|
|
In late February, the Ithaca Journal (NY) reported:
Groundwater testing at Ithaca Gun has identified the presence of TCE above the standard established by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Samples were taken from three groundwater monitoring wells on the property in November 2007, said Mary Jane Peachey, a DEC engineer. Two of the three samples registered trichloroethylene, or TCE, readings above the state’s groundwater standard of 5 parts per billion: one location between the factory and the smokestack was 152 ppb; one location near the smokestack was 98 ppb.
“The groundwater in this particular case is being monitored at a location 50 feet into rock. So exposure is not something occurring here on this site. That’s a good thing,” Peachey said. “What this tells us is that there is a need to do a complete investigation up on the site itself.”
Read the full story here.
In the 1980’s, Stauffer Chemical Co. and its successor, Formosa Plastics, were named as responsible parties for the chemical contamination found in groundwater in the Potomac Aquifer near Delaware City, DE. The toxins discovered included vinyl chloride, ethylene dichloride and trichloroethylene. At the time, officials reportedly expressed confidence that this contamination would not impact nearby water wells. Apparently they were wrong:
Earlier this month, Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control notified owners of four properties near U.S. 13 and Wrangle Hill Road that they would be eligible for free United Water Delaware connections. The offer followed the unexplained appearance of a cancer-causing chemical, ethylene dichloride, in a well near the St. Georges Getty service station just north of the car dealership.
Officials had assured area residents for more than two decades that pollution from the site of the old Stauffer Chemical Co. toxic-waste landfills to the north was under control. That they were wrong underscores how little is known about how toxic chemicals make their way through complex geological formations into drinking-water supplies.
[...]
By 1982, the plant became Delaware’s seventh named toxic cleanup site following passage of the federal “Superfund” cleanup law, and one of the first to become a federally overseen project. Stauffer and Formosa eventually were ordered to remove pits containing vinyl chloride processing remnants, and to begin pumping and treating more than 400,000 gallons of contaminated water daily from around the site.
Investigators acknowledged decades ago that water “goes in all directions” from the site of the lagoons. But their initial confidence in the safety of deep aquifers used by water suppliers proved misplaced.
Although an EPA report in 1986 said that layers of clay shield the deeper Potomac aquifer from chemicals in more shallow wells, federal officials have since reported discovery of ethylene dichloride in the deepest wells, and in 2006 reported “no evidence” that the overall contamination had been contained in one portion of the upper Potomac Aquifer or the shallow aquifer above it.
It may be worth noting that when TCE degrades under ground, it can result in the formation of new toxins including ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride. This is known as TCE’s degradation pathway.
Also, much of the article talks about alternate uses of the contaminated water but fails to mention anything about toxic vapors or vapor intrusion:
“[The water is] just no good. It’s contaminated. The only thing we can use it for is washing the cars,” [resident and local car dealership owner Charles] Stapleford said.
and
Shazim Uppal, who owns the St. Georges Getty station at Wrangle Hill and U.S. 13, said he was unaware of the current cleanup debate. He is sure, though, that the tainted water near his business prevents the company from selling fountain-type drinks or using plain tap water from a company well.
“We bring in bottled water. If they can put in a pipeline, that would be good. We only use the water in the sink here for cleaning the floor,” Uppal said.
Hey folks, these toxins evaporate into the air. They can be toxic to breathe. Why haven’t these people been advised of this by state officials or by EPA?
As always, we’ll keep you posted as we learn more. Meantime, you can read the full story here.
Late in February, the Palladium-Item (IN) reported:
Springwood Lake [in Richmond, Indiana] will remain closed to area fishermen for at least a year and could be closed well beyond that, Richmond park board members were told Thursday.
The reason is contamination, including cancer-causing heavy metals, found in sediment on the lake’s floor during testing over the past few years. State officials also believe that contaminants continue to seep into the lake from industrial sites past and present above the lake on the city’s northwest side.
Some believe that area may include old industrial dump sites.
State officials told Richmond Mayor Sally Hutton and city park department board members that tests found contaminants including lead, PCBs, cadmium, chromium, cyanide, arsenic and trichloroethylene (a solvent) in the sediment.
[...]
