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Public Worry Grows With Raytheon Plume

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By STEVEN GIRARDI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 27, 2008

Updated: 07/27/2008 12:44 am

No one needs to worry about health threats, people are told. But the words don't match the actions as new testing is ordered and notices are sent to families about the underground spread of dangerous chemicals from a Raytheon plant in St. Petersburg. One thing is certain: Dealing with the pollution will take years.

SORTING THROUGH ALL THE TALK

Who should worry about the plume?

No one needs to worry about health threats, according to people from Raytheon and the state's environmental and health departments. Yet testing continues to determine which chemicals have spread and how far.

That looks like a disconnect to people in the areas around the plant, including Azalea, with 800 homes.

"The whole neighborhood is worried," said Dominick Griesi, president of the Azalea Homeowners Association.

Add the people who live in the adjacent Brandywine Apartments and Stone's Throw condominiums. They also have property values to worry about as news of the contamination spreads.

And now, parents from Azalea Elementary School have been drawn into the circle of concern: Julie Janssen, interim superintendent of the Pinellas County School District, sent a letter July 17 to parents notifying them that the district is monitoring the plume and will issue updates. The district plans to hire a consultant to test and review the findings.

Another source of concern: the popular fishing grounds of Boca Ciega Bay, where water flows from a nearby creek that is contaminated by the plume.

Finally, when constituents are worried, so are lawmakers. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson asked the federal Environmental Protection Agency to look into the situation. The agency replied July 18 that it will work closely with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to provide whatever assistance is needed. State Rep. Rick Kriseman, a St. Petersburg Democrat, said he is keeping track of developments.

Does it pose a health threat?

The official answer is no because the underground contamination has not intruded into drinking water supplies, only into water used for irrigation, and because people generally are not exposed to it.

Gregory Taylor, senior environmental scientist at Raytheon, told nearby residents at a meeting in May that the risk is "less than one in a million" of developing cancer from any possible exposure to chemicals in the plume.

Trichloroethylene (TCE); 1,4 dioxane; and vinyl chloride can cause an assortment of ailments, from headaches and dizziness to several forms of cancer and birth complications.

Raytheon and health officials say there is no risk of such exposure.

Still, the state Department of Environmental Protection has given Raytheon until Aug. 31 to come up with a more complete assessment of the contamination. Current studies put the depth at possibly as much as 80 feet below ground.

"We've asked Raytheon for more sampling from 80 to 110 feet," said Pam Vazquez, a spokeswoman for DEP's southwest region.

Testing also will be done on fruits and vegetables in a community garden and in private gardens to measure possible contamination.

How can the state say there is no health threat now?

Studies on shallow irrigation wells and a report by University of Florida toxicology professor Steven Roberts are the sources cited by Randy Merchant, environmental administrator with the Florida Department of Health, to conclude that exposure to the contaminated water - from lawn sprinklers, hoses or swimming pools, for example - is not significant.

"Since nobody is drinking the water, the only other possible exposure is vapor intrusion - evaporating through soil into buildings - and we don't think so," Merchant said.

Still, Gail Guidash of the Pinellas County Health Department said her agency plans to perform air testing at nine neighborhood homes in August. Canisters set up for 24 hours will measure whether any of the underground chemicals have vaporized and risen through the ground and into homes.

Will it make selling homes there difficult?

Yes.

Perception drives property values, said real estate appraiser Michael McElveen, president of Urban Economics in Tampa.

"Very simply, it's called stigma," said McElveen, who has specialized in contaminated property for more than 20 years. "And stigma is the perception, and perception is reality. If people perceive it to be a bad thing, it's a bad thing."

As public knowledge of the contamination increases, Azalea property owners will find fewer and more suspicious buyers, McElveen said. Also, any problem must be disclosed to lenders, who would become reluctant to invest.

Griesi, of the homeowners association, said deals have fallen through on at least 12 houses in the past four months.

Homeowners' only hope, he said, is a Raytheon cleanup and possibly a promise by the company to buy property that won't sell.

"It's been done in other parts of the country," Griesi said.

Is it still spreading?

The plume that began at the Raytheon property was found in 2005 to be spreading away from the plant, toward the Azalea neighborhood and beyond. It has spread about a half-mile. How far it will go remains to be determined.

State environment and health officials hope to get more definitive answers when Raytheon files its next report, due Aug. 31.

In the meantime, the concentration of chemicals is low in the creek that drains to Boca Ciega Bay, and "there is no sign" of them reaching there, said Vazquez, with DEP.

Still, the department asked Raytheon to investigate the creek and how the pollutants made it there "so they can cut it off immediately," Vazquez said.

What's being done to deal with it?

Several things are in the works: more testing, an interim cleanup project by Raytheon, and a $500 million federal class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of neighborhood residents.

Raytheon, which has spent more than $2.5 million on the project, plans to install a pump-and-treat system as an interim solution, beginning as soon as August, company spokesman Jon Kasle said.

The project involves drilling wells to pump out contaminated water, which will be treated and sent to a sewage plant for disposal. Raytheon engineers also are developing a more complete remediation plan, expected to take about six months.

A Pensacola law firm, in conjunction with others, has filed a class-action lawsuit against Raytheon in U.S. District Court in Tampa. The firm represents seven residents and claims, among other things, that Raytheon misrepresented the extent of the contamination.

Can it ever be cleaned up?

DEP's Vazquez says yes.

She takes that position while acknowledging that more answers are needed.

"If you want a successful cleanup, you have to know how deep it is, how wide it is," Vazquez said. "Some contamination is easier than others."

The pump-and-treat method can take years to complete, though Raytheon is working on another plan, too, and has said it will stick with the project until the cleanup is complete.

Residents remain skeptical. Neighborhood association president Griesi worries about saltwater intrusion after the groundwater is pumped out, and others worry about possible sinkholes.

"The neighbors definitely feel threatened by it," he said. "It's going to take time to get honest answers."

Reporter Steven Girardi can be reached at (727) 385-5689 or sgirardi@tampatrib.com.

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