Chicago Daily Herald
Marni Pyke Daily Herald Staff Writer
December 12, 2000
Lisle residents anxious to find out whether their well water contains a toxic chemical will start getting answers next week.
A team of Illinois Environmental Protection Agency investigators will descend on the village to test wells on properties south of the Lockformer Co. property at 711 Ogden Ave.
A chemical supplier to Lockformer spilled trichloroethylene on the property over a period of 10 years between 1968 and 1978.
The spill didn't receive public attention until 1999, leading some residents living near Lockformer to file a lawsuit against the company in November.
The lawsuit alleged that the TCE from the Lockformer site contaminated wells in the area south of the company.
Trichloroethylene is a colorless liquid used to degrease metal. It can cause lung or liver damage, abnormal heartbeat, coma or possibly death, but only if inhaled or drunk in large quantities.
IEPA officials decided to take water samples after receiving numerous calls from people concerned about the quality of their well water.
"We hope to sample about 40 wells in a couple of days," IEPA community response analyst Stanley Black said. "We want to blanket the area."
Lockformer officials deny the TCE flowed into the wells from their property and speculate that it could have come from another source.
"It's very difficult to draw any conclusions," company consultant Greg Michaud said. "Groundwater takes a long time to investigate."
Michaud also noted that traces of a chemical used to add oxygen to fuel were found in one well.
"That compound is not used at Lockformer," he said, adding that the finding could indicate there is another source of contamination.
While it's unclear what the origin of the chemical is, there is proof that a number of people's wells have tested positive for the presence of TCE.
The Collins Law Firm, which filed the lawsuit against Lockformer, had 33 homes tested on Front Street, Riedy Road, Kingston Road, Westview Lane and Gamble Drive. The tests were conducted twice, in October and again in November.
The fall testing of Front Street and Riedy Road showed six wells had higher than average levels of TCE. The U.S. EPA defines the maximum safe contaminant level as 5 micrograms per liter. The tests showed between 6.14 and 19.5 micrograms of TCE per liter in the affected wells.
The testing also found that 15 wells on Front and Riedy contained traces of TCE, with amounts ranging between .240 and 4.28 micrograms per liter.
The tests were taken from outdoor taps.
Though 15 wells tested within the acceptable range, attorney Shawn Collins said the contamination level may actually be higher.
"When you're drawing from the taps, you may not get the highest concentrations," Collins said.
The good news for some homeowners in the Lockformer area, however, is that many wells are unscathed.
Lockformer, in cooperation with the village of Lisle, tested homes in the 4700 block of Elm Street and the 500 block of Chicago Avenue. Both streets are in the immediate vicinity of Lockformer. No contamination was found.
So far, the state has confirmed the findings of the Collins- commissioned testing in October, which were sent to the state. Those results reflected testing of 19 wells and showed three with higher than average TCE levels and 10 with TCE traces.
The Illinois Department of Health sent out cautions to the three homeowners. Officials also mailed advisories to 10 additional people whose wells had traces of TCE that did not exceed the safe level.
The letters stated that the levels of TCE in the homeowners' wells would not cause any adverse health effects, but suggested they might want to consider drinking bottled water to reduce their exposure to the chemical. The cautions also suggested that residents may want to have the wells retested in the future.
The agency will be able to take a firsthand look at the situation next week.
"If we see what appears to be any significant levels, I'll be calling people directly to notify them," Black said.
"In general, we do not expect to find emergency levels."
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