Dan Borelli, the creator of the Ashland-Nyanza Project, conducted interviews of residents of Ashland, EPA experts about the Nyanza site, and other individuals. This documentary slowly unfolded over a few years and featured a great many collaborators; the full list is available on the credits page. Go to the videos page to explore the interviews.

Maps reveal, but they also obscure through omission. This table featured maps of Ashland and Nyanza conducted by the EPA and donated to this exhibition from their original set of site analysis mappings based on historical sources. We also want to know about your personal map of Ashland, Nyanza, or the place color has in your life: what you think about, where you remember being, and what it means to you. Please send us a note through this form; check back later to see it join others in a memory map!

This fabric wall represents the beautifully saturated colors that Nyanza's colorants and dyes brought to people, even while it dumped hazardous waste into the ground and waterways. This fabric wall and hand-drawn map were made by Dan Borelli, creator of the exhibit and Ashland native. In the center of the collaged drawing is Dan’s thumbprint to symbolize how contaminated sites become identity shapers.

This is a hand-drawn map of the Sudbury River by Dan Borelli. It is based on USGS area mappings and accurately follows the Sudbury River Watershed, known as Operable Unit 4 by the EPA. This entire watershed is considered a part of the Nyanza Superfund site due to the Nyanza contamination that seeped into the river and affected water, soil, and wildlife. Dan used silver ink in drawing the figure of the river to symbolize the high concentrations of mercury that line this riverbed.

This case held actual pieces of fabric dyed at the Nyanza plant, along with pieces of yarn and test cones for the dyes, all courtesy of Larry DeJong and the Ashland Historical Society. Dan Borelli contributed an original vintage advertisement of Nyanza from the early 1950’s as well as a reproduction of another Nyanza Dye advertisement seen on the back of the case.

This 3D topographical model of the Sudbury River valley was fabricated by Patrick Herron and Daniel Rauchwerger, students at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. They laser-cut the landform and mounted it on a mirror that represents the water table. As you walk around the model and the angle changes, the mirror changes color due to reflecting the nearby fabric wall. This recalls testimonials of Ashland residents who remember when the actual Sudbury River absorbed the chemical colorants and dyes dumped by the Nyanza plant over the years and the adjacent streams ran ‘the color of the day.’

The bookcases here were arranged chronologically beginning with the earliest instance of Ashland's recorded history: the American Indians and specifically the members of the Nipmuc tribe who resided in the Megunko Indian Praying Village, on the high ground that overlooks the Sudbury River. Following time unfolding to the right, each case presented a specific epoch in the history of Ashland. This spatial sequence concluded with a table that looks at the most recent history of Ashland with some paper for you to write on and leave your own memory of our town, American history, and contemplate new futures. Read more at the history page.

Welcome to the exhibit! This intro panel, placed to attract traffic from both the front and side doors of the library, introduces visitors to the topic and encourages them to wander through both rooms. Click through for the intro panel text.

This interactive stand uses data visualization to reveal the hidden information of the Nyanza Superfund Site. We researched and sorted the metadata from the EPA and generated color-coded contamination mappings on this digital platform. It brings to light the dispersion of the six most significant chemical contaminants, overlaying with the aerial images of the Superfund Site over the past decades. Ming Tu, an intern with the Ashland-Nyanza Project, created and oversaw the programming of this digitally driven touchscreen experience. This display element has become a permanent installation at the Ashland Public Library. You can use it on this website as well.

Advocacy in Ashland has a proud legacy. From the Ashland Advocates for a Clean Environment to the continuing efforts of Marie Kane, the residents have consistently stood up for themselves and sought out answers to questions about the Nyanza contamination. Kevin Kane is notable as the first person who spoke out about the potential link between his own extremely rare cancer diagnosis and the hills and streams of Megunko Hill where he played as a child and teenager. He called Dr. Suzanne Condon, Associate commissioner and director of the Bureau of Environmental Health at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and told her about his diagnosis, and the many friends of his who had also been diagnosed with rare cancers at a young age. This call set in motion the health study that eventually confirmed Kevin's suspicions.

Today, there is still a great deal of work to do to ensure that our environment is safe for us and generations after. If you would like to be part of the solution, look below for a list of environmental advocacy groups in Massachusetts, including several geared towards the safety of Sudbury River.

• Environment Massachusetts: Protect Massachusetts Rivers
• Environmental League of Massachusetts: Work on Toxics
• ACE: Alternatives for Community & Environment
• Mass Audubon
• Massachusetts River Alliance
• Massachusetts Watershed Coalition
• Sudbury Valley Trustees
• OARS: For the Assabet, Sudbury, and Concord Rivers

• Find your local organization in MA
• Kevin Kane Memorial Website

Illuminating Futures curated library books from the existing collection and purchased additional books to address various knowledge disciplines associated with this topic: ecology, public health, cancer clusters, textile production, and many more. Over two dozen books were purchased for this exhibit for visitors to browse and check out; the additional purchased books have been donated to the Ashland Public Library, and by extension the entire Minuteman network of Massachusetts’s libraries. Go to the book list page to see them all.