[CPEO-MEF] Chemical detected in well near base

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

[MASSACHUSETTS]
Chemical detected in well near base
Just a trace amount of RDX was found, but the canal location was
unexpected.

By KEVIN DENNEHY
STAFF WRITER
BOURNE- Military and state water experts are investigating a recent
detection of explosive materials found in the private water supply well
of a Bourne condominium complex.

The level of Royal Demolition Explosives, or RDX, found in the well at
the Schooner Pass development was 10 times lower than safe drinking
standards, officials say. And a second sampling yielded no evidence of
the chemical.

But this is the first time RDX has been found in a water supply well
outside the fence line of Camp Edwards, where the National Guard is
cleaning up pollution after decades of military training.

It's especially unusual to have found the explosive materials in the
vicinity of Schooner Pass because no contaminated water has been found
beneath the nearby northern edge of the Massachusetts Military
Reservation.

Schooner Pass is a 90-unit condominium complex near the Cape Cod Canal,
two miles from the base's so-called impact area, and away from known
contamination plumes.

The impact area was formerly used as a mortar and artillery target area.
Several areas of contamination have been found on and under the impact
area, but far from Schooner Pass.

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