State Investigating Rash of Contaminated Wells

By: Nathan Lamb

Environmental officials are seeking answers after discovering a potential carcinogen in 22 private wells at a Pennsylvania township, according to this story from the Norristown Times-Herald.

Representatives from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently met with Limerick residents to discuss remediation measures and update the community on efforts to isolate the source of trichloroethylene (TCE) in local groundwater.

The DEP is paying to install charcoal filters in five homes where TCE levels exceed health standards. Estimated cost of installation and the first two years of maintenance for that undertaking is estimated at $44,000.

No action is being taken at the other 17 homes, so long as TCE levels remain below the government health standard of five parts per billion.

All told, the DEP has tested 150 wells in the area of West Ridge Pike since 2010, according to this article from the Limerick Patch.

While the DEP has yet to determine a source of the contamination, its representatives reported finding highly elevated levels of TCE at the former site of a defunct heating equipment company off West Ridge Pike. That sample came back 832 times higher than the safe water standard, but DEP officials said groundwater at that site flows away from most of the contaminated wells.

TCE is typically used as an industrial degreaser and can cause a variety of short- and long-term health problems, according to this EPA fact sheet. Improperly disposed of, it can migrate through soil and contaminate groundwater.

Limerick has a population of roughly 13,500 and is about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

Toxic Vapors a Problem at Wisconsin Apartment Complex

By: Nathan Lamb

An affordable housing facility at an old Wisconsin factory is coping with toxic fumes from the building’s industrial past, according to this story from the Appleton Post Crescent newspaper.

An underground ventilation system is the latest step to alleviate recently discovered trichloroethylene (TCE) fumes at the Wire Works Apartments in Appleton. Located beneath the building foundation, the system draws toxic fumes out of contaminated soil at the site and uses fans to discharge the fumes above the building’s roof.

A spokesperson from the Department of Natural Resources said the ventilation is to protect residents in the building’s 16 apartments from short-term exposure. Over 3,000 tons of contaminated soil has already been removed from the site, with more cleanup expected to come.

TCE is an industrial solvent that’s often used for degreasing, but it can also cause a variety of short- and long-term health problems.

Located at 601 E. Hancock Street, the Wire Works building was a factory from 1896-1987, and TCE was used to clean paper mill wires produced at the site.

The building was converted to affordable apartments by the Housing Partnership of the Fox Cities in 2005.

Appleton is located roughly 100 miles northwest of Milwaukee and has a population of approximately 73,000.

Lack of TCE Warning Has Residents Steamed

By: Nathan Lamb

A recently discovered cluster of contaminated wells has residents of Wake Forest, North Carolina asking why they weren’t warned about the problem in 2005, according to this NBC news story.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) testing over the past year has discovered the carcinogen trichloroethylene (TCE) in 21 wells across a 500-acre area around Stony Hill Road in the town of Wake Forest.

While the EPA has installed water filters to alleviate the problem, several residents were outraged to learn that the state discovered TCE contamination in a neighborhood well in 2005, but never alerted them.

The contamination is thought to date back 10 years, when TCE was used to clean circuit boards in a neighborhood shed.

The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which made the initial discovery, compiled an internal report saying the extent of the contamination was unclear and that other wells in the area should be tested.

A DENR spokesperson said the problem appeared to be confined to the single residential well, adding the agency has finite resources and higher-risk sites that took priority.

Last summer, the DENR advised area residents to get their water tested, and sought assistance from the EPA, which tested roughly 100 wells.

TCE is an industrial solvent that’s often used for degreasing. Improperly disposed of, it can create harmful vapors and migrate through groundwater.

Located roughly 18 miles northeast of Raleigh, Wake Forest has a population of roughly 31,000 people.

Contamination Study May Extend Veteran Benefits

By: Nathan lamb

A recent study has shed new light on long-standing water contamination issues at a North Carolina military base—and that could help veterans claiming adverse health impacts from their time at that post.

The study indicates that drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune had elevated levels of carcinogens for more than 60 years, according to this story from the Kansas City Star.

At peak levels, the contaminants were 150 times higher than safety standards—and the report estimated up to one million service personnel and their families may have been exposed while at the base.

A special law enacted in 2012 provides screening and health care for those at the base from 1957 to when the contaminated wells were closed in 1987—but the study suggests the problem could date back far as 1948.

Federal lawmakers are calling for additional hearings on the issue and a bill has been filed to extend coverage back to 1953, which is thought to be when the contamination first exceeded health standards, according to this story from the Washington Post.

The contaminants include trichloroethylene (TCE), an industrial degreaser that can cause a variety of short- and long-term health impacts. The other contaminants were from dry-cleaning and fuel, according to the Marine Corps, which as recently as last year claimed there was insufficient evidence to link health problems to the drinking water.

Retired Marine Master Sergeant Jerry Ensminger has long alleged the connection between the camp water and health impacts. He was stationed at Lejeune and lost his 9-year-old daughter to a rare leukemia in 1985. Ensminger credited advocates like himself for bringing the issue to light.

