[CPEO-BIF] New "arm" found on Mountain View's (CA) Regional TCE plume; vapors are a concern

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

EPA finds toxic vapors in Evandale homes

by Daniel DeBolt
Mountain View Voice (CA)
February 15, 2013

Above a much-studied toxic groundwater plume, the Environmental Protection Agency has found something of a surprise: toxic vapors creeping into homes on Evandale Avenue near Highway 101 and Whisman Road.

EPA project manager Alana Lee said that tests of indoor air so far have found two homes with levels of Trichloroethylene (TCE) vapors above the limit allowed by the EPA. Both homes are on the north side of Evandale Avenue, but the exact addresses are withheld. One has had a ventilation system installed to keep the known carcinogen out of the home and the other will have such a system soon, Lee said.

The homes are a stone's throw from one of Silicon Valley's largest collection of toxic sites, an area once home to early silicon computer chip manufactures such as Fairchild and Intel, which used TCE as a solvent in their manufacturing process during the 1960s and 1970s. The plume left behind was first discovered in 1981. The area is now home to Google and Symantec, among others. Those buildings now have ventilation systems running at all hours to keep the underground toxic vapors at bay. The collection of Superfund sites is known as the "MEW" because it is bordered by Middlefield Road, Ellis Street Whisman Road and Highway 101.

…

For the entire article, see
http://www.mv-voice.com/news/show_story.php?id=6640&e=y

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Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650-961-8918 or 650-969-1545
Fax: 650-961-8918
LSiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org




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