Chemical Detected in Kane Waters
Posted on: Saturday, 11 March 2006, 12:00 CST
By William Presecky and Richard Wronski, Chicago Tribune
Mar. 11--A potential cancer-causing chemical additive used widely since the 1970s to enhance gasoline performance and improve air quality has been detected at "slightly elevated levels" in three public water supplies in far northeastern Kane County, county health officials said Friday.
"It is possible that levels of MTBE [methyl tertiary butyl ether] also may be present in private wells," according to county Health Department spokesman Michael Isaacson.
Carpentersville officials said they did not consider MTBE levels in village water hazardous.
They also said they were well within what's considered acceptable for taste, odor and health concerns, although the volatile organic compound reportedly tastes bad and smells foul, like turpentine.
"There's no cause for alarm," said Robert Cole, the village public works director.
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency officials agree the low level of contamination, detected in the Carpentersville, East Dundee and Lake Marian community water supplies after routine well sampling recently by the agency, poses no immediate health threat.
Public water samples of MTBE range from 1.26 parts per billion to 6.75 parts per billion, well below the state safety standard of 70 parts per billion, said Jill Watson, of the state EPA, which regulates community water supplies.
The EPA has not pinpointed the source of the MTBE, she said. When the compound reaches groundwater, usually via leaky underground tanks, it spreads quickly, according to the EPA.
The agency has identified the potentially affected area of private wells as being bounded by Bolz Road on the north, Illinois Highway 72 on the south, the Kane-Cook border on the east and the Fox River on the west.
Letters to residents of the area notify them that they "may choose to get their well water tested," Isaacson said. The cost of testing ranges from $75 to $200.
MTBE--used to boost octane, promote cleaner burning gasoline and cleaner air--could cause cancer in high doses, according to the federal EPA. However, a petroleum industry trade group in Europe disputes that finding.
bpresecky@tribune.com
rwronski@tribune.com
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Source: Chicago Tribune
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