“We do know there is historical contamination (in the lake) and we know there is a need for more investigation,” said IDEM spokeswoman Amy Hartsock. “There has not been a fish consumption advisory issued for the lake at this time, but we do support the city’s decision to close the lake to fishing.”
This is a first for us. We’ve never heard of Trichloroethylene being discovered in sediments below a lake. We’re not saying it doesn’t happen, just that it’s the first we’ve heard this kind of story. It raises a number of questions for us:
- What levels of TCE were discovered in the sediment?
- If the sediment contains TCE, does that mean the lake water contains TCE?
- If the lake water contains TCE, is the lake itself a source of toxic TCE vapors (that is, is TCE evaporating from the lake and contaminating the air?)
- And of course, from where did this TCE come?
Note: We recognize there are other toxins involved here and don’t mean to suggest they are unimportant. But as readers know, we have a very narrow focus.
We’ll keep you posted as we learn more. Meantime, you can read the full story here.
Toxic TCE vapors are entering homes in Dayton. Though EPA is on the case, they’ve run into a few complications:
Efforts to make homes safe from contaminated groundwater fumes near the Behr Dayton Thermal Products plant, 1600 Webster St., have run into problems at as many as 10 homes.
And the effort to clean indoor air contamination at a nearby school is ongoing, authorities have said.
TCE fumes have migrated from the soil into the homes, businesses and schools, creating potentially hazardous vapors.
In homes that have dirt basement floors, those floors must be sealed for the air evacuation systems to work properly, said Mark Case, director of environmental health for Public Health Dayton & Montgomery County.
Levels of contamination in the problematic homes have reportedly dropped below 10 ppb. That’s still 25 times the Ohio Department of Health’s exposure limit of .4 ppb.
Read the full article in the Dayton Daily News.
After finding cause for concern in previous tests, the St. Louis Park (MN) vapor intrusion investigation expands:
Expanding the search for potentially hazardous vapors in homes and businesses in St. Louis Park, the Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that it will add about 50 properties to its study area on both sides of Hwy. 7 near Wooddale Avenue.
[...]
The main chemicals of concern, trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene, have been used for decades as industrial degreasers, metal cleaners and dry-cleaning fluids and seeped into the groundwater under St. Louis Park. Long-term exposure to them at certain levels has been linked to cancer, liver disease and other problems, according to state health officials.
[...]
EPA officials will go door-to-door this Saturday to explain the situation to those living in the expanded study area, and to seek their permission to take air samples. The testing involves drilling a small hole in the basement and inserting a 2-foot probe about the width of a pencil.
The initial study area contained about 270 homes and businesses, and the EPA received permission from owners to test vapors beneath 214 of the buildings. Of that number, 32 homes and eight commercial buildings were found to have enough contamination to justify more testing to check air in different rooms and for longer periods of time.
Read more here.
After several years of exploration, the East Pikeland Planning Commission has just recommended a plan to build an elementary school on land contaminated with VOC’s (including TCE). Last week, the Daily Local News (West Chester, PA) reported the unanimous recommendation was made to the Board of Supervisors. Now, presumably, the Board will consider the issue.
Back in 2006, the Planning Commission summarized the history of the site and outlined their major environmental concerns regarding school-building there:
[Attorney Christopher] Roe explained that across Coldstream Road from the proposed school site the Henry Company site has long been the subject of environmental investigation and clean-up under the direction of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Ciba-Geigy, a chemical company, operated there in the 1950s and early 1960s. USEPA has identified lagoons that were used for disposal in that area and are the likely source of solvent contamination in the groundwater. The lagoons were excavated in 1984, but the monitoring and clean-up of groundwater continues.
In the 1980s groundwater monitoring wells were installed on nearby properties to determine how far contaminants had spread. These off site wells included four that were installed on what is now the Kimberton Elementary School property. Two of the wells on the north northeast side of the Kimberton School property have never shown the presence of any solvent contamination. A third well, on the east side of the property along Rt.113, has shown low levels, at or below clean-up standards. The fourth well, monitoring well MW-17 –along the southwest edge of the property – has consistently shown elevated levels of solvent contamination.
Phoenixville Area School District (PASD) will not use groundwater from the property for any purpose. Despite this, PASD and its advisors met with and are working with USEPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) to insure that the presence of the contaminants in the groundwater below part of the property will not pose unacceptable risks to employees or students.
