PLANT ORDERED TO CLEAN UP GROUNDWATER CARCINOGENIC SOLVENT FOUND.Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer NORTHRIDGE - State water regulators have ordered a draft beer equipment manufacturer to clean up groundwater contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. by a cancer-causing solvent that was dumped at the plant and seeped under nearby homes. The Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Regional Water Quality Control Board has directed Micro Matic  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . USA Inc. to monitor and clean up PCE PCE pseudocholinesterase; see cholinesterase. erythromycin Apo-Erythro (CA), Apo-Erythro-EC, Diomycin (CA), E-Base, E-Mycin, Erybid (CA), Erymax (UK), Ery-Tab, Erythromid (CA), PCE (CA), Rommix (UK), Tiloryth (UK) it spilled into the soil during the manufacturing of beer dispensing equipment. PCE, or perchloroethylene per·chlor·o·eth·yl·ene n. Abbr. PCE A colorless, nonflammable organic solvent, Cl2C:CCl2, used in dry-cleaning solutions and as an industrial solvent. , is a potentially carcinogenic carcinogenic having a capacity for carcinogenesis. solvent normally associated with dry cleaning. Because groundwater is not used for drinking in Los Angeles, water quality officials said residents were safe. ``There are no drinking-water wells in this area,'' said David Bacharowski, assistant executive officer for the Los Angeles water board, a division of the California Environmental Protection Agency The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) was created in 1991 by Governor Pete Wilson, through an executive order.[1] The agency combined six board, departments, and offices into one cabinet-level office:[2] Neighbors of the Micro Matic plant at 19791 Bahama St. this week awakened to the sound of drill rigs operated by an environmental testing firm hired to test PCE levels 50 feet beneath the 19800 block of Gresham Street, less than a quarter-mile from the equipment maker. According to the state water board, Micro Matic spilled PCE solvent into the soil over the years at its Northridge plant. Tests conducted since late 2003 found PCE levels under nearby Nordhoff Street at 300 times the safe drinking-water standard. A groundwater sample last May from 50 feet beneath Gresham Street found PCE at roughly 37 parts per billion - more than seven times the 5 ppb limit. Three other Gresham Street samples came up clean. Micro Matic President Peter Muzzonigro was out of town Wednesday and unavailable for comment. The company has manufactured beer dispensing equipment at its Northridge plant for nearly 50 years. Water board officials said that Micro Matic must ``significantly reduce'' the amount of PCE in nearby soil and groundwater. A final cleanup plan is expected by the end of the year. Some neighbors said they were not informed of the pollution beneath their homes. ``It's disturbing,'' said Clint Weyand, 54, of Gresham Street. ``We could ingest in·gest tr.v. in·gest·ed, in·gest·ing, in·gests 1. To take into the body by the mouth for digestion or absorption. See Synonyms at eat. 2. something and have some negative effects 10 years from now.'' Dana Bartholomew, (818) 713-3730 dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): map Map: Micro Matic USA Inc. |
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