|
 |
| Search |
|
|
Observer Classifieds
Place a Classified Ad
Send a Letter to
the Editor
Send a Press Release
Staff Directory
Archives / Search 2003
Community Links
|
|
Top Stories
By Melody Jameson
mj@observernews.net
SUN CITY — A small business site here now is under investigation by a federal agency due to chemical contamination of the ground water.
The investigation could add the site to the national superfund clean-up
list. If so listed, it would be the only proposed Florida clean-up in
the current cycle.
Field staff of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this
summer took 18 samples of well water at depths of 11 to 15 feet below
ground level on and within a quarter mile of the J.J Seifert Machine
Company, Inc., according to Barbara Alfano, remedial project manager in
the EPA’s Atlanta district offices. The company operates on property
located between U.S. 41 and Old Highway 41, immediately south of Vidor
Avenue.
The EPA tests confirmed tetrachloroethylene and dichloroethylene, known
cancer causing chemicals, at concentrations exceeding the EPA maximum
contaminant levels in potable water wells located on the property and
on surrounding properties, Alfano said. The chemicals also have been
detected in soil on the site. An estimated 190 persons live within a
mile of the site.
The J.J. Seifert operation, engaged in making small parts for the
aircraft industry and other technical product manufacturers, dates back
more than 40 years, according to an EPA report issued in September. It
now employs no more than 10 workers.
The pinpointed chemicals were used in a vapor degreasing process
applied to clean and dry certain metal parts, the report indicated. The
process, useful in dissolving organic and inorganic compounds and first
performed in one of the buildings on the site before being moved
outdoors, no longer is used on the site, the report stated.
The owner of record of the property on which the firm operates is the
J.J. Seifert Land Company, which reportedly purchased the land in 2000.
Cathy Porter, the company’s office manager, identified the owners as
Lewis and Pamela Ahlen, of Woodstock, Vermont. Neither of the Ahlens
responded to a telephone inquiry by The Observer this week.
The owners do not have the funds to undertake and complete the corrective measures, Alfano noted .
Concern about the possible contamination goes back nearly a decade.
Hillsborough County began sampling private water wells west and
southwest of the site in 2000, finding chemical concentrations in at
least two of them. Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection did
water well sampling in 2004 and noted three private wells with
unacceptable concentrations of the chemicals. Subsequently, monitoring
wells were installed and the EPA investigation of the site began in
2008. Suspect wells have been equipped with filters.
However, the process undertaken prior to listing a superfund cleanup
site is a lengthy one, Alfano cautioned, involving not only the
preliminary assessment and site inspection, but also a remedial
investigation and ultimately a feasibility study to pinpoint the best
means of clean up. At least once, and perhaps twice, community meetings
will be scheduled to obtain input from area residents, she added. The
project manager said it could be five years before actual remedies are
instituted by EPA.
Copyright 2009 Melody Jameson
What follows is a public comments section. This is not from the Observer News staff - it comes from other people and contains their opinions and theirs alone. The Observer News does not control the material that follows. We do, however, reserve the right to remove objectionable material at our discretion. By that we mean that we will edit or delete any content that we deem is inappropriate. By posting your comments, you are stating that you agree to these terms.
Click here to report a comment.
© Copyright 2008 by The
Observer
News Publications and M&M Printing Company, Inc.
Top of Page
|
|
|
Top Stories
Latest Headlines
|
|