PASD is actively engaged in two steps toward this goal. First, PASD has directed that the designers of the school building follow and implement USEPA guidelines for ensuring that school buildings are protected from subsurface vapors.
Second, PASD has hired environmental specialists to install additional groundwater monitoring wells to better define the areas of the property under which contaminated groundwater may exist, including the concentrations and water elevations.
Given the history of the use of the property, another issue that PASD is having its environmental advisers fully evaluate and address is the appropriate handling of the construction debris and other fill materials, including a small area reportedly used as a town disposal area in the 1960s or earlier. PASD’s consultant will submit a plan for the handling of the fill materials that will be reviewed and approved by PADEP before actual construction work begins.
A quick poke around EPA’s website reveals a bit more detail regarding the history of the Henry Co./Ciba-Geigy contamination site:
In 1981 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were detected in monitoring wells. As a result, a series of initial clean-up actions took place including removal of drums, excavation of the lagoons, and treatment of residential wells. In 1992 a public water system was built providing water to residences and businesses around the site. Approximately 500 people live within a one-mile radius of the site. A small stream that crosses through the site is the discharge point for local groundwater. Less than one-mile from the site is French Creek, a public recreation and fishing area.
[...]
Threats and Contaminants
During routine water quality testing in 1981, contamination in a well on the site was detected. The lagoons were identified as a source of contamination at the site. The groundwater is contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including trichloroethene [aka trichloroethylene], dichloroethene, and vinyl chloride. A tributary to French Creek was also contaminated with VOCs.
[...]
Cleanup Progress
In the past ten years, over 3,000 pounds of VOCs, mainly TCE, have been removed by the groundwater treatment system. The groundwater and surface water are regularly monitored and this information is reported to EPA. EPA completed a five-year review of the site on September 30, 2004 and found that the remedy is protective of human health and the environment. The next five-year review will be due by September 2009.
Though online sources do not appear to reveal the levels of contamination at the adjacent contaminated property or under the proposed school, plans to build a geothermal system into the proposed school reportedly have been scrapped because of the vapor intrusion risk associated with drilling into the soil.
We can’t help but wonder: If the soil is so contaminated that drilling into it may exacerbate vapor intrusion, do you really want to put a school there?
Apparently we’re not the only ones concerned. In an opinion letter published this past Sunday in the Daily Local News, West Chester resident Bruce Molholt Ph.D., an independent environmental consultant and a part-time professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Institute for Environmental Studies whose research interests include “environmental factors which exacerbate cancer incidence among children,” writes:
As a toxicologist who has investigated many schools built upon ground containing chlorinated solvents, this situation looks potentially dangerous to future schoolchildren whether or not a geothermal system is put in place.
The problem is that chlorinated solvents underground are degraded by soil bacteria to vinyl chloride, a carcinogenic gas. This carcinogenic gas migrates upwards, much like radon, and may accumulate in buildings on top of contaminated soil.
In one such school built in 1965 atop a trichloroethylene (TCE) dump in Marion, Ohio, I found that the leukemia rate in schoolchildren was three times that expected. Upon my recommendation, the local school board finally moved the school to another location. Obviously this unwise location caused both inestimable human trauma and great expense to the school district.
Bruce Molholt
West Chester
If any readers know the actual levels of contamination found at or near the site, please contact us via the link above or send an email to tceblog [at] gmail.com. Meantime, we’ll try to keep you posted as we learn more.
A story in today’s Columbia Basin Herald (WA) announced a Wednesday-night meeting in Moses Lake, WA where EPA was scheduled to present their clean-up plan for a massive groundwater contamination site. Sorry we posted this news so late, but it gives us the opportunity to tell you more.
The site is known as the Moses Lake Wellfield Contamination Superfund site.
According to today’s article, the TCE contamination has persisted (and, we assume, migrated) for about 50 or so years.
In a press release earlier this month, EPA previewed their plan:
A comprehensive cleanup plan for the trichloroethylene (TCE)-contaminated groundwater at the Moses Lake Wellfield Contamination Superfund site has been issued for public review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The site is located just north of Moses Lake and includes the Grant County Airport, the former Larson Air Force Base, and areas south of the airport.
