'Civil Action' attorney to speak to Danvers neighbors
Will advise victims of chemical blast
Later this month, the attorney who became famous for fighting on behalf of residents of a Woburn neighborhood made sick by toxic waste will speak to Danvers residents whose neighborhood was devastated last year by a chemical explosion.
Jan R. Schlichtmann was invited to the Jan. 30 meeting by Susan Tropeano , who lives in the neighborhood partially destroyed last Thanksgiving eve. There were no fatalities, but about 100 people have still not been able to return home , and six houses have been demolished.
Schlichtmann, who was the subject of the book and movie "A Civil Action," said yesterday in a telephone interview that he is "happy to offer my experience. . . . Their community was essentially blown away."
Schlichtmann said he is not going to sign up clients -- he will consult with residents if asked -- but wants to help forge a consensus on what a rebuilt neighborhood will be like and how it will make itself safe in the future. He said he also wants to make sure people get access to financial resources to which they are entitled.
Tropeano and Schlichtmann have a business relationship. Tropeano said Schlichtmann has been a client of the environmental testing lab she runs with her husband , John Lovatt, but she emphasized they have never been his clients .
She also stressed that the meeting was aimed at drawing on Schlichtmann's expertise in dealing with environmental damage to neighborhoods, and not to help him generate a list of clients.
Two companies were operating in the building at the time of the explosion: CAI Inc. , a privately held company that manufactured inks, and paint maker Arnel Co.
Cheryl McLarney, a spokeswoman for CAI, said yesterday that the company does not know what caused the blast. She said the company is cooperating with the investigation and hopes the courts will set up an orderly process for the expected litigation. Salem lawyer Louis J. Muggeo said he has signed about half a dozen clients among the families, businesses, and boat owners affected by the blast, and he expects to file a negligence lawsuit on their behalf, possibly by the end of the month.
Town Manager Wayne Marquis said yesterday that an estimated 100 people from 44 families still have not been able to return home. Six houses have been demolished -- five by order of the town and one by an insurance company -- and a handful more may be taken because insurance companies have concluded that it is less expensive to knock down than to renovate.
State Fire Marshall Stephen D. Coan and a spokesman for the Chemical Safety Board both said yesterday that their complex investigations are continuing and that conclusions are not expected for at least a few weeks.
John Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com. 
