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State To Test Air In Homes Near Raytheon Site

News Channel 8 photo by TODD DAVIS

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection holds an open house and community meeting at Pasadena Community Church in St. Petersburg to update the public on its findings.

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 9, 2008

Updated: 07/09/2008 05:28 pm

ST. PETERSBURG - The state will test air quality inside homes and apartments where groundwater contamination is heaviest from the Raytheon plant site in St. Petersburg.

Raytheon announced the tests in a July 2 posting at a special Web site it set up for people living around the plant, which is the source of a groundwater contamination plume.

The posting also noted that contamination has now been detected in 13 of 272 irrigation wells tested in the area of the plant. An estimated 700 irrigation wells are within a mile of the plant, none of them used for drinking water.

The air tests were expected to be discussed at a meeting tonight where state regulators are to give their assessment of a new report by Raytheon's environmental experts.

The site assessment report says there is no health risk from the plume.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has completed its review of Raytheon's site assessment report and will hold an open house and community meeting at 6:30 tonight to update the public on its findings.

The meeting will be at Pasadena Community Church, 227 70th St. S., St. Petersburg. An open house with information booths will begin 30 minutes before the meeting.

On May 30, Raytheon's environmental scientists told a crowd of about 700 people there is no threat to public health and that the risk of developing cancer from exposure to the plume is less than one in a million.

The chemicals dioxane, trichloroethylene and vinyl chloride are below the irrigation wells' reach and are contained by a layer of clay 120 feet thick that is keeping them from entering the aquifer, Raytheon experts said.

The toxic plume first was identified by workers building the Pinellas Trail recreation path 17 years ago, but most residents in the area didn't find out about the contaminated groundwater until March from news reports.

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