MTBE Water Contamination in Hempstead, NY.
By Jessica Wertling
For my final project, I will be investigating the pollution of Long Island groundwater that has accumulated as a result of approximately 32 petroleum spills. These spills have the potential to contaminate the aquifers and water supply wells which supply Long Island's drinking water because they contain the chemical MTBE. The chemical is speculated to have detrimental effects on human health, although there have not yet been conclusive studies. New York banned MTBE in 2004 and Long Island had 24 percent of the state's total spills, which is more than any other region in New York; Long Island also had the highest quantities of the chemical, per spill. The gasoline spills have the capacity to affect the drinking water of approximately 2.7 million Long Island residents. According to my research, there have been at least two MTBE spills in Hempstead which did not meet cleanup standards and therefore I think it could be a good story to hone in on the issue as it relates to Hempstead. It would be helpful to talk to local geologists, chemists, and environmentalists, to get a better understanding of the health risks, the effects on quality of life, and what is being done to solve the issue in Hempstead.
History
MTBE is a fossil fuel used in motor gasoline. During its use as a fuel additive, it was produced in large quantities (up to 200,000 barrels a day). MTBE was first added to gasoline in 1979, however, its use has declined due to bans in New York and many other states. Because of gasoline spills and the leaking of gasoline from underground storage tanks, the use of MTBE as a fossil fuel has been reduced and in many places totally banned. MTBE is water soluble and therefore easily permeates in water, more so than other chemicals found in gasoline. These incidents of fuel leaks have caused many water aquifers to become tainted with the chemical, especially on Long Island. The chemical often gives drinking water an unpleasant taste and exact health ramifications of its consumption are largely debated. Other times, MTBE can be tasteless and odorless, in which case people will not even know they are consuming it. While gas companies argue that it is harmless, many Long Island residents speculate that there is a correlation between MTBE contaminated drinking water and high incidents of diseases like breast cancer on Long Island. While the exact health consequences of the chemicals are unknown, many scientists believe that it may have detrimental, long-term effects on human health. This has been a reoccurring problem for decades on Long Island in that it has been popping up every few years and then quieting down again. Hempstead is an area which has found to have the chemical in its drinking water in recent months.
Scope
This problem affects many communities on Long Island in addition to Hempstead. In fact, Long Island is an area of the United States which has had one of the highest incidents of MTBE spills, and therefore, incidents of MTBE contaminating community drinking water. MTBE is not just a problem familiar to the United States, but it is a national and even international problem. MTBE is expensive to remove from water and taxpayers often end up paying the price, an estimated $2.5 million from the 32 petroleum spills detected in Nassau County in February 2008. Health wise, it is speculated that MTBE consumption can result in ailments ranging from the relatively mild, like headaches and sore throats, to the life threatening, such as cancers because it is a potential human carcinogen at high doses.
Central Reasons
Since MTBE is extremely water permeable, it is relatively easy for this chemical to seep from the sediment into our water supply if it happens to leak out of a gasoline tank and into an aquifer. This is not to say that gas companies are not to blame, for it is often carelessness by gas stations that causes and exacerbates the spills. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) often must hire private contractors to investigate the extent of the contaminations and clean them because gas station owners refuse to investigate. Exxon Mobil Corp. was forced to take accountability in 2001 when it lost a law suit against the Plainview Water District for MTBE contamination. However, in spite of history, carelessness taken by gas stations has once again led MTBE to infiltrate Long Island’s water.
Impacts
Anyone who consumes tap water in areas in proximity to MTBE spills has the potential to be affected by this. People who are ignorant to the problem are at an even greater disadvantage because they may be consuming this chemical without knowing it. Water is obviously needed to sustain life and it is not feasible for most Hempstead residents, or most people for that matter, to depend solely on bottled water. MTBE is potentially capable of destroying one’s quality of life through physical pain like body aches or even cancer, which may of course, lead to death.
Gathering and Action of Contrary Forces
While gas companies try to avoid responsibility and accountability, water districts, environmentalists, and politicians try to remedy this issue and protect communities from MTBE contamination and consumption through litigation involving bans on MTBE and stricter ramifications against gas stations which continue to use MTBE in New York.