Old Chemicals Spark New Groundwater Concerns

By: Nathan Lamb

A discontinued solvent has contaminated groundwater at an airplane factory in Washington state—and that has nearby residents concerned about possible health impacts, according to this story from the Auburn Reporter.

The problem stems from the Boeing-Auburn plant, which is near the Algona city line. Recently released tests show a plume of contaminated groundwater that begins at the factory and migrates off-site.

A spokesperson for the state departments of Ecology and Health said the size of the plume is still being determined and that cleanup won't begin until after that determination is made.

The contaminant is trichloroethylene (TCE), a potential carcinogen that was used to clean engine parts from the 1960s-‘80s.

Environmental officials say there is no danger to the Algona water supply, emphasizing that the plume is moving away from the city wells and there are impermeable barriers between groundwater from the city’s aquifer.

However, some residents were unhappy it took so long to unearth the contamination. The state and Boeing began testing in spring of 2011, telling the mayors of Auburn and Algona they’d have results to disseminate by March of 2012. The test results showing TCE contamination were first reported by a radio station in early 2013.

Speaking to the Auburn Reporter, Department of Ecology spokesperson Larry Altose apologized, saying the state should have gotten the information to the communities sooner.    

Testing is also underway to determine if the groundwater contamination is causing toxic vapors for the factory’s neighbors. Testing at a nearby YMCA and other buildings have come back clean so far.

Located approximately 30 miles south of Seattle, Algona is a city of roughly 3,000 people.

Industrial Site Contaminates Groundwater in New York

By: Nathan Lamb

Environmental officials are moving forward with plans to remediate a former industrial site that has contaminated groundwater in Endwell, a hamlet of approximately 11,000 people , roughly 80 miles south of Syracuse, New York.

At issue is a former IBM chemical burning pit, which is thought to have created a plume of underground contaminants that have migrated toward a nearby residential zone, according to this article in the Press & Sun Bulletin.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) found trichloroethylene and other industrial solvents in the plume, which is roughly 50 feet underground and just under 600 feet long.

Trichloroethylene is a volatile organic chemical that’s been linked to liver problems and increased cancer risk. Used to remove grease from metals and in some textile production, it typically enters groundwater through industrial site discharge, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Recent DEC testing indicates the plume hasn’t reached the drinking supply for the neighboring residential area—but also found that contaminants have migrated into bedrock beneath the plume, creating a potential chemical vapor hazard if the IBM site is converted to residential use in the future.

The DEC recently finalized a remediation plan for the site, which includes removing groundwater contaminants. The cleanup is slated to get underway this spring, but a discernable impact on contamination levels at the site will not be seen for 10 years.

The 57-acre IBM site was previously home to an electronics testing laboratory, which was also used to dispose of waste chemicals.

Cleanup measures for the site have been in the works since 2006.

Upstate New York Residents Question Environmental Quality of Legacy Site

By: Duane Craig

Regardless of what Watertown, N.Y. residents might want, the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation says it won’t be doing any more environmental testing at the former New York Air Brake site, according to this article.

Besides residents, public officials are also concerned about high cancer rates and other illnesses that affect the north side of that community. Of increasing concern, is the possibility of vapor intrusion into nearby homes from high levels of chemicals that have made their way into the soils beneath the homes. DEC says it won’t be monitoring any indoor air quality in the homes, however monitoring does continue at the site every year.

Reassurances from the DEC largely fell on deaf ears at a recent neighborhood meeting that was also attended by environmental activist Erin Brockovich. One resident who orchestrated the meeting has been disabled by a neurological disease and another resident who attended claimed he remembers dumping chemicals from the facility’s operations.

Those operations started in 1876 when Eames Vacuum Brake Co. was founded as a vacuum break manufacturer. It was making a new kind of pneumatic brake for railroads operating in the area, according to this historical account. In 1919 the company had 7,000 employees making horse-drawn cannons and then during World War II it was busy making tanks and military hardware. General Signal Corp. bought the operations in 1967 and by 1980 had 2,200 employees making parts for aerospace and defense contracts, heavy machinery and farm equipment. The business’ makeup gets a little murky after that as a portion of it was purchased by a German company that eventually moved its operations to North Charleston, S.C. Other portions of the business still owned by General Signal continued to operate in the area as a foundry and maker of railroad car brakes.

General Signal admitted in 1988 that it disposed of toxic chemicals in a landfill on the site. Ten years of testing and cleanup followed, so that today, drainage from the landfill collects in a pond where the water is treated before it is released, according to this article. At one time, toxic chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, as well as trichloroethylene, or TCE, were present in two creeks that flow nearby. People in the area wonder today how much of those materials remain in the soils and continue to migrate to adjacent lands.

