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South County business is possible EPA superfund clean-up site
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Oct 22, 2009 - 10:58:36 AM

 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


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