HARBOR: FIGHTING FOR ITS FUTURE
produced for the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Region One
by William Sargent
with additional funding from Save the Harbor/Save the Bay
For further information or distribution requests, please
contact Kate Connolly, Public Education & Outreach Coordinator
565-

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BOSTON HARBOR
(HANDEL)
BOSTON HARBOR, ON THE SURFACE IT LOOKS LIKE ONE OF AMERICA’S
MOST ATTRACTIVE URBAN SCENES • SHOPPERS FLOCK TO WATERFRONT
RESTAURANTS, COMMUTERS BOARD NEW PASSENGER FERRIES, AND
TOURISTS ENJOY THE HISTORIC SIGHTS AND FAR FLUNG ISLANDS OF
BOSTON’S NEW HARBOR ISLANDS PARK.
(DIRTY WATERS)
BUT BENEATH THIS SHINING SURFACE THERE IS ANOTHER SCENE. A
FIFTH OF BOSTON’S WINTER FLOUNDER HAVE CANCER-OF THE LIVER,
THOUGH THIS HASN’T DIMINISHED LOCAL PRIDE IN THE FISH.
BEACHES CLOSE WHEN OVERLOADED TREATMENT PLANTS WASH TONS OF
HUMAN SEWAGE TO THEIR SHORES. DIVERS TELL OF SWIMMING THROUGH
MURKY WATERS AND A GHOSTLY FOG OF TOILET PAPER THAT BANGS JUST
ABOVE THE HARBOR FLOOR.
(JIM HARRIS ACTUALITY)
( AFTER A RAIN STORM YOU CAN HARDLY SEE THE BOTTOM)
IN FACT BOSTON HAS BEEN DECLARED AMERICA’S DIRTIEST HARBOR,
MUCH OF IT AN OPEN SEWER AS POLLUTED AS THE HARBORS OF
BANGKOK, ISTANBUL OR CALCUTTA.
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(VOX POP)
‘I USED TO FISH THERE AND NOW I CANT FISH THERE NO MORE
1 LIKE THE HARBOR, IT’S JUST TOO BAD YOU CAN’T GO SWIMMING’
‘YOU CAN’T WATER SKI YOU CAN’T SWIM, WHAT GOING TO DO, RIDE..’
1’D LIKE TO SEE THE HARBOR CLEANED UP, THE DOLLAR’S WORTH
IT’
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YES WE’VE GOT TO CLEAN THIS UP. OUR SEWER SYSTEM BUILT IN THE
1800’S HAS GROWN TO INCLUDE 5,000 MILES OP PIPES. EVERY DAY
ALMOST HALF A BILLION GALLONS OF SEWAGE FROM 43 COMMUNITIES
POURS INTO TWO ANTIQUATED FACILITIES, THE DEER ISLAND PLANT IN
WINTHROP....AND THE NUT ISLAND PLANT IN QUINCY.
(PLUSH & GURGLE)
WHEN SOMEONE FLUSHES THE TOILET IN PRAMINGRAM, WASHES DISHES
IN BURLINGTON OR DUMPS INDUSTRIAL OR DOMESTIC CHEMICALS DOWN
THE DRAIN IN WALPOLE, ALL THEZR WASTES END UP IN BOSTON
HARBOR. IN PACT SEWAGE FROM ALMOST HALF THE STATE’S POPULATION
FLOWS INTO THE SYSTEM AND, ALTHOUGH 3 OUT OF FOUR OF THESE
PEOPLE DON’T REALIZE IT, THEIR SEWAGE ALSO ENDS UP IN BOSTON
HARBOR.
(PUMPS)
OFTEN THE SYSTEM FAILS. ON MOTHERS DAY 1983, THE DEER ISLAND
PLANT BROKE DOWN AND THIS BUILDING FILLED WITH RAW SEWAGE.
SCUBA DIVERS HAD TO SWIM DOWN THROUGH TWO STORIES WORTH OF
HUMAN WASTE TO DRAIN THE PLANT. AFTER EVERY RAIN STORM THE
SYSTEM OVERFLOWS AND RAW SEWAGE IS DISCHARGED DIRECTLY INTO
BOSTON HARBOR FROM COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOWS.
(JIM HARRIS)
A LOT OP TIMES THE WATER IS TOO BAD, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE
STORM WE JUST BAD. I WOULDN’T GO INTO THE WATER. EVEN WITH
THIS SUIT I RAVE ON.
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(HELICOPTER)
EVERY DAY MORE CONTAMINATED WASTEWATER FLOWS OUT OF THE TWO
SEWAGE SYSTEMS THAN OUT OF THE CHARLES THE MYSTIC AND THE
NEPONSET RIVERS COMBINED. ALL OF THIS IS DONE IN VIOLATION OF
THE LAW, AND THE EPA GAINED NATIONAL RECOGNITION WHEN IT SUED
IN FEDERAL COURT TO HAVE THE HARBOR CLEANED UP.
