|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 | |||
| |||
| |||
| |||
| |||
|
News Release (Camp Edwards, MA) — The Impact Area Groundwater Study Program (IAGWSP), led by the National Guard Bureau, has been working on an investigation and cleanup of the upper 15,000 acres at Camp Edwards on the Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR) since 1997. Working in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP), IAGWSP makes it a policy to inform the public of advances in the cleanup as well as discoveries of contaminants in the soil or groundwater. Recent sampling and analysis of groundwater monitoring wells as part of the IAGWSP have detected perchlorate in several monitoring wells. The detections of perchlorate have occurred in the vicinity of the Demolition Area 1 plume and in Monitoring Wells MW-13 and MW-130 in the Southeast Corner of the "J" Ranges at MMR. At present, neither EPA nor the MADEP have established maximum contaminant levels or health advisories for perchlorate. The detected concentrations at Camp Edwards exceeded a safe exposure level established by EPA of 4 to 18 parts per billion (ppb) in drinking water.
Background Perchlorate has a relatively high solubility, which can allow it to migrate quickly to the water table. Perchlorate does not readily break down in the environment and can persist for many decades. No existing water supplies are affected by the detections of perchlorate in groundwater at MMR. The National Guard Bureau and the regulatory agencies are awaiting additional monitoring well results and will take the necessary steps to identify the nature and extent of perchlorate in the groundwater at MMR. Detailed information on perchlorate can be found on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl/perchlorate/perchlorate.html To speak with someone at the MMR about perchlorate, please call the Impact Area Groundwater Study Program at 508-968-5821. |
|
| Administrative Notice |
