HEALTH CONSULTATION
LEFFINGWELL ROAD PIPELINE SPILL
BERLIN TOWNSHIP, MAHONING COUNTY, OHIO
The US EPA Region V On-Scene Coordinator asked ODH to evaluate the health risks to area residents with regard to the results of the US EPA sampling of their well water. Based on the November 6, 1997, US EPA and OEPA sampling results and other historical well sampling data (Appendix A), the two wells currently have the potential to pose a health threat to residents that use these wells as their drinking water supply.
17467 Leffingwell Road
Sampling of the well at 17467 Leffingwell Road over the past several years
indicates a progressive deterioration of the quality of the water taken from
this well (Appendix A). Samples taken by both
private contractors and the agencies in the fall of 1997 indicate that the "water"
from the well contains large amounts of sediments and other suspended solids
(up to 40%), making it undrinkable. Levels of a variety of metals (arsenic,
beryllium, copper, lead, manganese, nickel, and zinc) in this turbid well "water"
far exceed US EPA drinking water standards (Maximum Contaminant Levels and Action
Levels) for these substances. The dissolved metals detected in this well water
included only iron and manganese, both typical constituents of the groundwater
obtained from bedrock aquifers in this part of northeast Ohio. This indicates
that the bulk of the metals contamination in this well comes from sediment that
has or is accumulating in the well, possibly resulting from the corrosion of
solid metal particles from a deteriorating well casing.
Chloroform was detected at trace levels (< 1.0 ppb) in both the "turbid" and "clear" water samples taken by US EPA and the OEPA sample taken at the same time from this well. Levels are far below US EPA drinking water standards for chloroform (MCL = 100 ppb) and probably result from the resident’s attempts to chlorinate the well.
TPH (Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons) is a non-chemical specific measurement of petroleum hydrocarbons in environmental media. No comparison values have been developed for these materials in drinking water supplies, and the health risks represented by the presence of TPH in well sediments cannot be determined. This well has been sampled 10 times in the past decade for the volatile components of petroleum hydrocarbons (hydrocarbons most likely to contaminate groundwater), including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes, and there have been no detections of these chemicals in any sampling event.
The residents at this home are not currently using this well as their drinking water source, using water trucked in from an outside source (Joe Freadle, US EPA, pers. comm.).
17550 Leffingwell Road
Sampling of the well at 17550 Leffingwell Road by OEPA in the fall of 1996
had no detects. Sampling of this well by US EPA on November 6, 1997, indicated
the presence of low levels of the semi-volatile compound di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate
in both the initial sample and a duplicate. These levels approach the US EPA
drinking water standard for this chemical (MCL = 6.0 ppb). This chemical is
known, however, as a common laboratory contaminant, and it was not detected
in the OEPA sample taken from this well at the same time. Copper was also detected
as a "total metal" at 52.7 ppb but was not detected as a "dissolved
metal" in the same sample.
Of primary concern is the highly-elevated levels of lead detected in the US EPA sample and its duplicate and in both "total metal" and "dissolved metal" samples. Total lead was found at 608 ppb in the initial sample and at 76.7 ppb in the duplicate sample. Dissolved lead levels were at 139 ppb and 134 ppb, respectively. All four samples exceed the US EPA Action Level for lead in public drinking water supplies (15 ppb).
Elevated lead levels can cause adverse health effects in people, especially children who tend to absorb a higher proportion of the lead ingested compared to adults (ODH, 1996). Lead absorbed will typically accumulate in bones and teeth. Potential health effects from lead ingestion included central nervous system disorders; impaired mental development, lowered IQs, and decreased growth rates in children; reduced birth weights and increased incidence of adverse birth outcomes; increased blood pressure; anemia; and impaired kidney function (ODH, 1996).
Of further concern is the subsequent sampling of the water at this locality by OEPA, within minutes of the US EPA samples, that indicated the presence of lead at levels of 5.3 ppb: many orders of magnitude below the previous US EPA samples and below the US EPA Action Level (15 ppb). Apparantly, as the water continues to flow from the resident’s pressure tank, the levels of lead decreased dramatically. This makes obtaining a reliable reading of the actual levels of lead in the raw water coming into the house from the well difficult. It presents a dilemma in how to interprete the health risks represented by these lead levels. The resident also has a water treatment system that is between the pressure tank and the tap (point of exposure to the water). ODH does not know what effect, if any, this treatment system may have on lead levels at the point of use.
Other wells in the area that were sampled by the agencies on November 6, 1997, did not have levels of chemicals or metals above US EPA drinking water standards. The use of these wells as a drinking water supply does not pose a health risk to residents, based on the results of this most recent sampling.
Next Section Table of Contents
