More than 100 people packed the Plumstead Municipal Building on Tuesday night looking for answers about well water contamination that authorities say is the result of runoff from a June 29 fire that destroyed an industrial building at 5189 Stump Road.
Worried about the drinking supply and the health of their families, some residents criticized officials for being slow to respond to the pollution scare and took authorities to task for what critics say was inadequate notification about the possible hazards.
"Next time there should be testing right away," said [a] Plumstead resident . . . .
A host of other concerns were raised, from people worried that future rains could carry the contamination farther afield to the owner of a business at a building in the same complex of the fire-destroyed warehouse who wanted to know if his employees were at risk from water or airborne toxins.
Representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection had some answers, but authorities are still working to define the reach and magnitude of the contamination.
"We've had people working around the clock," said Jenifer Fields, water program director for DEP's southeastern region.
She said wells that supply water on 30 properties, including 25 homes, have been tested.
The results are still coming in, but benzene, a carcinogen linked to cancer and other illnesses, is in water on homes on Ann Drive and at least one of those homes has antimony, a metal that can cause vomiting and diarrhea if ingested.
Fields noted that a preservative used in laboratory tests might have increased the level of benzene detected in samples of private well water. To get an accurate reading, more tests are being done without the preservative.
Antimony trioxide was at a Custom Particle Reduction Inc., a business in the ruined building, but the chemical was reportedly removed on June 24, five days before the fire, said Fields.
"It's usually not this complicated, but it happens to be in this case," she said.
E coli. and total coliform have been detected in the water too, but Fields does not believe those contaminants came from the fire.
DEP's Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program has become involved and is working toward getting residents a temporary water supply. DEP is also looking at long-term solutions to deliver potable water to residents.
The testing and potentially expensive solutions for the contamination are being paid for with taxpayer dollars, and DEP could look to recoup its expenses from the owners of the building that burned down, officials said.
Despite the focus from health and environmental officials now, some residents were steamed at county health officials who declared in the aftermath of the fire that there was no contamination in wells or waterways.
"Three million gallons of water saturated a small area. How could it not affect something?" said [a resident] . . . , referring to the estimated amount of water used to fight the fire.
Responding to residents who thought the township and health officials should have done more to make residents aware of the contamination, Fields admitted the communication effort could have been better and said officials will post pertinent information on the Plumstead website as it becomes available.
Plumstead Supervisor Tom Alvare said authorities are looking into why the outreach wasn't more robust from the outset. "This was a wakeup call about how things that happen on the surface can affect our water supply," said Alvare.
While DEP listed three people as owners of the burned-down building, owner Dennis K. Rice has been the main point of contact and is already supplying, at the state's request, bottled water for some residents, said officials.
Rice, who owns Custom Particle Reduction Inc., has been ordered to drain two ponds into which contaminated water flooded and to prevent further water from getting into those retention pools.
He also must develop a plan for cleaning soil and sediment contamination.
The contamination seems to have traveled down a drainage ditch that takes overflow from the ponds and runs past nearby homes before turning into a creek.
Residents believe water used to fight the June 29 fire and subsequent rains contributed to moving chemicals from the site and into their drinking supply.
It took hundreds of firefighters and an estimated 3 million gallons worth of water to battle the fire that erupted at the industrial building June 29.
The flames continued to ignite over the course of a week, drawing firefighters back to the scene.
The cause of the fire has been ruled undetermined, though there were indications it might have begun with an electrical issue.
Tuesday's meeting with DEP was organized with the help of state Sen. Chuck McIlhinney and state Rep. Marguerite Quinn.
Ms. Fields gave out these phone numbers:
Bucks County Health Department 215-345-3318
PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) 484-250-5991
The Plumstead Township website, www.Plumstead.org, will be used to communicate to the public.