The Future
Although there have been laws banning the usage of MTBE as a gas additive in many states, including New York, it continues to be detected from previous gas spills and sometimes it is illegally used by gas stations. There needs to be stricter liability for gas stations that continue to illegally use this additive and more widespread means need to be used to detect this chemical in water. From a journalism standpoint, it is important for journalists to make a big deal about this so that people know what they are putting in their bodies. If more people know about this, more people will become angry about it and hopefully the likelihood of a solution will increase significantly.
Links:
1.) http://www.toxicstargeting.com/toxicmaps/nassau/gardencity.htm
This link is a map of Hempstead and surrounding towns which identifies toxic sites including MTBE spill zones that have not met cleanup standards, as of2005.
2.) http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-limtbe0223,0,731415.story
This is the latest news story involving MTBE (from the February 28, 2008 Newsday), which contends that petroleum spills have been detected throughout Nassau County which have not been previously detected.
3.) http://www.uswaternews.com/archives/arcquality/8bannchem3.html
This recent article cites the state Department of Environmental Conservation in its claims that MTBE still poses a threat to Long Island drinking water
4.) http://www.liapg.org/links.html
This site lists links to subdivisions of the Long Island Association of Professional Geologists, including the Society of Petroleum Engineers and Eastern Environmental Solutions, Inc., both of which are related to studying and dealing with petroleum spills.
5.) http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/42161.html
This is a two-year-old investigatory report by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation which probes the potential sources of MTBE water contamination on Long Island and how it might impact water supplies. It found 53% of sites investigated in Nassau County exceeded the New York State Department of Health drinking water standard of MTBE permitted in drinking water.
6.) http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/press_releases/2005/PR41631.LI%20MTBE.042505.html
This is a three-year-old press release from Senator Schumer which revealed previously undisclosed MTBE leaks. It states that the average Long Island taxpayer would spend an extra $260 per year to clean up the spills.
7.) http://www.citizenscampaign.org/news/news040906.htm
This is a two-year-old article which discusses how the toxic chemical MTBE continues to taint hundreds of drinking water wells across the state, despite the chemical being legally banned.
8.) http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/DPW/Docs/PDF/Groundwater03ReportSection5a.pdf
This is a data evaluation of Nassau County's groundwater system and aquifers from 2003. It discusses the potentially detrimental chemicals found in drinking water (including MTBE) in depth, as well as data on water usage in relation to temperature changes precipitation.
9.) http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/reports/oil_spills/oil_spill.html
This is the Attorney State General of New York's site, which thoroughly discusses oil spills, the dangers of leaking underground storage tanks, and the fuel company's responsibility in such instances, among many other issues concerning oil spills.
10.) http://www.junkscience.com/news3/nylirbca.htm
This is a Newsday article from 1998 which discusses the threat leaking oil tanks pose to Long Island drinking water. I included it because I think it is important to recognize that this problem has been occurring on Long Island for a number of years.
11.) http://www.nyswaterfronts.com/final_draft_html/Tech_Report_HTM/PDFs/Chap2/Bulk_Storage_Facilities_and_Spills.pdf
This is a report on bulk storage facilities and bulk storage spills from 1999. Like the link above, it helps put the issue in perspective in relation to Nassau County's history of petroleum spills.
12.) http://www.planetark.com/avantgo/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=11402
This is an article for the Daily News which discusses the 2001 lawsuit between one of one of one of the largest suppliers of drinking water on Long Island and Exxon Mobil Corp. which occurred because of water contamination due to MTBE from oil spills.
13.) http://www.riskworld.com/PressRel/2000/PR00a012.htm
This January 2000 article discusses the class action lawsuit between New York well owners and major oil companies.
14.) http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/06/28/nyregion/28water.html?n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes+Topics%2FSubjects%2FW%2FWater+Pollution&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1189073085-yD+GtSHz2Aifv4h98CripQ
This is a two-year-old New York Times article concerning four Nassau County communities which warned not to drink tap water because of possible MTBE contamination.
15.) http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/553641/health_alert_over_troubled_water_some_32000_in_nassau_warned/index.html
This Newsday article also discusses the contamination of drinking water by MTBE in 2006. The article also talks about how Long Island is a community especially susceptible to this type of problem because its population relies almost exclusively on groundwater.
