N.J. finds many private wells contaminated - RADIATION!

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Subscriber Services http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20080829_N_J__finds_many_private_wells_contaminated.htmlLocal & Region Posted on Fri, Aug. 29, 2008 N.J. finds many private wells contaminatedBy Sandy Bauers Inquirer Staff WriterMore than one in 10 private drinking-water wells in New Jersey are contaminated, new data indicate, and residents may never know it.Even if they do, they're not required to install treatment systems, and state law "suggests" only that officials notify neighbors.A report prepared by the state Department of Environmental Protection, based on tests of 51,000 private wells between 2002 and 2007, found that 12.5 percent failed to meet drinking-water standards for one or more contaminants, such as nitrates from fertilizer and fecal coliform.Applying that percentage to the state's 400,000 private wells suggests that 50,000 households could be drinking unsafe water.The DEP did not take steps to notify the public other than posting the report, dated July, on its Web site's home page this week as a "hot topic."Bill Wolfe, a former DEP analyst who heads New Jersey's Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, an advocacy group, called the DEP's manner of release "highly irresponsible."He said the report was "critical information about the quality of people's drinking water. They should be warning the public."Wolfe also said the state law was severely flawed. "If your well does not meet standards, you should have to put treatment on it," he said. "There's no follow-through on any of this."Barker Hamill, DEP assistant director of water-supply operations, said the agency had not done more outreach because the report was not "particularly new information."A 2004 report outlined similar results, he said.However, that report, based on tests of 5,179 wells from September 2002 to March 2003, found that 8 percent failed to meet standards. The new report shows a 50 percent rise in contaminated wells.Whether Pennsylvania has a similar problem is unclear. Nearly a million of its households rely on private wells, but no large study like New Jersey's has been done. Small studies of private wells suggest problems with nitrates, radon and coliform.Hamill termed New Jersey's latest report more suited for "internal scientific interest . . . a statistical presentation for the counties. We haven't had people asking for this type of stuff."The state requires the tests when a dwelling is sold or rented. Water samples are taken ahead of any treatment system, if it exists. Results are automatically forwarded to local health departments, and "it's up to them to decide what level of activity to take," Hamill said.He said of the 12.5 percent contamination rate: "I don't think it alarmed anybody." He also said that determining whether and how to treat the contamination "is an individual's obligation.""Let's put it this way: When people buy homes and you decide you're going to have your own well at home . . . you ought to pay some attention to that."Hamill added, "I don't believe any state in the nation makes individual domestic well compliance with contaminant levels part of state compliance."Pennsylvania does not regulate private drinking-water wells, confirmed Neil Weaver, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Wolfe, of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, contended that New Jersey wasn't trumpeting the results because "if there are more than 50,000 homes with problem wells, they could all theoretically get on the phone today. Real estate deals could go down. This could create problems and headaches."According to the report, 10.8 percent of wells tested in South Jersey were contaminated with "gross alpha particle activity" - a form of radiation that the report says is "probably the decay of radium," which occur naturally.Other contaminants in South Jersey included nitrates in 3.2 percent of wells, volatile organic compounds in 1.5 percent, mercury in 0.9 percent, and fecal coliform in 0.8 percent.About 18 percent of wells statewide showed excessive lead, but the state discounted that, concluding that it had come from plumbing, not groundwater.Jeff Ruch, national executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, ridiculed the DEP for that. "It doesn't matter" where the lead comes from, he said. "You would expect more from a state agency that is supposed to be protecting people's health."The DEP's Hamill said some counties were more aggressive than others in notifying neighbors of problem wells.In one case the report outlined, a Sussex County well had concentrations of TCE - or trichloroethylene, an industrial degreaser and suspected carcinogen - at 29 times permitted levels.State regulations suggest that local health officials notify neighbors within 200 feet, but none were that close.About nine months later, another well in the neighborhood showed high levels, so 20 additional wells were tested, and 13 exceeded permitted levels, one 64 times the limit.Hamill said levels for TCE were based on 70-year exposures, so immediate action was not necessary. He said he was "confident" local health agencies moved more quickly on "acute parameters," such as nitrates and bacteria.But Wolfe said some local officials "may literally have no training. This is not something you dump on the local level."Precise well locations are confidential, which Wolfe termed "crazy.""If one guy's well is contaminated, it's probable that another guy's is," he said, adding that the law should require, "at a minimum, written notice telling neighbors to sample their wells, warning of a problem."Contact staff writer Sandy Bauers at 215-854-5147 or sbauers.