“This cleanup plan takes steps that will protect human health and the environment and restore groundwater quality,” said Lori Cohen, EPA’s Associate Director of the Office of Environmental Cleanup.
The groundwater and soils at the site were contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) and other hazardous substances by operations of the former base and industrial activities associated with the aircraft industry. Approximately 1000 acres of groundwater are contaminated with TCE above health based standards and several contaminated soil waste areas are scattered throughout the site. The proposed cleanup is expected to cost about $31 million. TCE is an industrial solvent that was commonly used at this site for stripping paint from airplanes, washing airplane parts, and cleaning missile components.
The proposed cleanup plan calls for:
- pumping out the most highly contaminated water and treating it to remove TCE;
- cleaning up the contaminated soil areas by removing soils contaminated above safe levels;
- restoring the groundwater to its highest beneficial use as a drinking water source; and
- requiring local land use restrictions such as changes to local ordinances, zoning, and property easements to protect the public from contaminated groundwater and soils until cleanup work is completed.
In 1988, TCE contamination was found in three of the City of Moses Lake drinking water supply wells on the base. TCE contamination was also discovered in the Skyline Water System wells located south of the base. Since that time, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) have been investigating the contamination and cleanup options at Moses Lake. Between 1989 and 1993 the City fixed the three contaminated wells on the former base by deepening the wells. In 2003, the Corps constructed a replacement water supply well for the Skyline Water System. Continued testing has shown that the City and Skyline wells continue to provide reliable, clean drinking water to the community. The Corps and EPA continue to test a representative set of wells (up to 80) at the site. Based on this sampling, five homes have had whole-house filters installed at their wells to remove TCE from the water.
The safe level for TCE in drinking water is set at 5 parts per billion (ppb). The contaminated groundwater at this site contains TCE concentrations above 5 ppb and some areas contain TCE as high as 80 ppb. The primary risks for people who drink water containing TCE in excess of 5 ppb over many years are the potential to experience liver problems and an increased risk of getting cancer.
Though we haven’t been able to dig through much of it, EPA has links on its website to a whole treasure trove of documents related to the Moses Lake site, including the proposed clean-up plan [PDF, 26 pp., 148K] that was presented tonight. According to EPA’s website, the following people are available to answer questions about the site:
General Information
Suzanne Skadowski, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator
206-553-6689 or toll-free at 1-800-424-4372
Technical Information
Dennis Faulk, EPA Project Manager
509-376-8631
Technical Information
Marcia Knadle, EPA Hydrogeologist
206-553-1641 or toll-free at 1-800-424-4372
As always, we’ll keep you posted as we learn more.
Over the weekend, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (NY) reported extremely high levels of TCE in soil and groundwater in Gates, NY:
After a four-year investigation, the DEC found high levels of trichloroethene (TCE) in soil and groundwater at Buell Automatics, 381 Buell Road. A toxic volatile organic compound used as a solvent in dry cleaning and removal of grease, trichloroethene in large amounts can cause health symptoms similar to those of alcohol intoxication, beginning with headache, dizziness, cardiac arrhythmias and liver and kidney problems.
The tainted groundwater flowed 200 feet southwest, toward the Comfort Inn, 395 Buell Road, the report said. DEC officials performed a vapor intrusion analysis near and around the hotel. The site is not near a residential area.
[...]
DEC officials conducted investigations between March 2002 and September 2006 to evaluate geologic and groundwater conditions on- and off-site. The investigation included sampling and chemical soil analysis from more than 60 soil borings, 19 groundwater wells and indoor air from buildings at three adjacent properties.
The DEC testing showed TCE levels for the soil at 820 parts per million and groundwater at 15 parts per million, both much higher than standard numbers.
Read the full story here.
The ATSDR has delivered yet another report concluding that a contamination site poses “no apparent public health risk.” Just toss it in the pile. Feel free to roll your eyes. (For those who don’t know, ATSDR is notorious for producing these reports)
There is “no apparent public health risk” at the North Brunswick Township High School and its surrounding areas associated with the soil contamination found in 2003, according to a preliminary public health assessment.
