A cancer-causing industrial solvent has been found coursing in huge levels through the water table under Naval Weapons Station Yorktown.

One test showed the trichloroethylene, or TCE, at 18,000 parts per billion, or ppb. A follow-up test put it at 3,900 ppb.

By a quirk of geology, the water table drains into Indian Field Creek, which flows directly into the York River.

Years after those tests, the TCE level is now 800 ppb. But the landfill thought to be creating the pollution has yet to be entirely cleaned up, despite the off-the-charts sample data.

TCE is just one of many serious pollution problems at the secretive Navy base. More than 30 polluted sites have been identified, and about half have been cleaned up.