Thursday, Apr. 24, 2008
Myrtle Beach told of TCE in water
Study revealed contamination in Withers Swash
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closeAn environmental report issued more that 12 years ago alerted Myrtle Beach officials to the possibility that trichloroethylene was polluting the city's groundwater, but the city apparently never conducted a follow-up investigation to identify the extent or source of that contamination.
Today, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control is overseeing the cleanup of high levels of trichloroethylene, or TCE, in the groundwater of a 10-block neighborhood north of the AVX Corp. manufacturing facility at 801 17th Ave. S.
AVX is the source of that contamination, state officials say, and the pollution likely took place during a 40-year period after the electronics manufacturer opened in 1953.
AVX investigation: Read past articlesCity officials say they did not learn about the contamination until reading reports last year in The Sun News.
However, a 1995 study by the U.S. Geological Survey showed elevated levels of TCE in Withers Swash, a body of water on the northern edge of the contaminated neighborhood.
TCE is a degreaser that has been linked to cancer and other health problems.
Myrtle Beach helped the federal agency prepare the report on Withers Swash. The main focus of the study was on bacteria levels in the swash, although other chemicals and organic compounds also were measured.
That study said the presence of TCE - and its degradation products, dichlorethylene and vinyl chloride - "raises the possibility that a substantial source of these products exists" in the groundwater near Withers Swash.
The study also said that groundwater contamination was "affecting the water quality of surface waters."
Groundwater from AVX and the contaminated neighborhood flows toward the swash, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
Withers Swash had TCE levels as high as 48 parts per billion, according to the 1995 report. The Environmental Protection Agency says five parts per billion is the maximum safe level for drinking water.
The contaminated groundwater is not a drinking water source, and state officials have downplayed the potential health impact.
The U.S. Geological Survey said in its report that the extent of TCE contamination was unknown because groundwater was not tested for the study.
It wasn't until 11 years later that groundwater tests were conducted in the neighborhood near Withers Swash.
Those tests were prompted by a property owner who complained to state officials about finding TCE while trying to sell land near the electronics manufacturer. The tests showed TCE levels as high as 19,200 parts per billion in the neighborhood's groundwater.
Francis Chappell, a hydrologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said the 1995 report might not have sparked concern because the TCE levels in Withers Swash were only slightly higher than levels considered safe.
"It exceeds the maximum contaminant level, but it's not at a level that grabs you by the throat and tells you there's an honest-to-God problem," Chappell said. "Those TCE levels are not a good thing, and they shouldn't be ignored, but they probably didn't send a red flag up the mast, either."
Myrtle Beach spokesman Mark Kruea said the city paid plenty of attention to the study's main focus by buying 11 acres of the swash and spending millions of dollars on stormwater improvements to help lower bacteria levels.
"In a 100-plus page report, TCE is mentioned in a few paragraphs," Kruea said. "With hindsight and now knowing about AVX's issues, there are potentially telling comments buried in that big report. At the time, though, it didn't rise to the forefront."
The Withers Swash tests showing TCE contamination were conducted between 1991-93.
That is at least two years before AVX notified state officials about TCE contamination at the company's property.
AVX secretly tried to clean up contamination on its property for 14 years beginning in 1981. The company had little success getting rid of TCE in the groundwater, and finally alerted DHEC about the problem in 1995.
DHEC then started working with AVX to clean up groundwater on the company's site, but the state agency did not test to see if contamination had migrated to surrounding property until last year.
DHEC is working with AVX on a plan to clean groundwater in the neighborhood, a process that could take decades.
DHEC spokesman Thom Berry said the agency will hold a community meeting next month to give residents an update on the cleanup.
Property owners near AVX allege in three lawsuits that their land now is worthless because of the contamination. Those property owners want AVX to pay them for their land and unspecified damages. The lawsuits are pending in federal court.
To read more of The Sun News' series about contamination at AVX Corp., visit MyrtleBeach Online.com and click "TCE Contamination" under the "Special Sections" tab.
Tests last year showed TCE levels as high as 19,200 parts per billion on land near AVX. The EPA says five parts per billion is the maximum safe level. A part per billion is a measurement equal to one penny in $10 million or one minute in 1,900 years.
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