16.) http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/759587/suit_over_mtbe_gets_green_light_water_districts_legal_fight/index.html?source=r_science
This 2007 article discusses a Plainview Water district lawsuit concerning MTBE water contamination on Long Island.
17.) http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/unregulated/mtbe.html
This site explains how MTBE contaminates water supplies, what to do if MTBE is found in your water supply, and how it is removed from water.
18.) http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts91.html
This site explains the most common and frequently asked health concerns associated with ingesting MTBE.
19.) http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/feature_articles/2006/mtbe2006/mtbe2006.pdf
This 2006 report from the Energy Information Administration discusses efforts to remove MTBE from drinking water. It also highlights ethanol supply and distribution in general and the demand and capacity for it.
20.) http://www.uwex.edu/farmandhome/wqpaap/pdf/mtbe.pdf
This is an MTBE guide for private well owners. It offers a checklist for identifying MTBE problems and resources for further information on the chemical.
21.) http://www.mtbelitigationinfo.com/go/site/942/
This site offers MTBE litigation information. It includes background information as well as lawsuits.
22.) http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/mtbeban/table1.html
This table shows the status and impact of State MTBE bans in relation to the percentage of total consumption of MTBE per state.
23.) http://www.ewg.org/reports/withknowledge/
This is a 2007 Environmental Working Group article which claims oil companies know more about the detrimental effects MTBE potentially have on human health, than they claim to
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Production Memo
Production Memo
By Jessica Wertling
When I came across an article about MTBE water contamination in Nassau County, I knew I wanted to choose this as my topic because I felt it was something that people need to be made aware of. This is the type of issue that is more likely to get resolved and cease from happening in the future if a lot of attention is being brought upon it.
For me, the technical aspects of creating this video were the most difficult phase of this project. I filmed my stand-ups multiple times – trying different angles, lighting, and distances from the camera, and trying to memorize my scripted piece and make strong eye contact with the camera. I recited my written piece with as much finesse as I could – and yet it was still hard to get it perfect. I am a print journalism major, so I have no experience being in front of the camera and it was difficult for me to grasp what works and what doesn't for a video piece when the pressure was on and I only had so much time to film and edit. I sometimes had trouble using Windows Moviemaker when trying to edit my piece, which prevented me from getting it as perfect as I wanted it to be. However, this was definitely a learning experience and I’m glad I had to go out of my comfort zone and work with new mediums in ways that were unfamiliar.
Also, because my topic is science-oriented, I had a difficult time trying to figure out how to make this visually interesting to a viewer; I simply had no “b-roll” or my own pictures to show. I filmed my stand-ups in my kitchen, in front of the sink, because I thought this would signify that this is a problem that is in our homes and because the kitchen is the place where people will be obtaining contaminated drinking water.
To find my interviews, I went through all of my research and reached out to as many sources as I could by both email and phone. Whenever I obtained a source, I always asked them to refer me to someone who might be willing to talk to me and this proved to be very beneficial. I had done a lot of research prior to my interviews and I feel that I asked appropriate questions that yielded good information.
Content-wise, I felt my topic was one that had potential to be very complex to someone who had no knowledge of the issue and I felt I did a good job of covering all the bases concerning MTBE and making it interesting, understandable, and most of all, demonstrating why people should care. This is much more than a science-oriented issue, so I devoted most of the attention to health, legislation, the past, the present, and the future, all of which are going to be more important to the life of a Hempstead resident. The information is essentially the core of any good story and I had a lot of excellent sources who provided interesting and pertinent sound bites. I feel I utilized my stand-ups to deliver information that needed to be told; I do not think there is anything said in my video that is superfluous and I think I told a story that is both comprehensible and crucial to tell.
By Jessica Wertling
When I came across an article about MTBE water contamination in Nassau County, I knew I wanted to choose this as my topic because I felt it was something that people need to be made aware of. This is the type of issue that is more likely to get resolved and cease from happening in the future if a lot of attention is being brought upon it.
