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Source of arsenic in Lithia wells remains elusive

By Chandra Broadwater, Times Staff Writer
In print: Friday, September 5, 2008

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LITHIA — Gerald and Julia Hall drink bottled water. They have for more than a year.

Ever since wells in their rural neighborhood along Pritcher Road for tested positive for arsenic contamination, the couple decided not to leave their health to chance.

"When we started hearing about our neighbors and the arsenic, we thought we'd might as well just stop drinking the water," Julia Hall said. "Ours didn't test positive, but it's just not good."

Since 2006, the Health Department and state Department of Environmental Protection have been attempting to determine where and why a slew of wells in eastern Hillsborough are laced with varying levels of arsenic.

As of July, 89 wells in the county have been tested by the Health Department for the toxic metal. Of those, 23 have arsenic concentrations above the 10 parts per billion level — roughly equal to a few drops of ink in an Olympic-sized swimming pool — deemed safe by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

The DEP has tested 97 drinking water wells, of which 21 have tested positive.

Results so far range from just below the limit to several times above it, said Cindy Morris, environmental administrator for the Health Department. The department monitors some wells quarterly because arsenic levels fluctuate with the periodic tests.

The Steppin' Stone Farm, a home for troubled girls at the end of Pritcher Road, is one particular location of concern, Morris said. Two of three wells on the property had arsenic in 2006, with levels more than 30 times above the limit.

The proximity to old phosphate-mining operations could be one reason for the arsenic, Morris said. But ultimately, health officials aren't sure why arsenic is showing up in the water.

In efforts to find an answer, the state DEP has drilled 20 testing wells in the county. Of those, which have varying depths, six have been found to have arsenic levels above the limit. More testing is scheduled in October.

"At this point, the investigations continue," said Pam Vazquez, DEP spokeswoman. "We can't really speculate on the theory of what's causing the exceedances."

Residents with unsafe levels of arsenic in their water are eligible for filters, paid for by the DEP. Those who live in high-risk areas can have their wells sampled for free. For a fee, the Health Department will also test wells of residents who live outside these areas.

Positive test results don't necessarily mean an acute or immediate health risk, health officials warned. Concern lies primarily in long-term exposure to arsenic, over about 70 years. It has been linked to cancer of the vital organs, skin and nasal passages.

And though arsenic can occur naturally in the soil, some officials suspect ranchers and farmers who used arsenic many years ago to kill insects. Farmers once sprayed arsenic-laden pesticides in orange groves, while ranchers routinely walked cattle through "dipping vats" that were dug into the earth, then filled with an arsenic solution that killed ticks.

"This was pasture land that had also been farmed when we bought it," Gerald Hall said. "But who knows. It could be some of the mines and chemical plants around here. All I know is that we're not drinking our water."

Chandra Broadwater can be reached at cbroadwater@sptimes.com, or 661-2454.