Published in the Asbury Park Press
By JEAN MIKLE
TOMS RIVER BUREAU
TOMS RIVER -- A plume of underground contamination from the Reich Farm Superfund site has spread into a third well in United Water Toms River's parkway well field.
But state and federal officials said last night that only small amounts of trichloroethylene and styrene acrylonitrile trimer have been found in parkway Well 29, leading officials to conclude there is no reason to take the well off-line.
The chemicals were found in water taken directly from the well head, not water that is actually in the drinking water system, according to Gerald P. Nicholls, director of the state Department of Environmental Protection's Division of Environmental Safety, Health and Analytical Programs.
Speaking at last night's meeting of the Citizens Action Committee on Childhood Cancer Cluster, Nicholls said tests of water actually entering the drinking water system have found no trace of the trimer or trichloroethylene.
"In terms of what we are consuming, there is nothing we can detect in the water," he said.
Tests of water in Well 29 found levels of trichloroethylene between .4 and .8 parts per billion, Nicholls said. The state standard for trichloroethylene in drinking water is 1 part per billion.
Levels of the trimer were lower -- from 30 to 40 parts per trillion. There are no state and federal standards for how much of the trimer should be permitted in drinking water, because there have been no studies of its toxicity.
Union Carbide Corp. is funding an ongoing toxicity study of the chemical compound.
Linda L. Gillick, who chairs the citizens committee, said the lack of data on trimer's toxicity makes her concerned when even trace amounts are found.
"If we don't know the toxicity . . . how can anyone assume that even at these low, low, low levels, it can not cause a problem?" she asked.
John Gorin, a remedial projects manager with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, noted that EPA does not have regulations for any compound at the low levels found in Well 29.
The chemicals were found during routine testing of all wells in the parkway field that is conducted every three months, Nicholls said. Well 29 and water in the distribution system is now being sampled weekly.
Well 29 is located about 400 feet from Well 26, which was found to contain trichloroethylene and other volatile organic contaminants from the Reich Farm site about 10 years ago. Since that time, Well 26, along with nearby Well 28, have been treated with an air stripping system to remove volatile organics from the water.
In November 1996, styrene acrylonitrile trimer, a chemical compound related to plastics production, was also found in the two wells. Since that time, wells 26 and 28 have only sporadically been used for drinking.
The wells are kept pumping, however, to draw in and treat water from the Reich Farm plume. Water from the two wells is also run through a carbon filtration system that removes all traces of the styrene acrylonitrile trimer.
Gorin said officials believe the Reich Farm plume migrated into Well 29 because summer demands for water had prompted pumping beyond its normal capacity of 400 gallons per minute.
The problem was compounded because Well 26 does not appear to be drawing as much water from the Cohansey aquifer -- and therefore not as much of the plume -- as models predicted. Water company General Manager Edward Hughmanic said it is common for a well to pump less water over time as it pulls in some debris from the aquifer.
Eventually the well will need to be shut off for "reconditioning," a maintenance and cleaning process that takes about one week, he said.
Since the chemicals were discovered, United Water has adjusted Well 29 so that it is pumping at a much lower rate, Hughmanic said.
Gorin said the lower pumping rate will likely draw the plume away from Well 29 within five to 10 weeks. "We have to pump Well 29 a lot less for the time being to get it (the plume) back to 26 and 28," he said.
Gillick repeated the committee's recommendation that water from Well 29 and any other well that could possibly be contaminated by the plume be run through an air stripping device.
United Water corporate spokesman Richard Henning said outfitting more wells with air strippers is an option that will be discussed at meetings with the DEP, EPA and state health department
Source: Asbury Park Press
Published: September 10, 1998
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