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EPA drills 18 new wells on toxic site
By JOSH ZIMMER © St. Petersburg Times, published November 12, 2000 CARROLLWOOD -- A new phase in cleanup efforts at a pollution site on Linebaugh Avenue is scheduled to begin Monday. And because of the noise of the drilling method being used, surrounding businesses and residents should have no trouble noticing the work as 18 new monitoring wells are dug deep into the Floridan Aquifer. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is trying to determine how extensively the chemical perchloroethylene (PCE) has spread through the aquifer, an EPA official said. Previous tests showed the shallow aquifer 15- to 35-feet below the former chemical business is contaminated with both PCE and trichloroethylene, a solvent frequently used in the dry cleaning industry. Perchloroethylene, a probable carcinogen according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is a widely used chemical for dry cleaning fabrics and for degreasing metal. The location is the former site of now-defunct Southern Solvents, which supplied the chemicals to dry cleaning businesses. "We're not exactly sure how it's getting through because we have a confining unit (between the upper and lower aquifer)," EPA project director Kevin Misenheimer said. "But we think probably somewhere there's a break in the layer and we're trying to get a feel as to where that is. There's also some question about the direction of groundwater flow within the aquifer itself. The regional flow is to the southwest but we're seeing some localized flow to the northeast." The drilling method combines a bit encased in a larger bit to prevent contaminated matter from entering the aquifer, he said. It is much louder than other methods, he said. The drilling, which will take place along Linebaugh Avenue and Gunn Highway, will be restricted to daylight hours during the next several weeks. Bill Burton, president and chief executive officer of Gold Cup Coffee Service Inc., has no complaints. Three new wells are scheduled to be dug on his property. "I must say they have not disrupted our business at all" in the past, he said. "They did it in an area where there's landscaping." The site is one of 51 on EPA's national priority cleanup list. The agency, which is paying for the cleanup, should have an overall cleanup plan ready by next summer, Misenheimer said. - Josh Zimmer can be reached at (813)226-3474 or zimmer@sptimes.com.
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