See related story released on September 9, 1998
Carcinogen discovered in water Click here for earlier 7/30/98 story
TENINO: Ecology workers found the substance in wells while looking for a different substance.
By Joel Coffidis, The Olympian, 8/8/98
THURSTON COUNTY - A cancer-causing chemical used in wood preservation was found in three wells near the site of a former explosives plant near Tenino, the Department of Ecology said Thursday.
Residents of about 10 homes have been advised to continue drinking bottled water until further notice, said Sandy Howard Rudnick, an Ecology spokeswoman.
The chemicals were found by agency investigators who were looking for a different toxic substance related to the former Pacific Powder Co. operation, Howard Rudnick said.
Three of the six wells tested near the Pacific Powder site northwest of Tenino had pentachlorophenol present. Also known as PCP, the chemical is used to preserve wood and is a carcinogen if ingested, she said.
Two of the three polluted wells exceeded drinking water standards for the substance, Rudnick said.
Resident Ed Danzer said Ecology officials alerted him Thursday that the PCP in his well was measured at 4.3 parts per billion, exceeding the drinking water standard.
"It's a reason to be concerned," said Danzer, who lives on 143rd Avenue Southwest, south of the former Pacific Powder site. "We're obviously going to get some bottled water."
But Danzer said he wants to see more tests before he's alarmed. He noted that his parents - 83 and 80 years old - have been drinking from the well for half a century.
An investigation has begun to identify the sources of the pollution, Rudnick said. It is believed the PCP was not connected to the Pacific Powder site, she added.
The well tests were triggered July 29 after Ecology was notified that drums believed to contain "dinitrotoluene," a possible carcinogen if ingested, were discovered on the former Pacific Powder property. Called DNT, the chemicals were used in the manufacture of explosives.
Tests of six private, neighboring wells completed Thursday revealed no presence of DNT, Rudnick said.
The cleanup of the drums is under way, and more testing of private wells along 143rd Avenue is planned, Jansen said.
The six well samples cost $9,000, not counting staff time, Rudnick said.
"We tipped over a rock and the wrong snake came out," said Dave Jansen, a manager with an Ecology cleanup program. "We now have essentially two problems."
WHERE TO CALL
For more information about the Pacific Powder well tests, call Marcel Szyszkowski of the Department of Ecology at 407-6363 or Gerald Tousley of Thurston County Environmental Health at 764-4111, Ext. 6509
Joel Coffidis writes for The Olympian. He can be reached at 754-5447.
In a related story, September 8, 1998
By John Dodge
The Olympian
THURSTON COUNTY
Private wells serving businesses and families near Maytown have received a clean bill of health, state Department of Ecology officials said Tuesday.
Gone is a health advisory urging about 50 families to drink bottled water, an action recommended six weeks ago after buried drums of hazardous waste were detected at a former explosives plant site called Pacific Powder.
State and county health officials were concerned that the chemical waste might have seeped into groundwater and migrated to nearby wells.
But none of the wells showed signs of dinitrotolulene, a possible cancer-causing chemical, or any other chemical used to manufacture explosives, said Ecology's Sandy Howard Rudneck.
In the initial round of tests, samples from three wells suggested a wood preservative called pentachlorophenol was present at levels that exceed drinking water standards. That puzzled well owners and health officials.
However, samples from the suspect wells were tested again twice at two labs and found to be clean, Howard Rudnick said.
So why the false reading?
"We don't know what happened," Howard Rudnick said. "The original samples could have been contaminated at the lab or during the sampling."
The clean bill of health was welcome news for Danzco machine shop owner Ed Danzer, who, along with more than a dozen employees, had been drinking for years from one of the suspect wells.
During the time of uncertainty, Danzer supplied bottled water to his employees.
"It's nice to know that the water is clean," he said.
Crews cleaning the former Pacific Powder property for a proposed 440-home development uncovered the buried drums in late July.
All of the drums have been excavated and sealed, along with contaminated soil. However, the cleanup is not finished, Howard Rudnick said.
"We're still trying to figure out who is liable for the buried drums," she said. Some of the drums appear to be at least 30 years old.
John Dodge covers the environment for The Olympian. He can be reached at 754-5444.
Maytown wells get clean bill of health
SAFE TO DRINK: Officials had feared that buried hazardous waste had seeped into the groundwater.
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