PENSACOLA - The state is investigating the source of high levels of radium, ammonia and other harmful pollutants in the groundwater in an industrial area of Pensacola.
The pollution might be linked to contamination in Pensacola drinking-water wells in the past, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
The wells test safe for all contaminants, including radium, said Mike Kennedy, a cleanup section supervisor with the department. But he called the groundwater results troubling nevertheless.
"The problem is that this contamination is in the middle of town and ... wells are all around it," he said.
The wells are operated by the Escambia County Utilities Authority. The authority's executive director said people shouldn't be worried about radium. "We do not have unsafe amounts in our wells," Steve Sorrell said.
The state plans to spend $70,000 this year to find the source of the pollution, which so far has been detected in the groundwater at two former fertilizer operations.