Last Thursday, township officials and representatives from the New Jersey State Department of Health and Senior Services and the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry held a meeting to discuss the remediation project that resulted from the expansion of the high school in 2003. The primary concern for the school, Veterans Park, Judd Elementary School, a PSE&G easement and six nearby residences was arsenic in surface soil, lead in settled dust and tetrachloroethylene (TCE) [sic] in groundwater.
In July 2003, waste material consisting of pharmaceutical and laboratory wastes, glass vials, bottles and an unidentified dark brown material were uncovered near and within the Oval area of the high school, which is where the current auditorium sits. It is believed that the site was used as a municipal dump between the 1940s and 1960s. Approximately 9,200 cubic yards of waste materials and soil were excavated and removed, according to the report.
Since that time, officials said 54 soil samples and 18 interior surface samples were taken from the high school, and 10 interior surface samples were collected from Judd, with follow-up tests conducted. The high school perimeter and football field, as well as the neighboring park and residences at block 143, lots 94.01 and 95.01 were also examined.
Although remediation is still needed at Veterans Park and efforts will continue to oversee and limit any possible groundwater and vapor contamination, the report states that there are no cancer or noncancer health risks associated with the project.
We note that the story seems to confuse TCE and PCE. It is not clear which of these is the contaminant of concern referenced above. No matter which it is, residents were reportedly suspicious of the report’s findings:
One parent claimed his son “lived in the dirt” for 18 years as an athlete and developed a brain tumor, although he is not positive there is a correlation. A student noted that the epidemiology report is only calculated through 2001, but statistics may have changed through 2008. Another person mentioned that the cancer rates should be evaluated specific to the area surrounding the high school and not broadened out to the general population, since any health effects will involve North Brunswick.
Also, residents are concerned that there could have been inhalation of chemicals since the investigation and remediation phase began, and that sites that have not been remediated, such as the high school perimeter, the overused football field and Judd school, could have contaminants in the soil that become disturbed and loosened as time goes on. One parent is concerned that no additional testing was done at Judd before the current expansion and renovation project began.
Read the full story in the North Brunswick Sentinel (NJ).
Update: Strangely, the report above fails to mention that ATSDR conducted a separate public health assessment re: exposure to Arsenic and TCE at 3 nearby residences in 2005 (yeah, we confirmed the contaminant is TCE and not PCE). They reported TCE contamination in groundwater at levels up to 140 ppb, TCE in indoor air in homes at levels of 12μg/m3, and arsenic dust that coated indoor air surfaces. They concluded that past exposure posed a public health hazard and, at the time, ongoing exposure posed an indeterminate public health hazard.
We suspect we’re going to be hearing more on this story. As always, we’ll try to keep you psted.
A story posted on the TimesLedger website describes NY State Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan’s appeal to the state to better inform local communities about potentially toxic neighborhood sites. Her concern appears to stem from recent discovery of contamination found to be migrating from under the Swingline Stapler building in Queens.
It reminds us that we have yet to post the original news of the migration, which broke in December:
State Department of Environmental Conservation officials are conducting tests at eight to 12 buildings within a one-block radius of the former stapler factory, which closed in 1999 and housed the Museum of Modern Art while its Manhattan location was being renovated from 2002 to 2004.
The groundwater and soil beneath the building is tainted with the common industrial pollutant and carcinogen trichloroethylene, known as TCE, according to DEC regional citizen-participation specialist Arturo Garcia-Costas.
In October, the DEC found that the degreasing solvent – which has also been linked to nerve damage and birth defects – may have spread, so a new round of tests began immediately.
[...]
ACCO, the company that operated the Swingline factory from 1952 to 1997, entered into the state’s voluntary cleanup program in October 2000 after an unlined pit used to dump chemical waste was discovered during federal closing procedures.
In 2004 the DEC investigated the actual footprint of the factory, but not until this year did it complete tests in the areas around Swingline.
Read the full story from December here. We’ll try to keep you posted as we learn more.
According to the East Valley Tribune (CA):
Two recent drinking water contamination scares that affected Scottsdale and Paradise Valley customers were unprecedented in Arizona, and possibly the nation, federal environmental regulators said Thursday.
“I do not believe that it has happened in the rest of the country,” said Keith Takata, Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Division director.
At the behest of U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, held a hearing in Washington Thursday involving the trichloroethylene, or TCE, scares at a private drinking water facility that serves residential and commercial customers in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley.