For me, the technical aspects of creating this video were the most difficult phase of this project. I filmed my stand-ups multiple times – trying different angles, lighting, and distances from the camera, and trying to memorize my scripted piece and make strong eye contact with the camera. I recited my written piece with as much finesse as I could – and yet it was still hard to get it perfect. I am a print journalism major, so I have no experience being in front of the camera and it was difficult for me to grasp what works and what doesn't for a video piece when the pressure was on and I only had so much time to film and edit. I sometimes had trouble using Windows Moviemaker when trying to edit my piece, which prevented me from getting it as perfect as I wanted it to be. However, this was definitely a learning experience and I’m glad I had to go out of my comfort zone and work with new mediums in ways that were unfamiliar.
Also, because my topic is science-oriented, I had a difficult time trying to figure out how to make this visually interesting to a viewer; I simply had no “b-roll” or my own pictures to show. I filmed my stand-ups in my kitchen, in front of the sink, because I thought this would signify that this is a problem that is in our homes and because the kitchen is the place where people will be obtaining contaminated drinking water.
To find my interviews, I went through all of my research and reached out to as many sources as I could by both email and phone. Whenever I obtained a source, I always asked them to refer me to someone who might be willing to talk to me and this proved to be very beneficial. I had done a lot of research prior to my interviews and I feel that I asked appropriate questions that yielded good information.
Content-wise, I felt my topic was one that had potential to be very complex to someone who had no knowledge of the issue and I felt I did a good job of covering all the bases concerning MTBE and making it interesting, understandable, and most of all, demonstrating why people should care. This is much more than a science-oriented issue, so I devoted most of the attention to health, legislation, the past, the present, and the future, all of which are going to be more important to the life of a Hempstead resident. The information is essentially the core of any good story and I had a lot of excellent sources who provided interesting and pertinent sound bites. I feel I utilized my stand-ups to deliver information that needed to be told; I do not think there is anything said in my video that is superfluous and I think I told a story that is both comprehensible and crucial to tell.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Transcript of MTBE Piece
00:02 Jessica Wertling: I'm standing here in the kitchen of a Nassau County home, where MTBE, a chemical formerly used in gasoline, could be present in the tap water. MTBE has been making its way into Nassau County homes for decades and in recent months, the chemical has been found in Hempstead, NY. In addition to possibly causing cancer, MTBE has the potential to affect the lives of Hempstead residents in many ways.
00:21 William Nirode: It’s toxic, it is known to be a harmful pollutant for us to ingest, and if we have large amounts that we drink in our water, it can be, at some doses, some levels – fatal.
00:34 Jeff Wills: It’s a possible carcinogen, and there are possible acute symptoms such as nausea, headaches, kinda flu-like symptoms.
00:43 Bret Bennington: It tastes and smells bad. And even in very small quantities in groundwater, it gives water a very unpleasant taste and odor. So, it’s – regardless of its health problems, it's –it's a quality of life problem.
00:56 Wertling: Although MTBE has been banned in New York State since 2004, the chemical has still been turning up in drinking water from time to time as a result of irresponsible handling by gas stations before laws banned it.
01:06 Joe Dumunico: And there are times when the owner or the operator of the station whose responsible has upped and left and you’re never gonna find them anyway and then typically the government, either the state or the federal government will have to pick up the tab on the cleanup.
01:19 Wertling: The chemical has potential to remain in drinking water for years if not properly cleaned out and can sometimes find its way into our homes despite water company efforts, resulting in higher taxes on Hempstead residents and an estimated $2.5 million for Nassau County Residents.
01:32 Adrienne Esposito: Water companies all test rigorously before water is distributed and served to the public. However, it is when that contamination gets into the drinking water supplies before it is tested. So there is a chance, throughout Nassau and Suffolk County, that contamination is getting to people’s homes.
01:53 Dumunico: The treatment is difficult. It’s not a compound that’s readily degradable. It takes a lot of effort and time and money to treat it.
02:01 Wertling: You can contact your water company and ask for the Water Supply Statement and its supplement, which will tell you about all the contaminants found in your community's drinking water. Reporting for Nassau News, I'm Jessica Wertling.
00:21 William Nirode: It’s toxic, it is known to be a harmful pollutant for us to ingest, and if we have large amounts that we drink in our water, it can be, at some doses, some levels – fatal.
00:34 Jeff Wills: It’s a possible carcinogen, and there are possible acute symptoms such as nausea, headaches, kinda flu-like symptoms.
