EPA: Moraine groundwater contaminated

Drinking water is not endangered, officials say, but vapors could be a concern.

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By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer Updated 11:30 PM Friday, May 21, 2010

MORAINE — Volatile organic compounds from old degreasing solvents used to clean auto parts have contaminated groundwater under a former General Motors site off Dryden Road, officials with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said Friday, May 21.

No drinking water is in danger, said Harold O’Connell, environmental supervisor with the Hazardous Waste Division of the state EPA’s Dayton office. He said both federal and state EPAs have treated and monitored the contaminated groundwater plume for “years,” although no public meeting on the matter has been held. He did not believe local residents had been notified of the matter.

It was not immediately clear why there wasn’t extensive public notification earlier. Dave Hicks, Moraine city manager, said city officials want a public meeting to be held soon, perhaps as early as June. O’Connell said city officials have been notified and that “some public notice, similar to what’s published in the classified sections of the paper, may have occurred.”

O’Connell said groundwater contaminated with solvents has migrated southwest from a former oil house building near what had been an engine plant near the assembly plant GM shut down in late 2008. Both the oil house and the engine plant have long since been razed. He said the contaminated plume is just west of Springboro Pike and east of Dryden Road.

According to a map provided by the Ohio EPA, there are no homes in the immediate area, but homes are relatively nearby, off Kettering Boulevard and Fulton Avenue. The former oil house was located just northwest of where West Stroop Road meets Springboro Pike today. The assembly plant is between Springboro Pike and Kettering Boulevard.

O’Connell emphasized that while drinking water is not endangered, there is concern about vapors that could seep into basements. He also said the plume is in a “central” location.

Mirtha Capiro, a scientist with the U.S. EPA, agreed that drinking water is not endangered. She said the agency was working on a way to confirm that vapors aren’t hazardous.

The groundwater is contaminated with TCE, or trichloroethylene, the same compound that has raised concerns for residents around the Behr thermal products plant in Dayton. In that area, the U.S. EPA has tested 276 homes for potentially hazardous vapors and installed mitigation systems in 148 homes to remove vapors.

“This is a legacy site,” O’Connell said of the Moraine plume. “These aren’t releases associated with recent operations.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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