Read the full story here.
When the Motorola-hired Arizona American Water Company experienced system failure several weeks ago and piped dangerously TCE-contaminated water to residents through their supply system, they set a plan to collect some of the TCE-contaminated water they were processing so that it did not reach homes.
Now the company has 300,000 gallons of water in its reservoir that is contaminated with low levels of TCE. Since the levels are reportedly below the federal MCL of 5ppb for TCE, the company is plotting to dump all 300,000 gallons into the Arizona Canal:
There are municipal water treatment plants downstream from the contamination site – two in Phoenix and one each in Tempe, Glendale and Peoria – that treat water for use in their supplies, according to Salt River Project, which operates the canal. Mark Shaffer, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality spokesman, said Arizona American has the option of discharging treated water into the canal, provided it meets government purity guidelines.
Arizona American has taken out advertisements in local newspapers, including the Tribune, in attempt to reassure customers that potentially contaminated water consumed during the breakdown is unlikely to cause adverse health effects.
In some ways, it’s hard for us to know what to make of this. After all, we are not experts in alternative uses of 300,000 gallons of tainted water. That said, at least two questions spring immediately to mind in reading this story:
- If they are so certain the water is “unlikely” to cause adverse health effects, why not deliver it to customers?
- If the company won’t supply this water directly to customers, why is it safe to dump in a canal upstream from other water supply sources?
Remember, even low level TCE exposure can cause health problems, including immune system changes.
According to the Star Tribune (MN):
[EPA w]orkers are testing the air inside 40 homes and businesses in St. Louis Park after chemical vapors were discovered in the soil under their basements, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday.
Those properties were among more than 200 homes and businesses that were checked for potential risk from underground solvent contamination.
[...]
Each of the 40 properties will be visited by a mobile lab, [EPA's "on-scene coordinator, Sonia] Vega said. Technicians are going room to room in the homes, using special hoses to pump air into the lab to see whether the vapors are present in high concentrations. They will also leave 24-hour sampling canisters in each building to test the air in the basement and first-floor levels.
The main chemicals of concern, trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene, have been used for decades as industrial degreasers, metal cleaners and dry-cleaning fluids. Long-term exposure to them at certain levels has been linked to cancer, liver problems and other adverse health effects, according to state health officials.
[...]
The properties being tested are on both sides of Hwy. 7 near Wooddale Avenue. By last week, workers had pulled air samples from beneath the basement floors of 184 residences and 29 commercial or industrial buildings.
Vega said the vapors measured beneath the 32 homes and eight commercial buildings ranged from slightly above health guidelines to more than twice what is considered safe. The buildings with the higher vapor concentrations in their soils were clustered, Vega said, but she could not provide more details until the test results are completed and mapped.
Read the full story here. In a previous article, the Star Tribune posted a map of the evaluation area:
See below for the Star Tribune’s previous coverage of this story:
Re-tests for TCE in the air in Ithaca’s South Hill have been delayed due to last week’s fire.
President Bush recently signed the Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008. In doing so, he approved a provision requiring notification to marines, families, and employees who may have been exposed to contamination at the base. The language of the bill provides:
SEC. 315. NOTIFICATION
OF CERTAIN RESIDENTS AND CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES AT
w:st=”on”>CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA,
OF EXPOSURE TO DRINKING WATER CONTAMINATION.
(a) Notification of Individuals Served by Tarawa
Terrace Water Distribution System, Including Knox Trailer Park- Not later than
1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Navy
shall make reasonable efforts to identify and notify directly individuals who
were served by the Tarawa Terrace Water Distribution System, including Knox
Trailer Park, at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, during
the years 1958 through 1987 that they may have been exposed to drinking water
contaminated with tetrachloroethylene (PCE).
(b) Notification of Individuals Served by
class=SpellE>Hadnot Point Water Distribution System- Not later than 1
year after the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
completes its water modeling study of the Hadnot
Point water distribution system, the Secretary of the Navy shall make
reasonable efforts to identify and notify directly individuals who were served
by the system during the period identified in the study of the drinking water
contamination to which they may have been exposed.