SCIENTISTS MONITOR THE EFFECTS OF THIS CONSTANT POLLUTION.
THEY TAKE REGULAR SAMPLES NEAR THE OUTFALL PIPES, ALSO A
FAVORITE AREA FOR LOBSTER FISHERMEN.
‘THIS IS A SAMPLE PROM NEAR THE OUTFALL’
(FADE UNDER NARRATION)
THE SAMPLES ARE ANALYZED TO ESTABLISH THE AMOUNTS OF HEAVY
METALS LIKE CADMIUM AND MERCURY THAT HAVE FLOWED INTO THE
HARBOR PROM OVER 5,000 INDUSTRIES THAT USE THE SEWER SYSTEM.
NOW THESE INDUSTRIES MUST REMOVE SUCH DANGEROUS CONTAMINANTS
BEFORE THEY ENTER THE SEWER SYSTEM.
IN MANY PLACES SEWAGE FROM THE LAST 50 YEARS HAS SO POLLUTED
THE HARBOR THAT NO ANIMALS CAN LIVE ON THE BOTTOM. IN OTHER
PLACES LARGE NUMBERS OP POLLUTION TOLERANT SPECIES CROWD OUT
MORE FRAGILE FORMS OF LIFE.
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CONTAMINANTS IN THE HARBOR ARE CONCENTRATED AS THEY ARE MOVE
UP THE FOOD CHAIN FROM BAIT FISH TO BLUEFISH.... FLOUNDER
AND THE ULTIMATE CONSUMER MAN.
THE ISLANDS THEMSELVES HAVE BECOME A DUMPING GROUND. PLASTICS,
TRASH AND OIL POLLUTION LITTER THE SHORE....
YES, WE HAVE INDEED REACHED A DANGEROUS SITUATION IN BOSTON
HARBOR. BUT WE ALSO HAVE A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY. WE MUST ACT NOW
TO RETURN THE HARBOR TO THE SPABILING, UNSPOILED CENTERPIECE
OF THE HUB. CLEAN, ALIVE AND ACCESSIBLE TO ALL, BOSTON HARBOR
CAN ONCE AGAIN BE THE CROWN JEWEL OF NEW ENGLAND.
(TITLE SHOT)
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(BIRDS & KOTIE)
GOING BACK IN TIME..BOSTON HARBOR DID NOT ALWAYS LOOK THIS
WAY. .... 13,000 YEARS AGO THE GLACIER WHICH COVERED NORTH
AMERICA WAS MELTING BACK, THE SEA LEVEL WAS RISING, LEAVING
THE PARTIALLY SUBMERGED LANDSCAPE OF ROLLING BILLS AND JAGGED
CLIFFS OF MODERN BOSTON HARBOR.
INDIANS LIVED HERE 4,000 YEARS AGO. THEY BUILT ELABORATE
FISHING WEIRS LIKE THIS ONE POUND BELOW THE BOYLSTON STREET
SUBWAY STATION. THE AREA PROVIDED THEM WITH FOOD AND SHELTER
THEY CALLED THE PENINSULA SHAWMUTU, A GOOD PLACE TO LAND A
CANOE.
A SPRING OF COOL FRESH WATER BUBBLING OUT OF THE SIDE OF
BEACON HILL ATTRACTED SETTLERS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY
COMPANY WHO LEFT THEIR UNSUCESSFUL COLONY IN CBARLESTOWN AND
ROWED OVER TO SHAWMUT IN 1630.
THEY RENAMED THE AREA BOSTON, BUILT A PRIMITIVE WATER SYSTEM
AND STARTED TO CREATE A THRIVINGCOASTAL COMMUNITY WITH
SHIPPING AND FISHING AS IT’S CORE. ALREADY THEY HAD A VISION
OF A GREAT CITY ON A HARBOR, AND ALREADY THEY HAD URBAN
PROBLEMS.
‘THE CONSTABLE SHALL GIVE SPEEDY NOTICE TO ROBERT NASH,
BUTCHER, THAT BE SHALL REMOVE THE STINKING GARBAGE OUT OF HIS
YARD.’
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BOSTON CONTINUED TO GROW AND PROSPER THROUGH TIMES OF WAR....
AND THROUGH TIMES OP PEACE... HER HARBOR BECAME THE
FLOURISHING CENTER OF TRADE AND SHIP BUILDING IN THE NEW
WORLD.
THE HILLS OF SBAWMUT WERE GRADUALLY LEVELED AND THE HARBOR
FILLED, CREATING DRY LAND FOR THE BOTTOM OF BEACON STREET, AND
THE BUILDINGS OF THE BACK BAY AND BOSTON GARDEN. QUINCY MARKET
WAS BUILT ON THE EDGE OF THE NEW WATERFRONT.
HOWEVER, BY THE 1840’S SEWAGE BECAME A PIA70R PROBLEM. THE
AVERAGE LIFESPAN IN THE CITY WAS 42 YEARS AND EPIDEMICS OF
CHOLERA, THYPHOID AND DIPTHERIA RAGED THROUGH CROWDED AREAS.
