Water officials accused of hiding contamination in New Jersey

By: Nathan Lamb

Two New Jersey water officials are facing criminal charges, accused of hiding drinking supply contaminants from regulators, according to this story from the Times of Trenton newspaper.

The officials allegedly shut down contaminated wells before testing to conceal elevated levels of the dry cleaning solvent tetrachlorethyene,a potential carcinogen that causes a variety of short- and long-term health problems.

East Orange Water Commission executive director Harry Mansmann was indicted on Feb. 13 on multiple counts of violating the state’s Safe Drinking Water Act and Pollution Control Act, along with charges of conspiracy, official misconduct, unlawful release of a toxic pollutant and tampering with public information. Also facing those charges is commission assistant executive director William Mowell.

An indictment released by the state attorney general alleges the officials shut down the contaminated wells before testing, once in 2010 and twice in 2011.

While those tests indicated customers were receiving acceptable drinking water, independent sampling found elevated levels of tetrachlorethyene, which is also known as perchloroethylene or perc. Often used for dry cleaning or metal degreasing, perc is a persistent solvent—improperly disposed of, it often migrates through soil and into groundwater.

The attorney general confirmed that concentrations of perc that exceed state and federal drinking standards were found in “several” wells throughout the system that supplies water for the northeastern New Jersey cities of East Orange and South Orange.

The incident was referred to authorities by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which is now monitoring water provided by the system.

Dry-cleaning byproducts a costly problem in Medford

By: Nathan Lamb


Contaminants from a long-gone dry-cleaning business are the prime suspect behind a costly problem in Medford, Mass., according to a local news story.

At issue are high levels of tetrachloroethylene at a city parking lot and three nearby businesses. Also known as perchloroethylene (or perc), the chemical is often used in dry cleaning, but it also produces vapors that can cause a variety of short- and long-term health problems.

The City of Medford is seeking federal grants to help pay for a $1.8 million remediation project to remove tainted soil from the parking lot.

Medford took ownership of the property via eminent domain in the early ‘60s. Before that, the parcel was home to three different dry cleaning operations, and city studies indicate that was the source of contamination. As owner, the city is responsible for cleanup.

Tetrachloroethylene has been linked to several different types of cancer, along with aversely impacting the body’s neurological system, kidney, and liver, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website.

Perc often migrates in liquid form through soil, and three neighboring businesses have spent roughly $300,000 on state mandated remediation measures over the past five years. Two of the businesses' owners recently went on record saying the city should cover those costs, and that issue has yet to be resolved.

The dry-cleaning business that most recently operated at the site declared bankruptcy in 2008.

The city is commissioning a $90,000 engineering study of the site, which must be delivered to the Department Of Environmental Protection by March.

Dry Cleaning Chemicals Cause Problems Decades Later

January 8, 2010 - State health officials are working with a Durham property owner to try to clean up decades of chemical contamination on the site of an old dry cleaner that closed in 1975.

The problem is a solvent called tetrachloroethylene (nicknamed "perc") which every dry cleaner used to pour down drains, and wasn't found to be dangerous until the 1980's. It can cause cancer, respiratory problems, neurological disorders and other problems.

It's a problem not just for the individual property, but neighbors as well.

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Study planned to measure dry-cleaning fluid vapor levels in Montana homes

November 5, 2009 - The city of Bozeman and CVS Pharmacy plan to study whether vapors of a dry-cleaning fluid suspected of causing cancer have migrated from a Superfund site at the Hastings shopping center into nearby homes.

But city officials and environmental experts say residents shouldn't be alarmed about the indoor air tests for PCE, also known as perc. The study is part of ongoing testing at the West Main Street site.

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Utah well closed after discovery of PCE contamination

June 4, 2009 - Officials in North Salt Lake, Utah, closed a well that supplies as much as 15% of the city's drinking water after two tests found the dry cleaning chemical perchloroethylene in the water, according to this article that cites a report by The Standard-Examiner of Ogden, Utah.

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Groundwater contamination found in Milford, CT

June 4, 2009 - Three test wells dug Wednesday at the Robert Treat Apartments will determine the extent of groundwater contamination from a long-closed dry cleaner.

Test wells on the dry cleaner's property and at the Treat Apartments have found elevated levels of a common dry-cleaning solvent, said Dennis Schain, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The perchloroethylene -- also known as tetrachloroethylene, PCE, and PERC -- was found at both locations recently, Schain said, and the new wells dug Wednesday are to locate the extent of the plume. Test results will likely be available in a month, he said.

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Contamination runs deep at Rockville Centre property in Maryland

April 8, 2009 - The site of a pending apartment development in Rockville Centre years in the making has been found to be contaminated at deeper levels than previously known, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

PERC, an industrial degreaser widely used by dry cleaners, has been labeled a probable carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

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Over 1 million Americans in toxic chemical's path

June 14, 2007 - According to EPA studies sited by the daily green between 1 and 4 million Americans live within 1 mile of a toxic superfund site where the primary contaminant is tetrachloroethylene.

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PERC found in SE Queens' drinking water

May 17, 2007 - So far, DEP has surveyed about 400 businesses in the area in its attempt to find out how PERC found its way into the area's drinking water, Michaels said.

The area where drinking water was affected is home to some 64,000 residents, according to the city.

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Water Supply Contamination in Queens, NY

May 10, 2007 - QUEENS Elevated levels of water contamination have been discovered in three parts of Queens.

The city's Department of Environmental Protection has been going door-to-door alerting residents about high levels of the chemical PERC found in their water system.

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