U.S. Water News Online
WAMEGO, Kan. -- Twenty-one private wells near a former missile site have been found to contain high levels of a toxic solvent used by the military to clean engines, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment says.
KDHE identified 67 water wells east of the former Atlas-E missile site. At 21 of the wells, tests showed the water contained levels of trichloroethylene, or TCE, that exceeded Environmental Protection Agency standards.
TCE, a possible carcinogen, has been linked to liver damage and can cause vomiting and abdominal pain, according to the EPA's Web site.
Officials have told residents they are developing plans for cleanup.
Meanwhile, bottled water is being delivered to homes where groundwater contained high levels of TCE. The Army Corps of Engineers is analyzing ways to provide a permanent water source, officials said.
One option would be to hook the homes to rural water district pipelines. The corps would pay to connect the homes, but property owners would then be responsible for their monthly bills.
``This is usually the practice followed by the federal government,'' said Dan Gravatt, KDHE unit chief for the EPA fund that pays for such transactions.
Saqiv Khan, Corps project manager, said officials hope to schedule a public meeting within the next month to answer residents' questions, including what health problems they could face.
``We're trying to locate an expert on health issues,'' Khan said.
Completed in 1961, the 28-acre Wamego installation is one of nine Atlas-E intercontinental ballistic missile sites operated until 1965 by the 548th Strategic Missile Squadron headquartered at the former Forbes Air Force Base in Topeka.
KDHE has tested groundwater at eight of the nine sites. All have shown TCE contamination, but the Wamego site is the first where the contamination spread past the missile base property.
KDHE was able to conduct tests at the Wamego site after Sacramento, Calif., businessman Chris Malone bought it for $140,000 at a Pottawatomie County sheriff's auction in August. The previous owner, Gordon Todd Skinner, had refused to allow officials on the property.
The former missile site was auctioned to help pay for more than $700,000 in judgments against the property.
Return to the U.S. Water News Archives page Or Return to the U.S. Water News Homepage
Editor@uswaternews.com
*Your Name:
*Your Email:
*Friend's Email:
Use a comma to separate e-mail addresses:
*Your Comments:
Hi, I thought you might like to read this article.
*Required Fields