[CPEO-MEF] 1,200 to get test of well water free

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California
1,200 to get test of well water free
CONTAMINATION MAY TAKE YEARS, COST MILLIONS TO CLEAN UP
By Frank Sweeney
Mercury News

More than 1,200 South County residents, worried that a chemical used in
rocket fuel and highway flares has contaminated their drinking water,
have contacted the Santa Clara Valley Water District to arrange for free
tests of their wells.

By Monday evening, four days after officials disclosed that the chemical
perchlorate has spread in an underground plume four miles south from
Morgan Hill through San Martin, appointments had been made to test more
than 450 private wells beginning Wednesday, water district officials
said. Most of the wells serve more than one house.

The district has also launched a program to provide everyone potentially
affected by the contamination with free bottled water for drinking and
cooking.

District officials have gotten initial requests for more than 4,000
bottles of water. About 200 homes were getting the free water from
Crystal Springs on Monday, with an additional 200 scheduled to receive
bottled water Wednesday. The sudden demand resulted in the water company
temporarily running out of bottles, said water district spokesman Mike
Di Marco.

Meanwhile, officials continued to investigate how far the perchlorate
has spread into the underground water aquifers. If past groundwater
pollution incidents are any guide, the cleanup will take years and could
cost millions of dollars.

Perchlorate is a salt that disrupts iodine intake in the thyroid gland,
which regulates hormone functions. It is especially harmful to pregnant
women and infants and can interfere with neurological development in
fetuses. Some studies suggest it can cause thyroid cancer.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/4994982.htm

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