Norwood PCB Discovery on Pellana Road Stalls Home Sales and Property Values-August 8, 1983

Real Estate Agent Frank Barsky and Homeowners Cherif and Patricia Moujabber Struggle to Sell Property Near Contaminated Field

For local real estate agent Frank Barsky, attempting to sell the seven-room, Cape-style home at 117 Pellana Road has become one of the most frustrating challenges of his career. The hurdle isn’t the house itself—which features two full baths and a large backyard—but rather the toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) discovered in the adjacent open field a little over a month ago. “When I’m showing people the house and we get to the property, they’ll ask what the big field is out back,” Barsky said. “When I tell them, they won’t even get out of the car. One woman even started screaming at me that I had the audacity to take her there.”

Homeowners Cherif and Patricia Moujabber, who purchased the home three and a half years ago for $65,000 and invested at least $10,000 in improvements, know the economic fallout firsthand. Having relocated to Los Angeles for work, Mrs. Moujabber noted that prospective buyers repeatedly retracted offers upon learning about the nearby field.

The house, initially listed for $79,000 last August and later reduced to $75,900, has held firm at that price despite high interest rates and the ensuing publicity. While recent preliminary blood tests showed no immediate health threats to area residents, neighbors along Pellana Road continue to worry about depressed property values and lingering stigma.

Barsky criticized media coverage for fueling local hysteria, drawing comparisons to real estate conditions near the Baird & McGuire chemical site in Holbrook, where values eventually rebounded after health reassurances. Remaining optimistic, Mrs. Moujabber stated, “The worst thing to do is panic. It’s not like a nuclear waste thing. In a few months or a year, everything will be cleared up.” (Reporting by Brian McGrory for The Patriot Ledger).

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger