08/17/2006

Associated Press

Chemicals common to rocket fuel have been found in more wells in the Deep Creek area but do not pose an immediate health threat, Environmental Protection Agency officials said.

The latest testing was done on water from about 60 wells within a quarter-mile of two former Nike missile sites, including at least 40 that had not been previously tested, EPA project manager Calvin Terada said Wednesday.

Most had low levels of perchlorate, a salt used in explosives and rocket fuel, and half had N-nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA, a rocket fuel igniter, Terada said.

Neither was found at levels high enough to be an immediate health risk, so property owners have not been advised to stop drinking water from the wells, and there was no evidence that the contamination appeared to be spreading, he added.

The tests were ordered after trichloroethylene, or TCE, a a common military engine degreaser linked to liver, kidney and lung cancer, was found in routine tests in June of water from 19 wells on property owned by Hutterite families in the area lies west of Spokane near Riverside State Park.

No TCE was found in wells that were checked for the first time in the second round of tests, Terada said.

"The TCE appears to be isolated," Terada said.

Hutterites, whose religious beliefs stem from the same Anabaptist origins as those of the Amish and Mennonites, live a communal lifestyle with some modern conveniences.

Testing has failed to establish how long groundwater in the area has been contaminated. Spokane Regional Health District officials have advised them that the short-term health risks are minimal and have asked a University of Washington physician and toxic contamination expert to discuss long-term risks at a community meeting next Thursday.

"The meeting should help family doctors with useful medical information in terms of long-term monitoring," said Dr. Kim Thorburn, the district's health officer.

The Nike site is one of 40 under review in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. All were built in the late 1950s and abandoned after they became obsolete in the early 1960s.

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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.com