Groundwater Toxin Found at Additional D.C. Sites

[Judi Lynn]

Groundwater Toxin Found at Additional D.C. Sites
Officials Want to Know if Contaminant, Detected at High Levels, Could Reach Reservoir

By Susan Levine
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 18, 2006; Page B02

More testing for groundwater problems in Northwest Washington neighborhoods where the U.S. Army researched chemical weapons during World War I has found new locations of perchlorate contamination, at some of the highest levels detected to date, according to officials.

Undetermined is whether the contamination could end up in the Dalecarlia Reservoir or the Washington Aqueduct, both of which supply drinking water to more than 1 million people in the metropolitan area.

The three federal and city agencies involved in a multimillion-dollar cleanup of the Spring Valley community released data this week that showed elevated perchlorate concentrations in a monitoring well near the reservoir and in two other wells adjacent to where ordnance and laboratory glassware were dumped during the heyday of the Army's American University Experiment Station.

The latest findings were from sampling in December. Perchlorate, a compound that was used nine decades ago in tests with mustard agent and screening smokes, can disrupt thyroid function and can contribute to developmental delays and infertility.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/17/AR2006021702033.html?nav=rss_metro

[lovuian]

1. Oh thats not good

the property values are gonna go down there!!!