State environmental officials have tested drinking wells in Paris Estates, surface water in Hurricane Creek, one residence, the groundwater and soil gases near a school and the air quality across the city.
All the tests have shown that the widespread community is free of volatile organic compounds, contaminants that can have harmful health impacts in high levels but are also found in common household items, such as de-greasers, cleaning solutions or recently dry-cleaned clothes.
But an environmental testing company hired by the city honed in on a specific neighborhood near a former manufacturing site to test if the compounds, such as TCE and PCE, had left the property and gotten in the ground in the nearby neighborhoods along Glendale Drive, Forsythe Street and Hamilton Avenue.
The majority of those groundwater and soil gas samples detected no contaminants, but three tests were positive for the presence of contaminants, prompting the recommendation that testing continue and be expanded to include vapor collection inside homes and whether air inside sewer manholes could also be allowing exposure, according to the report from EnviroForensics.
The contaminants could have traveled in the sewer line backfill, a mixture of dirt, sand and gravel surrounding a buried sewer line, from the former Amphenol facility on Hurricane Road, along Hamilton Avenue and south along Forsythe Street.
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-945762" src="http://www.dailyjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2018/09/forsythe.jpg" alt="forsythe" width="1200" height="799" />
The area in question is limited in size and affects about 12 homes. Just because samples taken outside the home tested positive doesn’t mean that the air inside the home has been compromised, Mayor Steve Barnett said.
Residents should know that there is no specific environmental concern widespread in the city, Indiana Department of Environmental Management Commissioner Bruno Pigott said.
But the initial test results from EnviroForensics in the area along Glendale Drive, Ross Court, Hamilton Avenue and Forsythe Street warrant further investigation, said Stephen R. Henshaw, CEO of EnviroForensics.
The Indiana Departmental of Environmental Management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the city of Franklin and EnviroForensics are working together and sharing information on the issues, challenges, plans and community concerns, although each have specific properties or types of testing they are focusing on.
The city’s role has been to advocate for information and accountability, and Barnett took the step of using taxpayer dollars to pay for additional testing to be completed in advance of EPA work in the area. Those are the results that show an area of concern.
For years, a group of concerned parents have been raising questions about the increased incidence of childhood cancer in Johnson County and whether contamination, first in the water, and now from former manufacturing sites, could be to blame.
Barnett, who called the Tuesday news conference to share what has been learned, said he had been working diligently to ensure the safety and quality of life for Franklin residents and going beyond what is typically the city government’s role in environmental issues because it is the right thing to do and the most important issue in the city.
But none of the results point to widespread contamination, Barnett said. For example, private testing conducted by Franklin College and Franklin Schools have raised no areas of concern.
Another public meeting will be scheduled to talk about the next steps and answer questions, he said.
<span style="text-decoration: underline">Neighborhoods south of former Amphenol site</span>
Earlier this month, Amphenol began sampling soil gas, ambient air and indoor air at what the EPA is calling "priority homes" south of the site at 980 Hurricane Road. The testing is under the order of the EPA and is monitored by federal officials. Results from one home have been returned but are not public information, said Michael Harris, deputy director of the Land and Chemicals Division at U.S. EPA Region 5.
This is the same area that Barnett asked EnviroForensics to focus its testing on, and the city got the results of that testing and recommendations for the next steps last week.
One of seven groundwater samples and two of four soil gas samples taken in the neighborhood tested positive for the presence of contaminants, the EnviroForensics report said.
The company analyzed the data from each testing site and told the city that the groundwater and soil gas samples taken in the eastern portion of the neighborhood do not indicate the presence of contaminants above what IDEM has determined as a level that should prompt action.
But the compounds were detected in higher levels in the western portion of the neighborhood, specifically along Forsythe Street and Hamilton Avenue.
The company is urging an immediate evaluation of about 12 homes.
EnviroForensics found that a groundwater sample collected on Forsythe Street, just south of Hamilton Avenue, tested nearly 10 times higher than Indiana Department of Environmental Management allowed screening levels for residential tap ground water for PCE and more than three times the allowed screening levels for vapor intrusion groundwater for TCE.
Soil gas levels were also collected, and two sites tested higher than IDEM residential screening levels. A sample taken on Hamilton Avenue, at the southwest corner of the Amphenol site, came back seven times higher than IDEM-allowed levels for PCE and 148 times higher than the IDEM screening levels for TCE, the report said.
