'It's a public health issue'

Nov. 26--SANFORD -- Local and state officials have advised residents not to drink or cook with water from four wells in the area of Colon Road after finding elevated levels of hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen associated with respiratory irritation, kidney damage, liver damage and other health effects.

"We found elevated levels in a couple of the tests," Lee County Manager John Crumpton told The Herald Wednesday. "The folks have been advised not to drink their water. We'll have to look into it a little bit further and have the state do a little more research, but right now, the state's recommending [residents] put some type of filter on it."

Gladys and Michael Reaves, of the 300 block of Birchard Road, had the highest level of hexavalent chromium at 3.92 micrograms per liter, or 56 times the allowable limit of 0.07 micrograms of hexavalent chromium per liter, according to the N.C. State Laboratory of Public Health. A microgram is one millionth of a gram.

"They told us not to drink the water," Gladys said. "They said all we could do was bathe in it and wash clothes in it. ... I'm really concerned because of my husband, what he's going through now. He had cancer, and he's been through [chemotherapy] twice."

According to the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration, hexavalent chromium is known to cause cancer.

"My husband was diagnosed last year," Gladys said. "In the meantime, we didn't know anything about the water. His mom and dad died from cancer, and they lived out here, too."

Crumpton said any discussion of what caused the elevated hexavalent chromium levels would be purely speculative.

"When [the Lee County Board of Commissioners] meets on Dec. 7, I'm going to discuss it with the board," Crumpton said. "And I think we'll probably ask the state to come down and do an in-depth investigation, talk with these folks about what's been causing it. We're not experts in that field. The state is. That's why they have the [N.C. Division of Environmental Quality] and in it, a Division of Water Quality."

Crumpton said local health officials tested 14 wells around Colon Road on Nov. 12 as part of baseline testing in preparation for receipt of up to 8 million tons of coal ash Duke Energy plans to store in the area starting in 2017. The county still is waiting for the results from six of the 14 tests, but in addition to Reaves's well, three others were found to contain more than 0.07 micrograms per liter of hexavalent chromium.

A well on Hawkinberry Lane contained 0.42 micrograms per liter, a well on Old Colon Road contained 0.54 micrograms per liter and a well in the 100 block of Post Office Road contained 0.08 micrograms per liter, just over the allowable limit.

"Obviously it's a public health issue," Crumpton said of the contamination. "And the county and the state have responsibilities when it comes to this. We're reviewing, figuring out what we need to do to help these people."

Crumpton said that a letter would be going out to residents in the surrounding area about what to do if they wanted their wells tested. The deadline for baseline testing from the county originally was Dec. 1, but Crumpton said it likely would be extended to Dec. 31.

"We're doing the testing before coal ash comes here," Crumpton said. "Since we don't have coal ash, [Duke Energy] is really not responsbile until the coal ash gets here. We feel responsible for getting the baseline."

Anyone with questions of concerns or who would like to schedule baseline well testing can contact Registered Environmental Health Specialist Heath Cain of the Lee County Environmental Health Department at (919) 718-4641 or the Environmental Health Section of the N.C. Department of Public Health at (919) 707-5854.

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