Post date: Sep 13, 2012 2:13:21 PM

Carcinogenic chemical found in 2nd Wake Forest community

As featured on WRAL.com, 10/19/12

WAKE FOREST, N.C.

More Wake Forest homes are testing positive for dangerous levels of a carcinogenic chemical used to degrease metal parts.

The new contamination was discovered earlier this week at homes in a brand new community called Mangum Estates. The homes are about two and a half miles north from the Stony Hill Road area, where the Environmental Protection Agency discovered Trichloroethylene in the well of two dozen homes.

The area has several homes for sale, and a potential buyer requested that the realtor have the well tested. That well tested positive for TCE, and the EPA was alerted.

The EPA has since sampled all 21 homes in Mangum Estates. So far, three have been confirmed to have tested positive for the chemical, two of which have dangerous levels.

Those two homes are brand new and for sale. No one is living in them at this time.

Liz Allen, who bought her home five months ago, lives across the street from the houses. She says she was surprised when the EPA showed up this week to sample her well.

“We are on pins and needles until we hear from the EPA,” Allen said. “But we are still going to make sure we have safe water regardless because I just won’t be able to sleep well thinking that we are drinking something that is not good.”

Allen says she is buying water filters regardless of the EPA’s test results. The EPA expects those results around Monday.

An EPA spokesperson says it is unlikely the source of this contamination is linked to the contamination discovered last month on Stony Hill Road.

EPA finds contaminated well water off Stony Hill Road in Wake Forest

As featured on WRAL.com, 9/12/12

Wake Forest, N.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency is investigating several contaminated wells in a Wake Forest neighborhood, from which residents say they've been drinking the water for years.

Well water at about 20 homes off Stony Hill Road tested positive for the carcinogen TCE – a cleaning agent used for de-greasing, EPA official Jeff Rhame said Wednesday. About a dozen homes have TCE levels that exceed the limit set by the Safe Drinking Water Act.

At one home, EPA workers found TCE levels more than 65 times the safe drinking limit.

Homeowner Mark Stonefield said an EPA official came to his house at one point over the two-month investigation to test the well water. Three days later, the testers came back.

"They showed up with bottles of water and said, 'Stop drinking and stop showering,'" Stonefield said. He and his family immediately began drinking bottled water and showering at a nearby clubhouse.

"It scares me because of the kids," he said.

Rhame has been testing the wells and working with families affected by contaminated drinking water.

"(People are) very concerned. It strikes some fear in some folks, especially not knowing how long they have been exposed (and) having children who have been drinking the water," Rhame said.

He said the cancer-causing solvent is water soluble and travels underground.

"Once groundwater is contaminated, you're not going to fix it overnight," he said.

While the EPA continues its investigation into what caused the contamination, how long the water has been unsafe to drink and how the problem can be solved, Rhame and his team are passing out bottled water and installing carbon filters to those who qualify.

The agency is looking into a plan to extend water lines from a nearby community to affected homes so they won't have to use their wells.

Link to video clip:

http://www.wral.com/news/local/video/11539874/#/vid11539874

DENR: Circuit board assembly plants caused Wake well contamination

As featured on WRAL.com, 9/19/12

Wake Forest, N.C. — Two small circuit board assembly companies who were formerly located on Stony Hill Road near Wake Forest are likely responsible for contaminating the well water at 21 nearby homes, the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources said Wednesday.

DENR officials, along with representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency, met with dozens of concerned homeowners Wednesday to discuss their investigation.

"Everyone is looking for more answers," said John Roth of the Stonewalls Homeowners Association. "They want to make sure what they are consuming is safe."

Since the EPA started its investigation in July, at least 21 homes have tested positive for the presence of TCE – a cancer-causing cleaning agent used to get rid of grease – in well water. Twelve of those homes had dangerous levels of the contaminant.

Letters obtained by WRAL News reveal that DENR warned at least three possible developers about an "inactive hazardous site" in the area between 2008 and 2010. Residents, however, said they were never made aware of any potential contamination and have been drinking well water for years.

DENR first became aware of contamination in 2005, but tests determined that it was contained to one well at 7305 Stony Hill Road and was not a widespread concern.

On Wednesday, DENR said soil samples taken next door, at 7303 Stony Hill Road, showed evidence of chlorinated solvents – a family of chemical compounds that includes TCE. That site was formerly home to two circuit board assembly companies.

The companies were not named, but DENR officials said they have been working for years to make the polluters foot the bill for fixing the problem. Roth said he is considering a class action suit against the companies responsible.

"We know that (TCE) was present in soils on the property. We know there was a discharge on that property. We know there's ground water contamination. We have to show which of those parties did that," DENR spokeswoman Charlotte Jesneck said at Wednesday's meeting.

Cleaning up contamination groundwater can be a lengthy process. In the meantime, the EPA is working out plans to supply affected homes with clean drinking water.

The Hasentree subdivision off Stony Hill Road has a community well that tested negative for any contamination. It is one of several community wells in the area that could be used as a clean water source for people affected by TCE pollution.