00:43 Bret Bennington: It tastes and smells bad. And even in very small quantities in groundwater, it gives water a very unpleasant taste and odor. So, it’s – regardless of its health problems, it's –it's a quality of life problem.
00:56 Wertling: Although MTBE has been banned in New York State since 2004, the chemical has still been turning up in drinking water from time to time as a result of irresponsible handling by gas stations before laws banned it.
01:06 Joe Dumunico: And there are times when the owner or the operator of the station whose responsible has upped and left and you’re never gonna find them anyway and then typically the government, either the state or the federal government will have to pick up the tab on the cleanup.
01:19 Wertling: The chemical has potential to remain in drinking water for years if not properly cleaned out and can sometimes find its way into our homes despite water company efforts, resulting in higher taxes on Hempstead residents and an estimated $2.5 million for Nassau County Residents.
01:32 Adrienne Esposito: Water companies all test rigorously before water is distributed and served to the public. However, it is when that contamination gets into the drinking water supplies before it is tested. So there is a chance, throughout Nassau and Suffolk County, that contamination is getting to people’s homes.
01:53 Dumunico: The treatment is difficult. It’s not a compound that’s readily degradable. It takes a lot of effort and time and money to treat it.
02:01 Wertling: You can contact your water company and ask for the Water Supply Statement and its supplement, which will tell you about all the contaminants found in your community's drinking water. Reporting for Nassau News, I'm Jessica Wertling.
Transcript of Interview with Bret Bennington, Hofstra University Geology Professor
Transcript of Interview with Bret Bennington, Hofstra University Geology Professor
00:00 Jessica Wertling: Can you just introduce yourself?
00:03 Bret Bennington: My name is Dr. Bret Bennington, and I’m an associate professor of geology at Hofstra University.
00:09 Wertling: Can you tell me what MTBE is?
00:11 Bennington: MTBE is Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether. It is a chemical, which, for a number of years, was added to gasoline to help gasoline burn more efficiently; so, it’s an oxidant.
00:24 Wertling: What happens when MTBE enters the air?
00:27 Bennington: If MTBE volatizes into the atmosphere it just sort of disperses and it’s broken down by sunlight.
00:36 Wertling: And what happens when it enters into the water?
00:38 Bennington: Water’s a little more problematic because – because MTBE was a gasoline additive…when gasoline spills, and it sort of soaks into the ground and comes in contact with ground water, most of the components of gasoline float and don’t go very far and just kind of end up as a pool on top of the water table. But MTBE is soluble in water, so what will happen is the MTBE component of the gasoline will dissolve in the ground water and then move with the groundwater…flow along underground with the groundwater and then if the groundwater eventually reaches a public supply well, which is supplying drinking water to a town on Long Island, then the water coming out of the well is contaminated by MTBE.
01:24 Wertling: How dangerous is it to consume it in small amounts?
01:28 Bennington: We’re not sure, really. There’s not much medical and epidemiological work that’s been done on MTBE, but it’s probably not good to consume. It may be a carcinogen in small amounts, I think – I don’t think that’s been completely established, but, it’s probably not a good thing to be drinking.
01:51 Wertling: Do you know if any studies are going on to determine what it might do to someone if they consume it?
01:56 Bennington: I don’t know specifically. I’m sure that – that people are doing studies of it. One of the big problems with MTBE besides potential health effects is that – that it tastes and smells bad. And even in very small quantities in groundwater it gives – it gives water a very unpleasant taste and odor so it’s – regardless of it’s health problems, it’s – it’s a quality of life problem in – in the water supply.
02:24 Wertling: Is it always – does it always have a taste and smell? Is it ever just in your water and you might not know it’s there?
02:33 Bennington: Well if it’s in your water, it will be detected when they test your water at the well. So, on Long Island, for example, you know each…Nassau County, each town, or township, has a public water supply that’s – that’s maintained by a company and under EPA regulations they have to continuously monitor the water for various contaminants, including MTBE. So, they would detect MTBE long before the MTBE – the MTBE reached your tap. And I can speak from personal experience because I live in West Hempstead and a couple of years ago during the summer, West Hempstead had to shut down one of its public supply wells, ‘cause they started detecting MTBE in the well and as soon as they started detecting it at levels higher than the legally allowable limits, they shut down that well, they made up by bringing water in from Garden City, basically, and they took steps to address the problem.
