Community activist Brian Woolley deserves our thanks
November 16, 2008 6:00 AM

How fitting it was Thursday for the city of New Bedford to officially honor Brian Woolley.

For a long time, many in the city's establishment didn't think much of the Wasted Away group that Mr. Woolley founded. Officialdom at most levels of government doesn't like whistleblowers, gadflies or public embarrassment, and Wasted Away was viewed for a long time as nothing but a bunch of crankcases who had it in for city and state government just because of some overblown concerns about environmental contamination at the site of the new Keith Middle School, New Bedford High School and other former industrial sites in the city.

But their eternal skepticism about the siting of the Keith School proved to be absolutely on target, and they forced the city and state to pay attention, add new safeguards and — in the end — buy up private homes near the schools where the soil had been contaminated.

The long-term environmental effects of human exposure to PCBs and other chemicals are unknown, and studies are under way to try to determine whether there is a link between disease and chemical wastes in New Bedford neighborhoods.

Mr. Woolley is suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly called Lou Gehrig's disease after the Hall of Fame Yankees outfielder who is the motor-neuron disease's most famous victim. Whether or not the disease is the result of living near where industrial wastes were burned and buried is unknown, but Mr. Woolley's final gift to the city he loves may be to help unlock knowledge and find a treatment for this deadly disease. He has spoken about the progression of the disease and the nature of its symptoms to students at Harvard and MIT. He doesn't feel sorry for himself, and he maintains both a sense of humor and an optimism that are admirable.

The City Council, prompted by Ward 3 Councilor Kathy Dehner, thanked him formally for his service to the city, for standing up for what he knew to be right and for fighting so successfully for his fellow citizens' well-being.

In thanking him, the council also was paying tribute to the other community activists of Wasted Away who have worked long and hard for the rest of us.

Thanks to them and especially Brian Woolley, our children and grandchildren will live in a healthier, safer community.



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