July 30, 2008
CSWAB
UPDATE
Army
to Test Merrimac Residential Wells for Explosives
Representatives
of the Army, EPA, and WDNR have announced that 6 additional groundwater
monitoring wells will be installed in and around the northeast corner of the
Badger Army Ammunition Plant. The plan is in response to the detection of
the explosive DNT (dinitrotoluene) in 2 deeper monitoring wells that were
recently installed at the plant boundary, officials said. Contaminant
levels are more than 4 times health advisory levels set by the Wisconsin
Division of Public Health for drinking water. DNT is classified by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a probable human carcinogen (causing
cancer).
A
group (nest) of 3 wells is planned for outside the plant boundary near homes at
Weigand’s Bay, a deeper “bedrock” monitoring well will be
installed at the plant boundary near an existing well group, and a group of 2
wells will be installed inside the plant. The wells are being placed southeast
of the Deterrent Burning Ground, a hazardous waste disposal site that is the
suspected source of the contamination.
The
WDNR is also monitoring trends in 1,1,2-trichloroethane and tetrachloroethylene
(also known as perchloroethylene) in groundwater. Current levels are well
within the safe standard of 5 parts per billion for both contaminants.
The suspected source of the industrial solvents is a landfill which is located
adjacent to the Deterrent Burning Grounds.
The
Army has also announced it will be testing private drinking water wells in the
Weigand’s Bay area for DNT in August. These homes are located in
the rural township
of Merrimac. Previous
testing by the Army has not detected DNT. Low levels of another solvent,
trichloroethylene (TCE), were detected in several private wells in the
Weigand’s Bay area but the source of this contaminant is currently not
known.
CSWAB
is pressing for additional offsite monitoring well nests to provide much-needed
information about offsite groundwater flow patterns. This information
will help identify residential wells that are at greatest risk. CSWAB is also
asking for an evaluation of the cleanup remedy at the burning grounds and
adjacent landfill in order to determine if better source-control remedies can
be implemented.
CSWAB will be presenting this information at the regular
meeting of the Merrimac town board set for August 5, 2008 at 7:00pm.
For more information, contact CSWAB at
(608)643-3124 or visit their website at www.cswab.org.
-- MAP
is attached as a .pdf file.
--
Laura Olah,
Executive Director
Citizens for Safe
Water Around Badger
E12629 Weigand's Bay
South
Merrimac, WI 53561
(608)643-3124
Email: info@cswab.org
Website:
www.cswab.org