In Toms River, however, we are still at the early stages. The lessons of Woburn still smart. It took years before the Environmental Protection Agency filed its own lawsuits against W.R. Grace and Beatrice Foods. Vindication came, but the struggle devastated Woburn and left Schlichtmann bankrupt. In Toms River, folks are hoping for the positive results, but without the acrimony.
Nobody wants to drive jobs out of town.
Most people don't want to leave. We must clean them up immediately. Cooperation is the sanest, fastest way. Schlichtmann's gentler approach worked in Groton, another small Massachusetts town, where residents said their drinking water contained the same industrial solvents found in Woburn. Woburn the defining moment in his life.