03:39 Wertling: So are there any medical tests that can tell whether you’ve been exposed to it?
03:43 Bennington: I don’t know much about the medical aspects of it. I don’t think – I don’t know of any specific instance where anybody got sick and it was blamed on MTBE. Again, it’s – it’s a potential health problem and – and definitely a quality of life problem.
04:05 Wertling: Do you know of any evidence that it causes cancer? Because I read that people think it does cause cancer.
04:10 Bennington: Well, lots of volatile organic compounds do, so, it probably does. Lots of things like MTBE are carcinogenic. I don’t know if that’s been established beyond a doubt. You know, to determine that something causes cancer you have to do a lot of epidemiological work. You have to feed it to a lot of rats to see if they get cancer. I think it’s been demonstrated the carcinogen in large quantities – in high doses – I don’t know if anyone’s established it’s been a carcinogen in small doses. It’s – it probably is.
04:48 Wertling: So, let’s say, someone’s consuming it on a daily basis, a normal amount of water that a person normally consumes. Do you think that will cause them to develop cancer in their lifetime?
04:58 Bennington: Who knows, ya know? Maybe, maybe not. It’s difficult to make that kind of statement. I mean, even if you consume a known carcinogen, like…I don’t know, benzene, for example…ya know, it’s not a sure thing that you’re going to end up getting cancer from it. It’s a probability.
05:16 Wertling: What about things like sore throats and headaches? Less severe symptoms.
05:20 Bennington: I don’t know, that’s a good question. I don’t know if consumption of MTBE has been linked to – to health problems like that.
05:32 Wertling: Is it fair to say that not many studies are being done on things like how it’s affecting people health-wise?
05:39 Bennington: Well, a lot of work was being done on that and that’s one of the reasons why it’s now banned; we don’t use it anymore. We stopped adding it to gasoline I think about four years ago…in New York State and the issue – why did we add it to gasoline in the first place – it makes the gasoline burn more efficiently and cleaner and it cuts down on air pollution, so the EPA originally mandated the addition of an oxidant. Now, a long time ago, back when I was young, we put lead in gasoline to make it burn more efficiently. And then, finally people said, ‘lead is, ya know – lead causes brain damage – we should not be putting lead in gasoline and then releasing it into the atmosphere,’ so we stopped using lead and then a little while later we started using MTBE as an oxidant and what we’re using as an oxidant is ethanol, which is grain alcohol, usually produced from corn, and that’s not problematic from a public health aspect. It’s more expensive, the petroleum companies aren’t happy they’re using ethanol because they have to buy it, whereas MTBE is a byproduct of the refining process and they and they really didn’t have to pay much for it, so…But we’ve stopped using MTBE because it’s become such a groundwater contamination problem. Now, just because we’ve stopped using it doesn’t mean it’s not a contamination problem anymore. There are lots of gasoline spills out there with MTBE that are still being discovered and still being addressed. But when we find a plume of contamination, an MTBE plume in groundwater supply, we can take steps to deal with it. We can either try to prevent that groundwater from reaching a public supply well, or we can treat the water at the well by filtering it through charcoal to trap and remove the MTBE.
07:37 Wertling: So, MTBE is banned in New York, right?
07:41 Bennington: Yeah, we don’t use it anymore.
07:42 Wertling: So, why do we still find it in the water sometimes?
07:44 Bennington: Because it takes a long time for groundwater to move. So, groundwater moves very slowly, so a gasoline spill that was spilled 10 years ago might still – the plume contaminant from that spill can be working its way through the groundwater system.