Controversy Surrounds Army's Plans for Munition Plant Cleanup

Author: Duane Craig

The State of Wisconsin is reviewing the U.S. Army’s plan for continuing to clean up the Badger Army Ammunition Plant near Baraboo, Wisconsin, according to an article in the Baraboo News Republic. So far though, the state is not going along with the Army’s plan to shut down a pump and treat system that has removed and treated about 20 billion gallons of groundwater since it was installed in 1991.

The watchdog group, Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger, is also not thrilled with the Army’s plans to abandon the groundwater pump and treat system. The organization’s concern is that the environment may be further endangered and those who rely on their wells will be put into a financial hardship if they have to abandon them later.

According to a report prepared by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the BAAP currently poses no “apparent health hazard because current exposures to site-related contaminants do not exceed health guidelines for chronic exposure.” The agency also found that the groundwater recovery and treatment system had reduced the contamination and the potential for the contamination to spread. The State of Wisconsin, however, is concerned that the plume of contamination may continue to extend beyond the boundary of the plant, so it wants the wells to continue to be monitored quarterly for chloroform, carbon tetrachloride and trichloroethylene.

The BAAP has a long history of processing weapons materials and operated from 1942 until 1975. There were 1,400 buildings at the facility, and propellant and deterrent processing was carried on in most of those buildings. Besides that, there was a coal burning power plant. In one area of the facility, nitric acid was made from ammonia, and nitric oxides were routinely released from the rooftop vents. Sometimes when there were thermal inversions, where cooler air trapped warmer air close to the ground, the area would be bathed in a brown haze. There was also elemental sulfur that was converted to sulfuric acid and other derivatives at another part of the facility, and the coal burning power plant released its un-scrubbed, thick, black smoke into the air over the region.
Other common practices included disposing of waste in landfills, ground set aside for burning, and discharge areas where wastewater was disposed of. At the propellant burning ground, waste propellants and waste process chemicals were burned. At the deterrent burning ground, benzene and nitrocellulose were burned.

Since 1988, at least 260 monitoring wells have been following the spread of contaminated groundwater. The contaminants of main concern are carbon tetrachloride and chloroform. Volatile organic compounds have moved past the southern boundary of the plant, and a plume of sulfates has moved past the eastern plant boundary.

The Army’s new plan is to shut down the water treatment system and simply continue monitoring the contaminants with the expectation that they will naturally break down sometime in the next 30 years. The cost of that plan will be about $40 million. Another option the Army is considering is continuing to treat the groundwater and continuing to monitor the contaminants until they break down naturally. That course of action is expected to cost $80 million. Another idea is to use naturally occurring organisms to treat the water and to continue monitoring the contaminants until they break down naturally. This plan would cost about $61 million.

Vapor Intrusion Sampling Continues in Clearfield

By: Duane Criag

Since the discovery of a plume of groundwater contamination in Clearfield, Utah, 168 homes have been sampled for indoor chemical vapors, according to an article in the Standard-Examiner. Every year since 2003, a certain number of the 300-350 homes in the area have been sampled for the vapors.

From the end of World War II into the 1960s, nearby Hill Air Force Base disposed of trichloroethylene, or TCE, and tetrachloroethylene, or PCE, onsite, leading to a plume of groundwater contamination that covers approximately 142 acres. There are two levels of groundwater affected—the shallow level is contaminated with TCE and PCE, while the deeper level is contaminated with just TCE.

The base monitors the situation and does the testing, and it recently assured the residents that there is nothing to be concerned about because the groundwater that is affected is not used for drinking. The major concern, according to the government, is the potential for vapor intrusion when the vapors from the chemicals make their way through cracks in foundations and into the airspace of the homes. Surprisingly, according to the city manager, many people don’t have the testing done.

The base is supposed to choose a cleanup option by February 2014.

Asheville's Superfund Site Seeks Millions From PRPs

By: Duane Craig

The Environmental Protection Agency has billed two potentially responsible parties $6.5 million to cover the agency's costs to date in remediating the CTS of Asheville National Priorities Superfund site at 235 Mills Gap Road in Asheville N.C., according to an article in the Citizen-Times.

The site is widely contaminated with solvents such as trichloroethylene, or TCE, and residents have linked the contamination to cases of cancer in children. The EPA is currently monitoring 105 private water wells in the area, and in the past the agency paid to connect residents to municipal water when a spring and five private water wells turned out to be contaminated with not only TCE but also petroleum compounds, according to the EPA's report on the site.

Ashville Superfund site still contaminated with trichloroethylene

Residents are tired of the time it has taken to get cleanup actions started, and they welcomed the news of the EPA's latest efforts to get the two companies involved to pay up. Contamination is expected to lie below a 79,000-square-foot deteriorating building that is used by gangs, drug dealers and their users. The EPA has also been conducting vapor intrusion assessments and has been pressuring the responsible parties to plan and implement remediation tactics. A soil vapor extraction operation has so far removed 6,000 pounds of solvents from soils just above the water table.