This is right in our backyard people. Spring Park and Minnetrista share the same two aquifers: Franconia-Ironton-Galesville and Mt. Simon-Hinckley. The two cities also have similar well depths. As a friendly reminder TCE's are linked to cancer and birth defects and you shouldn't be concerned about just drinking it, you should be concerned about absorbing it through your skin and breathing in the vapors. A reverse osmosis system would remove TCE from your drinking water. The city administrator for Spring Park has advised all pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems to drink bottled water or water that is filtered coming from the tap.
"The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) says levels of a chemical solvent used to clean metal have exceeded new state standards in two of three wells in Spring Park." I'll have to check with Minnetrista411, but I would guess the old Tonka plant just down the road in Mound cleaned a piece of metal or two in it's day.
ReplyDeleteWait, that can't be it; there was a {PROPOSED} cleanup of that site back in 2000: http://www.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/view-document.html?gid=3188
Oh wait, on page two, it sounds like some "plumes" were left behind:
"The primary chemicals of concern in the west and north
plumes are trichloroethylene (TCE), a solvent used for
cleaning metal parts prior to painting, and by-products
from microbial degradation of TCE, such as cis-1,2-
dichloroethylene (DCE) and vinyl chloride.
In the north plume, the highest concentration of TCE was
reported immediately north of the former plant. The
plume was reported to be moving toward the channel to
Harrison Bay, based on the flow direction and the
presence of DCE and vinyl chloride near the channel."
Wait, mobile "plumes" of TCE? Where have I heard of that chemical before???
A bit disturbing, but some excellent background:
ReplyDeletehttp://openjurist.org/9/f3d/51/bituminous-casualty-corporation-v-tonka-corporation
This just keeps getting better and better! After reading this, it's plain to see no one knows what, where, how much and for how long these idiots dumped hazard waste and materials in the area:
ReplyDeletehttp://law.justia.com/cases/minnesota/court-of-appeals/1988/c6-87-1550.html
At least we know what's in the City Councils' emails..............
These were some pretty bad people:
ReplyDelete"For years, Tonka knowingly dumped drums filled with trichloroethylene (TCE), a solvent used to remove oil and grease from the toys before painting them, the court stated in its decision, so the coverage did not apply.
One Tonka employee testified that he dumped barrels of liquid waste at the Mound plant parking lot in 1978 to save Tonka $500 a barrel in disposal costs.
Another employee testified he regularly dumped stillbottom sludge and a mixture of TCE and water in the same parking lot from the 1960's until the plant closed in 1984.
Tonka manufactured metal toys at the Mound site between 1955 and 1984."
http://www.joc.com/court-rules-insurers-not-liable-possible-pollution-costs-tonka_19931118.html