08:01 Wertling: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
08:03 Bennington: Well, just that MTBE is one of many groundwater contaminants that we face living on Long Island. Long Island has a history of having industry, a history of things like airplane manufacturing and metals manufacturing and manufacturing of paints, solvents, and so, there are lots of sites on Long Island that are potentially – or actually contaminating the water supply and there are lots of people whose jobs on Long Island are devoted to finding these sources of contamination and cleaning them up. So, it’s a major industry on Long Island and in the North East and all over the country – protecting our water supply from these – what are very often, very old, sources of contamination. There’s a groundwater remediation facility right next to the – Roosevelt Field Mall that’s treating a plume of contaminant that was introduced into the groundwater supply when Roosevelt Field was an air field and there were hangers where they were working on airplanes and cleaning airplane parts with solvents and they, ya know, dump the solvent out outside when they were done with it, on the ground and it would seep down in. So, ya know, this is a legacy of groundwater contamination that we’re gonna be having to deal with for a long time. Fortunately, we have the techniques and the technology to deal with these things; it just costs money.
00:00 Jessica Wertling: Can you just introduce yourself?
00:03 Bret Bennington: My name is Dr. Bret Bennington, and I’m an associate professor of geology at Hofstra University.
00:09 Wertling: Can you tell me what MTBE is?
00:11 Bennington: MTBE is Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether. It is a chemical, which, for a number of years, was added to gasoline to help gasoline burn more efficiently; so, it’s an oxidant.
00:24 Wertling: What happens when MTBE enters the air?
00:27 Bennington: If MTBE volatizes into the atmosphere it just sort of disperses and it’s broken down by sunlight.
00:36 Wertling: And what happens when it enters into the water?
00:38 Bennington: Water’s a little more problematic because – because MTBE was a gasoline additive…when gasoline spills, and it sort of soaks into the ground and comes in contact with ground water, most of the components of gasoline float and don’t go very far and just kind of end up as a pool on top of the water table. But MTBE is soluble in water, so what will happen is the MTBE component of the gasoline will dissolve in the ground water and then move with the groundwater…flow along underground with the groundwater and then if the groundwater eventually reaches a public supply well, which is supplying drinking water to a town on Long Island, then the water coming out of the well is contaminated by MTBE.
01:24 Wertling: How dangerous is it to consume it in small amounts?
01:28 Bennington: We’re not sure, really. There’s not much medical and epidemiological work that’s been done on MTBE, but it’s probably not good to consume. It may be a carcinogen in small amounts, I think – I don’t think that’s been completely established, but, it’s probably not a good thing to be drinking.
01:51 Wertling: Do you know if any studies are going on to determine what it might do to someone if they consume it?
01:56 Bennington: I don’t know specifically. I’m sure that – that people are doing studies of it. One of the big problems with MTBE besides potential health effects is that – that it tastes and smells bad. And even in very small quantities in groundwater it gives – it gives water a very unpleasant taste and odor so it’s – regardless of it’s health problems, it’s – it’s a quality of life problem in – in the water supply.
02:24 Wertling: Is it always – does it always have a taste and smell? Is it ever just in your water and you might not know it’s there?
02:33 Bennington: Well if it’s in your water, it will be detected when they test your water at the well. So, on Long Island, for example, you know each…Nassau County, each town, or township, has a public water supply that’s – that’s maintained by a company and under EPA regulations they have to continuously monitor the water for various contaminants, including MTBE. So, they would detect MTBE long before the MTBE – the MTBE reached your tap. And I can speak from personal experience because I live in West Hempstead and a couple of years ago during the summer, West Hempstead had to shut down one of its public supply wells, ‘cause they started detecting MTBE in the well and as soon as they started detecting it at levels higher than the legally allowable limits, they shut down that well, they made up by bringing water in from Garden City, basically, and they took steps to address the problem.
03:39 Wertling: So are there any medical tests that can tell whether you’ve been exposed to it?
03:43 Bennington: I don’t know much about the medical aspects of it. I don’t think – I don’t know of any specific instance where anybody got sick and it was blamed on MTBE. Again, it’s – it’s a potential health problem and – and definitely a quality of life problem.
04:05 Wertling: Do you know of any evidence that it causes cancer? Because I read that people think it does cause cancer.
04:10 Bennington: Well, lots of volatile organic compounds do, so, it probably does. Lots of things like MTBE are carcinogenic. I don’t know if that’s been established beyond a doubt. You know, to determine that something causes cancer you have to do a lot of epidemiological work. You have to feed it to a lot of rats to see if they get cancer. I think it’s been demonstrated the carcinogen in large quantities – in high doses – I don’t know if anyone’s established it’s been a carcinogen in small doses. It’s – it probably is.
