Contamination of public ground water supplies by Superfund sites

Multiple sources of contamination can affect ground water supplies, including municipal landfills, industrial operations, leaking underground storage tanks, septic tank systems, and prioritized uncontrolled hazardous waste sites known as “Superfund” sites. A review of Superfund Records of Decision (RODs) in the United States was conducted in this study to obtain information concerning incidents of public ground water supply contamination. Approximately 450 separate RODs or their abstracts were reviewed, and 49 cases with municipal water well contamination were identified. In addition to the 49 pertinent cases, a significant number of RODs listed contaminated ground water as a potential threat to local public water supply wells. The 49 cases were geographically distributed in 21 states throughout the United States. The main source of contamination was industrial operations and other activities associated with industries. In 34 of 49 relevant Superfund cases, industry and related activities were identified as the source of ground water contamination problems, either directly or via municipal landfills. Contaminants found in public ground water supplies in the Superfund cases were mainly volatile organic contaminants (VOCs) such as TCE (trichloroethylene), PCE (tetrachloroethylene), 1,2‐DCE (dichloroethylene), vinyl chloride, and benzene. VOCs were present in 43 of 49 cases. Other contaminants commonly present were heavy metals (chromium, lead, arsenic) and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Six of the 49 cases were briefly described to illustrate the range of populations which may be affected, the occurrence of problems throughout the United States, and the technical complexities of the contamination issues. The six cases included the San Gabriel Area I site in Los Angeles County, California; the Main Street site in Elkhart, Indiana; the Biscayne Aquifer sites in Dade County, Florida; the Pristine, Inc. site near Cincinnati, Ohio; the Eau Claire municipal well field site in Eau Claire, Wisconsin; and the Long Prairie site in Long Prairie, Minnesota. The cases illustrate that contamination of public ground water supplies has affected both small communities and larger metropolitan areas. The contaminants in such supplies typically are of several types, with the more common situation being the occurrence of several specific contaminants affecting a given ground water supply. In addition, it is fairly common that such cases are characterized by multiple sources of the contaminants. The hydrogeological complexity of the contamination problems also exhibit a wide range as exemplified by the six cases. In some instances, single aquifers are of concern, whereas in others there may be multiple interconnected aquifers, thus complicating the problems of remedial investigations and the development of appropriate remediation strategies. Assuming that a representative sample of approximately 450 RODs were screened as a part of this survey, since 49 were identified as already having caused contamination of public water supply wells, it can be projected that approximately 10 percent or more of all Superfund sites are located in relation to such supplies that it is likely that water well contamination has occurred. In addition, while no statistics were developed, it can also be noted that there are still other Superfund sites which have the potential for contaminating public water supply wells since nearby nondeveloped aquifers have already been contaminated. Finally, the results of this survey illustrate the critical need for developing and implementing ground water protection and remediation strategies

Contamination · Groundwater · Hazardous waste · Maximum Contaminant Level · Storage tank · Superfund · Tetrachloroethylene · Trichloroethylene · Underground storage tank · Waste management · Chemistry · Engineering · Environmental Chemistry · Environmental Engineering · Environmental Justice and Health Disparities · Environmental Science · Groundwater flow and contamination studies · Landfill Environmental Impact Studies

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