EPA: KEYSOR TOXINS MAY HARM WELLS PURVEYORS REPORT NO CONTAMINATION.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer

SAUGUS -- Volatile organic compounds discharged by a former plastics plant have migrated into Santa Clarita's groundwater, potentially threatening 23 drinking water wells within a four-mile radius, according to a report issued this week by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Water purveyors said Friday there is no sign the contamination from the defunct Keysor Century Corp. plant has spread to Santa Clarita's drinking water sources.

``We monitor all of our production wells on a regular basis in accordance with drinking water regulations that are set by the Department of Health Services (and) to date, no wells have turned up any contamination from this site,'' said Robert DiPrimio, president of the Valencia Water Co., one of two retailers with wells in the region.

DiPrimio said he had not yet seen the EPA report released on Thursday that indicates carcinogens were found in the soil and water beneath the land off San Fernando Road in Saugus.

Two major groundwater sources lie below the Keysor Corp. property, where polyvinyl chloride -- used in making record albums, piping and other plastics -- was manufactured for decades. The EPA classifies vinyl chloride, a gas used in making PVCs, as a cancer-causing substance.

Valencia Water wells are sunk in the alluvial and Saugus aquifers and along the main stem of the Santa Clara River between Bouquet Junction and McBean Parkway. Approximately 21 wells serve 28,000 connections, or about 100,000 residents, DiPrimio said.

The EPA began its site investigation at the former Keysor site in June 2005, sinking five groundwater monitoring wells and collecting soil samples from 15 areas on the property. Its report, released Thursday, said cancer-causing chemicals remain in the soil and groundwater.

Matt Mitguard, project manager for the EPA's Superfund, said the site is eligible for the federal Superfund cleanup program. Contaminants remaining on the property include lead compounds, solvents and vinyl chloride that can cause cancer, kidney and brain damage, said the report. Vinyl chloride and other chemicals were detected in a down-gradient well.

DiPrimio says groundwater in the area moves very slowly, and it could take many years for the contaminated groundwater to reach municipal wells. His certainty about the safety of the water supply is matched with concern about the findings.

``(Local water purveyors) expect the responsible parties to take immediate action to contain the problem and clean it up (under the) direction of the EPA or the (state) Department of Toxic Substances Control,'' he said. ``That's what we would expect and I want it to occur immediately.''

The Santa Clarita Water Division of the wholesale Castaic Lake Water Agency operates about 13 wells, serving 27,000 connections. The utility operated two Saugus wells near the Keysor plant, but shut them down in 1997 because perchlorate contamination had infiltrated the groundwater from the old, nearby Whittaker-Bermite munitions factory.

Bill Manetta, manager of Santa Clarita Water, also had not seen the EPA's report. He said his company follows the same procedures as Valencia Water and noted that his wells likely aren't affected by the Keysor pollution.

``We have no operating water wells that are down-gradient of the Keysor-Century property,'' he said.

Bermite's manufacture and testing of rockets and explosives over 50 years left a legacy of heavy metals and other contaminants in the soil and perchlorate in the groundwater. In large doses, perchlorate has been linked to thyroid problems in humans. A plume of the chemical dispersed in the aquifer has caused the closure of six public wells. The DTSC, which is overseeing cleanup at Bermite, has finished its investigation of the site's soil and is cleaning the first of several sectors.

Valencia Water is relying on ion-exchange technology to remove perchlorate from one of its shallow alluvial wells near Bouquet Junction. The treatment is part of a plan undertaken by the Castaic Lake Water Agency, the region's state water wholesaler, and all the valley's water purveyors to remove perchlorate from the groundwater.

Though the 996-acre Bermite site abuts the former Keysor site, EPA investigators found Keysor's contaminants are ``attributable, at least in part to the Keysor site because (the compounds) have been detected at elevated concentrations in onsite soil samples ... (and) vinyl chloride was used as a raw material in Keysor's manufacturing process for approximately 45 years,'' the report said.

EPA investigators said Keysor illegally stored, handled and burned hazardous waste at the site, falsified emissions-monitoring reports and altered gauges that measured workers' exposure to the chemicals to disguise safety breaches. In August 2004, Keysor officials pleaded guilty to felony charges of violating environmental laws by spewing cancer-causing chemicals into the air and discharging toxic wastewater into the Santa Clara River over a number of years. The company paid $4.3 million in civil and criminal penalties and issued a public mea culpa. Keysor ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy in 2003.

During Keysor's heyday, much of the hilly 32-acre property was carpeted with grass and shrubs. Structures and processing areas were concentrated on eight acres. The fenced site is wedged in an industrial area near the Santa Clara River and its south fork. Saugus Industrial Center bought the property in December 2003 from a bankrupt Keysor for $4.5 million, said Dennis Verner, who represents the company's current offering of the property for $35 million. Several tenants lease space at the center.