WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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In April of last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency added a hazardous waste site in Spencer, Indiana to the Superfund’s National Priorities List. The EPA says contamination at the downtown Franklin Street Groundwater Contamination Site in Spencer, was, “due to the risk [chemicals] pose to human health and the environment.”
In particular, the EPA cites contamination of the carcinogenic chemical Tetrachloroethene, or PERC.
The EPA’s website says the Franklin Street Groundwater Contamination Site was first discovered in 2011. Then, in 2014, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, or IDEM, detected PERC in “raw water at all three active municipal wells.” There were several investigations to decide what is likely the primary source of the contaminants in Spencer’s groundwater – which is the main way Owen County residents receive their drinking water.
There are nine listed possible contamination sources, according to a National Priorities List report put out by the EPA, last spring. PERC contamination comes from evaporating industrial or dry cleaning operations. The way it works, PERC enters the lungs, then spreads to the blood, carrying it to the rest of the body. It is a cancer-causing chemical which people can be exposed to, from drinking water, inhaling the chemical, or from skin contact. This means that by simply bathing in water contaminated with PERC, you are putting yourself at risk of being exposed to trace amounts of a cancer-causing chemical.
In the story, CEO of BPP Water Corporation Todd Gardener, talks about how they managed to cleanup some of the contaminants. He said the water is safe to drink. Residents of Spencer seem unaware of the situation, while business development may be hindered due to the bad press.