(c) Notification of Former Civilian Employees at
Camp Lejeune- Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Navy shall make reasonable
efforts to identify and notify directly civilian employees who worked at Camp
class=SpellE>Lejeune during the period identified in the ATSDR drinking
water study of the drinking water contamination to which they may have been
exposed.
(d) Circulation of Health Survey-
(1) FINDINGS- Congress makes the following findings:
(A) Notification and survey efforts related to the
drinking water contamination described in this section are necessary due to the
potential negative health impacts of these contaminants.
(B) The Secretary of the Navy will not be able to
identify or contact all former residents and former employees due to the
condition, non-existence, or accessibility of records.
(C) It is the intent of Congress that the
Secretary of the Navy contact as many former residents and former employees as
quickly as possible.
(2) ATSDR HEALTH SURVEY-
(A) DEVELOPMENT-
(i) IN GENERAL- Not
later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the ATSDR, in
consultation with a well-qualified contractor selected by the ATSDR, shall
develop a health survey that would voluntarily request of individuals described
in subsections (a), (b), and (c) personal health information that may lead to
scientifically useful health information associated with exposure to
trichloroethylene (TCE), PCE, vinyl chloride, and the other contaminants
identified in the ATSDR studies that may provide a basis for further reliable
scientific studies of potentially adverse health impacts of exposure to
contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
(ii) FUNDING- The Secretary of the Navy is
authorized to provide from available funds the necessary funding for the ATSDR
to develop the health survey.
(B) INCLUSION WITH NOTIFICATION- The survey
developed under subparagraph (A) shall be distributed by the Secretary of the
Navy concurrently with the direct notification required under subsections (a),
(b), and (c).
(e) Use of Media To Supplement
Notification- The Secretary of the Navy may use media notification as a
supplement to direct notification of individuals described under subsections
(a), (b), and (c). Media notification may reach those individuals not
identifiable via remaining records. Once individuals respond to media
notifications, the Secretary will add them to the contact list to be included
in future information updates.
Congratulations to all of those who helped make this happen.
The Northwest Herald (IL) has created an outstanding multimedia presentation that tells the story of the McCullom Lake cancer lawsuits. And boy, what a way to tell the story!
They include video interviews with plaintiffs and with attorneys for both sides, map of the contamination area, documents associated with the lawsuit (including an important expert report from Redpath’s Dr. Sidney Finkelstein that we will highlight at another time) and more.
For those interested in McCullom Lake, the causal connection between brain cancers and TCE/vinyl chloride/chlorinated solvent exposure, and legal actions for personal injuries caused by chlorinated ethylenes, we highly recommend you check it out.
Warning: The title of the presentation is “Coincidence or Cluster?” We believe this is a poorly-chosen title and it does not properly reflect the main issue in these suits. The main issue, as we understand it, is whether or not the defendants’ chemicals caused the individual plaintiffs’ cancers. Whether McCullom Lake’s cancers can be considered a cancer cluster is a red herring. So please ignore the overly simplistic title, but do check out the presentation.
Today’s Asheville Citizen-Times (NC) reports on the recent discovery of TCE contamination in residential wells and quotes EPA defending CTS:
The topography and geology of the area where the contaminated wells were found suggest that the contamination may not be related to the CTS site, said David Dorian, on-scene coordinator for the Environmental Protection Agency.
“I don’t think that at this point in time there is adequate data to say anything definite about the source,” Dorian said. “We shouldn’t immediately jump to the conclusion that this is linked to CTS. Further investigation is warranted.”
The N.C. Division of Environment and Natural Resources plans to conduct more soil sampling near the contaminated wells to determine the contamination source, said Harry Zinn, an environmental engineer with the state’s superfund division.
“It’s not totally outside the realm of possibility that there is another source in the vicinity,” he said.
Why is EPA going out of its way to defend CTS here? What is their motivation?
In 1997, the Rialto-Colton Groundwater Basin, a source of drinking water to tens of thousands of San Bernardino County residents, was found to be contaminated by TCE and perchlorate. According to EPA, “the contamination has forced the closure of numerous public drinking water supply wells and caused hardships for Rialto, Colton and neighboring areas dependent on the basin for their drinking water.” Ever since, the City of Rialto has attempted to treat the contaminated wells, remediate the perchlorate and TCE, and also recover costs for its efforts from a number of potentially responsible parties (PRP’s).
