Salisbury MD - TCE Found In 46 Of 113 Wells Tested; Source Of Carcinogen Unknown

[hatrack]

Local, state and federal officials are scrambling to provide safe, clean water to homes southeast of the Eastern Shore's largest city even as they acknowledge that they don't know the source or extent of the groundwater contamination.

Trichloroethylene, an industrial solvent that health authorities have deemed likely to cause cancer, has been found in 46 of 113 wells tested in two neighborhoods, and results are pending for 75 wells sampled this week, according to Dennis DiCintio, environmental health director for the Wicomico County Health Department.

"One is too many," DiCintio said, but that many lead to "an extreme level of concern."

The contamination was uncovered in late July when a resident who thought his home's water smelled strange had the well tested. The resident reported the results to the county Health Department, which sampled nearby wells. When those came back contaminated, too, the search expanded and drew in state and federal agencies.

EDIT

http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/blog/bs-gr-salisbury-well-contamination-20121116,0,1670605.story

[thelordofhell]

1. What the Frack??

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Salisbury is a river port -- lots of barges and tugboats.

Don't know of any other heavy industry in the area.