Currently, the Perryton Water Well Number 2 site does not pose a public health hazard because water from the well is not being used and has not been used since the well was disconnected from the city water supply in June 1989.
In the past Perryton Water Well Number 2 posed an indeterminate public health
hazard. Available data indicate that in the past some of the contaminants
have or may have exceeded health-based comparison values; however, the data
were insufficient to reliably reconstruct possible past exposures.
Future use of water from Well Number 2 prior to treatment and blending could pose a
public health hazard. The primary contaminants of concern for future use are carbon
tetrachloride and nitrates. Chronic exposure to carbon tetrachloride at the concentrations
measured in Well Number 2 could result in an estimated low to moderate increased
lifetime risk for developing cancer. Since infants are particularly sensitive to the possible
effects of exposure to nitrates, ingestion of this water by infants could result in exposure
doses well within the range of doses that have been found to cause methemoglobinemia.
EPA plans to begin the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study to determine the
nature and extent of contamination in the soil and groundwater at this site.
EPA plans to treat the water from Well Number 2 by an appropriate method to remove
the carbon tetrachloride and its breakdown products. The water from Well Number 2 will
be blended with other well water to reduce the overall nitrate concentration to below 7 ppm.
The City of Perryton should continue to limit access to the area around Well Number 2.
The private water well approximately 1,200 feet southwest of Well Number 2 should be
tested for site contaminants (specifically carbon tetrachloride and its breakdown products,
atrazine, and nitrate/nitrite nitrogen). ATSDR/TDH should evaluate these results and
provide the evaluation to EPA and the owner of the well.
PREPARERS OF THE REPORT
Susan L. Prosperie, M.S., R.S.
Health Assessor
Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology Division
John F. Villanacci, Ph.D.
Director
Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology Division
Adriana Rhames
Community Involvement Liaison
Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology Division
Dixie Davis
Administrative Technician
Environmental Epidemiology and Toxicology Division
ATSDR Regional Representative
George Pettigrew
Senior Regional Representative
ATSDR - Region 6
CERTIFICATION
This Public Health Assessment was prepared by the Texas Department of Health under a
cooperative agreement with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). It
is in accordance with approved methodology and procedures existing at the time the Public
Health Assessment was initiated.
Alan W. Yarbrough
Technical Project Officer, SPS, SSAB, DHAC, ATSDR
The Division of Health Assessment and Consultation, ATSDR, has reviewed this Public Health Assessment and concurs with its findings.
Richard Gillig
Chief, State Programs Section, SSAB, DHAC, ATSDR
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