In a 2005, when EPA granted the affected cities more than $400,000 towards the cost of clean-up, the San Bernardino Sun (CA) explained why this money was “just a drop in the bucket”:
It costs more than $1 million to install perchlorate filters on a well, and about $500,000 a year for maintenance.
…
Fontana Water Co. General Manager Mike McGraw said the city spent about $3 million to set up treatment for two contaminated wells.
…
[Colton] has spent more than $4 million to date treating three wells for perchlorate, Medina said. He wouldn’t rule out a rate increase.
…
Rialto is suing the Department of Defense and 42 of its contractors, as well as fireworks manufacturers, for perchlorate contamination. One defendant, B.F. Goodrich, gave $4 million to the cities and district.
Rialto has spent about $7.6 million on legal fees and cleanup. It is treating two of its wells for perchlorate contamination.
Fast forward to 2008. After spending nearly $20 million trying to “hold dozens of suspected polluters responsible,” Rialto has just fired their city attorney (Bob Owens, who allegedly was quarterbacking Rialto’s strategy for recovering costs from other polluters) and is facing significant uncertainty as it prepares to determine what’s next.
Meanwhile, on the City of Rialto’s website, in addition to tracking the latest clean-up/lawsuit news and developments, the following declaration appears:
The City will continue to provide the citizens of Rialto with clean, safe, and affordable drinking water. It will also pursue parties that are responsible for the perchlorate pollution to pay for the clean up of the Rialto-Colton Groundwater Basin. It will repay Rialto’s ratepayers for the costs incurred in forcing the polluters to clean it up.
Henry Garcia, City Administrator
As always, we’ll try to keep you posted.
EPA and North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) discovered TCE approximately 3/4 mile to the northeast of the contamination at the former CTS plant on Mills Gap Road in Skyland, N.C. According to the official press release:
Of the 66 wells sampled, one active well showed the presence of Trichloroethylene (TCE) in excess of EPA’s Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL), the level established to be protective of human health. The well is located approximately three-fourths of a mile northeast of the site. The sampling also detected trace quantities of cis-1,2-Dichlorethylene, a breakdown product of TCE, below the MCL. EPA provided bottled water to the affected residence and re-tested the well in question. The second set of sampling confirmed the presence of TCE at the level indicated by the original testing.
NCDENR also identified all active residential wells in the immediate area of the contaminated well. On January 8, 2008, NCDENR tested eight wells not previously tested during the November and December sampling events. Of the eight wells, one well, located immediately east of the contaminated well, contained TCE below the MCL. No contaminants were detected in the other five wells.
The Asheville Citizen-Times (NC) adds:
The latest round of testing came in response to state testing in August that found levels of the industrial solvent trichloroethylene, or TCE, in areas around the former plant had not significantly decreased as a result of cleanup efforts at the site, which removed more than 1,600 pounds of the solvent from soil underneath the building in a little over a year of operation.
On the Citizen-Times’ comments page, Representative Charles C. Thomas calls the developments here “a true tragedy.” Not only does he claim this represents “a dereliction of duty on the part of state and federal government of the highest order,” but he firmly states, “Those who are responsible must be held to account.”
Speaking of being held to account, according to a previous press release, EPA and NCDENR also conducted some sort of vapor intrusion study in December. If they are prepared to answer questions about it tomorrow night (as they say here), why no mention of the vapor intrusion study results in the press release or news?
REMINDER: EPA will hold a public meeting to discuss the activities at the Mills Gap Groundwater Contamination site on Thursday, January 31, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. at the Skyland Fire Department (9 Miller Road, Asheville, N.C.). EPA, NCDENR, Buncombe County Health Center,and ATSDR will all be present to answer questions and explain que paso.
The Express Times (Easton, PA) has this report about TCE migrating away from a Hellertown Superfund site:
Contaminated soil at the former Champion Spark Plug factory on Main Street is covered with a cap under a layer of asphalt, but federal officials want to determine if any chemical gases from the property made their way into nearby homes.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to test two residences over the next few months for the presence of trichloroethylene (TCE), one of the chemicals that entered the soil and groundwater at the site between 1930 and 1976.
Read the full story here.
|
|