LEBANON - The Department of Environmental Quality will be collecting well water samples at residences and downtown businesses in Lebanon this summer to check for industrial chemicals.

The DEQ announced the sampling program last week.

Groundwater beneath a large area of downtown Lebanon is contaminated with the industrial solvents trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene, known as TCE and PCE. Both are considered probable carcinogens.

While city water is available to most residents, many still use wells. DEQ's contractor, Hart Crowser Inc., will determine whether the well water is contaminated with these solvents. Sampling is free and well owners will receive a copy of the test results.

DEQ and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had previously identified several contaminated wells in the area. Because DEQ thinks there may be more, the agency is working to collect water samples.

Hart Crowser has surveyed property owners to determine which residences and businesses use well water and obtained permission to sample the wells.

Once DEQ identifies affected wells, the agency will discuss the results of the testing with the owners. Depending on the level of contamination and the use of well water for drinking or irrigation, DEQ will work to protect affected residents from the contamination. This may include offering alternate water supplies, which could include paying to connect residents to the city water system.

DEQ and EPA began investigating the solvent contamination in Lebanon in the mid-1990s. DEQ has worked to clean up two sources of the contamination, sites known as the former NuWay Cleaners on Main Street and the former Johannsen Cleaners on Park Street.

DEQ and EPA have investigated more sites over the years to see if they are contributors to the contamination. One site, the former PolyClean cleaners, is at Oak and Main streets, at the site of the new RiteAid store. That site is being cleaned up under oversight by DEQ.

While dry cleaning shops are known to use TCE and PCE, the solvents are also used by other industries.

Money for the Lebanon Area Groundwater Contamination Study is provided by DEQ's Orphan Site Account, funded through the sale of long-term bonds. When funds are recovered, such as from responsible parties, they may be spent on other orphan cleanups.

For more information about DEQ's well sampling program, contact Don Hanson at (541) 687-7349 or hanson.don@deq.state.or.us. Questions concerning the health risks posed by PCE or TCE in well water may be directed to Sujata Joshi at the Department of Human Services' Environmental Health Assessment Program, at (971) 673-1213.

For the Democrat-Herald