[CPEO-MEF] National Guard tests for pollution

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Massachusetts
THE TAUNTON GAZETTE
National Guard tests for pollution
REBECCA SEGALOFF
07/19/2003

REHOBOTH -- The National Guard will test six residential wells on
Francis Street next Tuesday after finding pollution on and near the
guard’s nearby facility on Fire Tower Road.

National Guard officials are performing the tests as a "precaution" and
believe the pollution was contained far from the residential area, they
said.

"If we find something, it defies the laws of physics," said James J.
Soukup, a hydrogeologist for Weston Solutions Inc., hired by the guard
through the Army Corps of Engineers to investigate the site.

Well tests on and near the guard site have shown elevated levels of
tetrachloroethylene (PCE), a solvent that can be a carcinogen, and
methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a synthetic chemical added to
gasoline to improve air quality. Soukup said the source of the
contamination appears to be a hazardous waste shed that stored
automotive solvents and other items, a paint shed and a parking lot, all
of which were uphill of the contaminated area.

The sheds and impacted soils have since been removed, Massachusetts
National Guard State Public Affairs Officer Capt. Winfield S. Danielson
III said in a meeting yesterday with Board of Health member Robert
Davis, Town Nurse Lynn Perry and state Rep. Philip Travis, D-Rehoboth,
in Town Hall.

The guard first learned of the PCE contamination from the sheds in 1995.
Officials had no idea the parking lot might be a second source of
pollution until a test further downhill from the source heading east
toward Francis Street showed higher levels of PCE and very high levels
of MTBE in September 2002, Soukup said.

The well showed a level of 1,000 parts per billion of MTBE, as compared
to the 70 parts per billion allowable under state drinking water
guidelines, Soukup said.

"It was very disconcerting," Soukup said.

That monitoring well was meant to serve as a "sentry," a well that is on
the outskirts of a contaminated area and repeatedly tested to confirm no
pollution is reaching that boundary or beyond, National Guard Lt. Col.
Richard Crivello said.

Instead, it turned out to be a red flag.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.tauntongazette.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9870532&BRD=1711&PAG=461&dept_id=24232&rfi=6

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