THE CITY PHYSICIAN OF BOSTON REPORTED ON THE PLAGUE.
(ACTUALITY)
‘THE DISEASE IS CONFINED TO PARTS OF THE CITY RECLAIMED FROM
THE OCEAN. IN ONE APARTMENT THE TIDE HAD RISEN SO HIGH THAT IT
WAS NECESSARY TO APPROACH THE PATIENT BY MEANS OF A PLANK;
WHILE THE DEAD BODY OF AN INFANT WAS LITERALLY SAILING ABOUT
THE ROOM IN ITS COFFIN.’
CONSTRUCTION WAS FINALLY STARTED ON A NEW WATER SYSTEM. SEWAGE
WOULD BE PUMPED INTO BOSTON HARBOR TO BE CARRIED AWAY WITH THE
OUTGOING TIDE. TODAY WE ARE LEFT WITH THE REMAINS OF THAT
SYSTEM AND THE REALITY THAT, WITH POLLUTION, THERE IS NO
AWAY.
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TODAY, WE AGAIN NEED A NEW VISION OF BOSTON HARBOR. A CLEAN
HARBOR THAT WILL BRING ABOUT ANOTHER RENNAISSANCE. AND NOW,
FOR THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE THE TOOLS TO MAKE THAT VISION A
REALITY.
THE NEWLY FORMED MASSACHUSETTS WATER RESOURCES AUTHORITY HAS
THE POWER TO CLEAN UP BOSTON HARBOR, BUT THEY CAN’T DO IT
ALONE. THEY MUST RAVE THE SUPPORT, COOPERATION AND SACRIFICE
0? THE 2 AND A HALF MILLION PEOPLE WHO LIVE AND WORK IN THE
COMMUNITIES SERVED BY THE SEWER SYSTEM.
WITH YOUR SUPPORT WE WILL SEE YEARLY VICTORIES IN OUR EFFORTS
TO CLEAN UP BOSTON HARBOR. BY 1988 SCUM WILL BE REMOVED FROM
WASTEWATER. BY 1991 SLUDGE WILL NO LONGER BE PUMPED INTO THE
HARBOR. BY 1995 THE NEW PRIMARY TREATMNET PLANT WILL BE ON
LINE. AND IN 1999 A NEW SECONDARY TREATMENT PLANT, ONE OF THE
LARGEST IN THE WORLD, WILL BE BUILT ON DEER ISLAND, SITE OF
THE EXISTING PLANT AND THE DEER ISLAND PRISON.
WILL THE COSTS BE HIGH?
YES THE COSTS WILL BE HIGH. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE COSTS OF NOT
CLEANING UP THE HARBOR? THAT’S HE GAMBLE WE CANNOT AFFORD TO
TO LOSE.
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WITH YEARLY VICTORIES, WE WILL SEE AN EXPLOSION OF USE IN
BOSTON HARBOR. FISH, BIRDS AND SEALS WILL RETURN. BY THE YEAR
2000 THE HARBOR ISLANDS PARK WILL BE VISITED BY 600,000 PEOPLE
A YEAR, AND MORE THAN 2 AND A HALF MILLION PEOPLE WILL USE THE
PASSENGER FERRIES....CPAUSE 8 SECONDS).
MASSACHUSETTS CHILDREN WILL BE ABLE TO SWIM FROM THE ISLANDS
AND DISCOVER THEIR CAPITAL CITY FROM THE WATER...
•L rJK AT THE JELLYFISH, LAUGHTER
ON THE HARBOR ISLANDS PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO BIRDWATCH...WALK
AND HAVE PICNICS... THEY MIGHT EVEN BUMP INTO FORT WARREN’S
GHOSTLY LADY IN BLACK...
NOW WE’RE GOING TO ENTER THE TUNNEL’
FISHERMEN WILL RAVE A SAFER PLACE.TO FISH AND DIVERS WILL RAVE
A NEW AREA TO DISCOVER THE ADVENTURES OF DIVING IN NEW
ENGLAND. BUT SOME MAY JUST WANT TO COME OUT HERE TO SIT UNDER
THE TREES AND ENJOY THE QUIET RESTFULNESS OF A SCENIC ISLAND
ONLY 10 MINUTES FROM DOWNTOWN BOSTON.
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WITH YOUR EEL?, BOSTON HARBOR CAN ONCE AGAIN BECOME THE CROWN
JEWEL OF NEW ENGLAND.. • .A THRIVING CENTER OF COMMERCIAL
ACTIVITY BUT ALSO A PLACE TO LIVE..., TO WORE... AND TO
ENJOY. CLEAN ALIVE AND ACCESSIBLE TO ALL, BOSTON HARBOR CAN BE
A GIFT TO OURSELVES AND OUR CHILDREN. IT IS UP TO YOU.
(ESPLANADE CONCERT)
(CREDITS)
na__a_a
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