On Forsythe Street, just south of Hamilton Avenue, PCE levels were 53 times higher than IDEM screening levels, and TCE was 252 times higher than recommended, the report said. This location also showed a higher level of chloroform than allowed screening levels.
"These data show that additional work is necessary to determine the extent of the groundwater and soil gas impacts south of the former Amphenol site and to determine whether indoor air and sub-slab vapor samples should be collected in residential homes," beyond the areas already identified, the company’s report to the city said.
"The data does show that certain residential homes fall within the area of interest and need to be sampled to determine whether the vapor intrusion pathway is complete and mitigation is warranted in these homes," the report said.
The other six groundwater samples taken by EnviroForensics in the neighborhoods did not detect any contaminants above the typical laboratory reporting limits, the report said.
The company collected groundwater and soil gas samples in late August to test the sanitary sewer backfill, which is a combination of dirt, gravel and sand used to fill in around buried sewer lines. Contamination is most likely to travel along that route, and through that combination of soil, Barnett said.
Here is what the company is recommending:
<ul>
<li>Groundwater sampling from existing monitoring wells that were installed by Amphenol along Forsythe Street and Ross Court. The wells were last tested in 1996. The EPA is now doing this testing.</li>
<li>Additional soil gas samples taken from sanitary sewer backfill along Forsythe Street, Hamilton Avenue and Glendale Drive. The EPA has performed these tests and are awaiting results.</li>
<li>Sewer air samples taken from sanitary sewer manholes. Contaminant vapors can travel through sewer pipes and the surrounding backfill. Samples should be taken from manholes along Forsythe Street, Hamilton Avenue and Glendale Drive to determine if exposure is occurring. The EPA has conducted this testing and is waiting on results.</li>
<li>Borings to determine if and where groundwater concentrations exceed IDEM levels further south on Forsythe Street, further away from the Amphenol site. The EPA is planning this testing.</li>
<li>Residential vapor intrusion assessments. Based on the evidence so far, "there is an increased risk of completed VI (vapor intrusion) pathways to occupied structures in the vicinity of our investigation areas," the report said. An immediate evaluation of homes southwest of the Amphenol site should be conducted to determine which structures need more testing, the company said. The testing should included indoor air, sub-slab vapor and crawl spaces, the company said. The EPA is contacting homeowners to arrange this testing.</li>
</ul>
Amphenol has been under an order from the EPA for ongoing cleanup since 1998, but federal officials are now re-evaluating whether the work is effective and efficient, using the latest technology and new data that is available, Harris said.
If the results inside homes along what the EPA calls the likely pathway for contaminants to travel show that remediation is needed, the EPA will work with Amphenol and homeowners to correct the problem, such as repairing sewers or installing sub-slab depressurization systems, Harris said.
But Harris said the EPA needs more time and information before making an assessment, such as whether contaminants have left or are still leaving the site. The EPA is expecting its test results by the the end of October.
<span style="text-decoration: underline">IDEM work continuing</span>
IDEM crews have tested 24 drinking water wells at homes in Paris Estates, three samples of surface water from Hurricane Creek, property just north of Needham Elementary School and one home that was tested by a private company hired in association with the group of families who have been concerned about contamination and childhood cancer cases.
All tests showed no volatile organic compounds or evidence of contamination, Pigott said.
IDEM wanted to conduct its own test inside three homes that had concerning results in the private testing coordinated by the parent group. So far, one homeowner has allowed testing to be completed, and it showed no contamination. A second homeowner is setting a timetable for testing with the state, and the third resident has not responded to IDEM’s multiple requests, Pigott said.
The state has also installed six air quality monitors around the city, and all show the air quality is good, he said. A longer-term air quality monitor is going to be installed in Payne Park, north of downtown.
The work will continue to assure residents that their environment is clean and safe, Pigott said.
Barnett has kept the contamination concerns at the forefront, having constant communication with state and federal agencies to ensure they have a solid plan for testing, monitoring and any clean-up work that would need to be done.
Henshaw said the mayor’s tireless efforts to investigate and get answers for his community have gone beyond anything he has ever witnessed in working with multiple communities in his career.
The mayor stressed that the geographic areas that are being reviewed are a small portion of the entire city, which is about 15 square miles.
"I am concerned about any contamination of any size in our community, and the health and quality of life of our residents, especially those who could be affected," Barnett said.
