[CPEO-BIF] Can Housing Be Built Safely above Mountain View, California’s TCE-Contaminated Groundwater

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Mountain View, California is leading the Bay Area in building new housing. In perhaps a majority of projects, Mountain View’s strategy for adding housing on previously commercial property means constructing apartments and other homes on property with underlying groundwater contamination, creating the potential for vapor intrusion. The largest, most contaminated toxic groundwater plume in the city is known as the Middlefield-Ellis-Whisman (MEW) Superfund Study Area. CPEO’s consultant, Peter Strauss reviewed the safety of such construction. While he found that vapor intrusion risk is being addressed, he came up with nine recommendations to further protect building occupants. Strauss’s memo may be found at http://www.cpeo.org/pubs/MEWHousingMemo.pdf. Lenny Siegel’s introduction may be found at http://www.cpeo.org/pubs/MEWHousingIntro.pdf.

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Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org





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