Northstar Aerospace TCE Contamination in Cambridge

I realize that this is an old subject for Cambridge residents and Cambridge realtors. Unfortunately we occassionally run into situations where there are out of town realtors, or people buying privately, to whom the full situation has not been fully disclosed.

A local real estate lawyer told me a story recently where, an out of town agent sold a property in the area to a buyer who also had an out of town agent and the buyer had no idea of the situation until a week or two before closing. Scary disclosure.

Northstar Aerospace is a company on Bishop Street in Cambridge, that in its history, has leaked solvents into the ground that contain Trichloroethylene (TCE). TCE's have been suspected to contain carcinogens that cause cancer and other diseases.

Northstar has been very pro-active in supporting the affected area. They have spent a lot of time and money researching how far the contamination has spread. They have done extensive tests on all the properties in the area for levels of contamination. They have taken remedial action on the properties affected to correct the problem. Some people in the area feel they have been very supportive. Others would disagree.

Statistically, the situation has had a very limited effect on home values in the area. It is definitely not an "Erin Brokovich" scenario. But, it is a situation where everyone needs to do their homework.

Northstar has office space and staff set up to deal with this issue specifically in an information centre in their office on Bishop Street. There is a map which shows the area affected and readings in detail.

If you have a client desiring a property in that area, take them to the office. Every question you could conceivably ask will be answered. The key here is making sure your buyer is fully aware of the scenario so that they may make an informed decision.