Do to the immense public interest in this story I bring you a special report of Townie Talk.
Townie Talk has learned the following regarding the NBC10 shocking revelations around the potential poisoning of Town workers.
Here is what I have learned so far… I will not use names in this report, and everything is “alleged” and what led to the Department of Labor Investigation.
March 9, 2020 (Covid Time)
Two custodians were asked to spray the Chenery Middle School using an atomizer/fogging machine. They agreed. They proceeded to the High School and ran out of the specific chemical meant for use in these machines (a Clorox brand). They were instructed to use Hyperfect 256, a chemical disinfectant used in Hospitals and Food services and shown how to pry the safety cap off the Clorox bottle by their supervisor. They asked if this was safe and were told it was by their supervisor. When the bottle started to leak, they were told to put tape on it.
After a couple Covid cases occurred at the Fire Department they were instructed to spray the Fire and Police Station Vehicles and Equipment with the Chemical. They asked if they should alert the Fire Chief that they were using Hyperfect 256 and were told to keep their mouths shut. Out of fear of retaliation they did not alert Police of Fire. They continued to ask their direct report on a weekly basis if they should report the change and were rebuffed each time. When questioned by a Firefighter if this stuff was safe, they lied and said it was. They also lied to Police and Library staff.
They were instructed to spray the DPW Trucks when one of the custodians said he would no longer do this. The other custodian sprayed the DPW Trucks with the Hyperfect 256 solution disguised as Clorox. During this process neither custodian had appropriate masking for spraying such chemicals and complained to their supervisor to no avail. The spraying was done over a period of months. It was Town Wide but mostly affected Police/Fire/Rescue as they were exposed daily.
Both custodians refused to spray the Hyperfect 256 any further. In Late June both reported breathing and vision issues and met with doctors.
A Department of Labor Investigation was launched in October 2020. In March 2021, Town employees became aware of the investigation and Unions reached out to the Town Admin and Select Board for details.
In case you are wondering… Hyperfect 256 is not designed to be used in the atomizer/fogging machine. The machine was tampered with. Both custodians and at least 3 Town employees reported symptoms consistent with exposure to high amounts of this chemical.
This is all alleged and a quick breaking story. It is my intent to inform as to what is being talked about behind the scenes. The SB or TA will have to answer many questions. I have frequently complained that the fear of retaliation for Town and School workers is unbearable. This if shown to be true is just another example of the toxic environment they face. The Supervisors referred to above are no longer employed in Belmont (left on their own terms).
Two of the Town employees have left Belmont and one remains.
Townie Talk will continue to follow this story.
PJ Looney