04:48 Wertling: So, let’s say, someone’s consuming it on a daily basis, a normal amount of water that a person normally consumes. Do you think that will cause them to develop cancer in their lifetime?
04:58 Bennington: Who knows, ya know? Maybe, maybe not. It’s difficult to make that kind of statement. I mean, even if you consume a known carcinogen, like…I don’t know, benzene, for example…ya know, it’s not a sure thing that you’re going to end up getting cancer from it. It’s a probability.
05:16 Wertling: What about things like sore throats and headaches? Less severe symptoms.
05:20 Bennington: I don’t know, that’s a good question. I don’t know if consumption of MTBE has been linked to – to health problems like that.
05:32 Wertling: Is it fair to say that not many studies are being done on things like how it’s affecting people health-wise?
05:39 Bennington: Well, a lot of work was being done on that and that’s one of the reasons why it’s now banned; we don’t use it anymore. We stopped adding it to gasoline I think about four years ago…in New York State and the issue – why did we add it to gasoline in the first place – it makes the gasoline burn more efficiently and cleaner and it cuts down on air pollution, so the EPA originally mandated the addition of an oxidant. Now, a long time ago, back when I was young, we put lead in gasoline to make it burn more efficiently. And then, finally people said, ‘lead is, ya know – lead causes brain damage – we should not be putting lead in gasoline and then releasing it into the atmosphere,’ so we stopped using lead and then a little while later we started using MTBE as an oxidant and what we’re using as an oxidant is ethanol, which is grain alcohol, usually produced from corn, and that’s not problematic from a public health aspect. It’s more expensive, the petroleum companies aren’t happy they’re using ethanol because they have to buy it, whereas MTBE is a byproduct of the refining process and they and they really didn’t have to pay much for it, so…But we’ve stopped using MTBE because it’s become such a groundwater contamination problem. Now, just because we’ve stopped using it doesn’t mean it’s not a contamination problem anymore. There are lots of gasoline spills out there with MTBE that are still being discovered and still being addressed. But when we find a plume of contamination, an MTBE plume in groundwater supply, we can take steps to deal with it. We can either try to prevent that groundwater from reaching a public supply well, or we can treat the water at the well by filtering it through charcoal to trap and remove the MTBE.
07:37 Wertling: So, MTBE is banned in New York, right?
07:41 Bennington: Yeah, we don’t use it anymore.
07:42 Wertling: So, why do we still find it in the water sometimes?
07:44 Bennington: Because it takes a long time for groundwater to move. So, groundwater moves very slowly, so a gasoline spill that was spilled 10 years ago might still – the plume contaminant from that spill can be working its way through the groundwater system.
08:01 Wertling: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
08:03 Bennington: Well, just that MTBE is one of many groundwater contaminants that we face living on Long Island. Long Island has a history of having industry, a history of things like airplane manufacturing and metals manufacturing and manufacturing of paints, solvents, and so, there are lots of sites on Long Island that are potentially – or actually contaminating the water supply and there are lots of people whose jobs on Long Island are devoted to finding these sources of contamination and cleaning them up. So, it’s a major industry on Long Island and in the North East and all over the country – protecting our water supply from these – what are very often, very old, sources of contamination. There’s a groundwater remediation facility right next to the – Roosevelt Field Mall that’s treating a plume of contaminant that was introduced into the groundwater supply when Roosevelt Field was an air field and there were hangers where they were working on airplanes and cleaning airplane parts with solvents and they, ya know, dump the solvent out outside when they were done with it, on the ground and it would seep down in. So, ya know, this is a legacy of groundwater contamination that we’re gonna be having to deal with for a long time. Fortunately, we have the techniques and the technology to deal with these things; it just costs money.
Interview with Chemistry Professor William Nirode of Hofstra University
Interview with Chemistry Professor William Nirode of Hofstra University
00::00 Jessica Wertling: Can you introduce yourself and tell me who you are?
00::03 William Nirode: Sure, I’m Professor William Nirode in the chemistry department at Hofstra University.
00::08 Wertling: What is MTBE?
00::10 Nirode: MTBE is Methyl tert-butyl ether and it’s used for – an additive in gasoline to help improve the oxygenation of gas; in other words, to help gasoline burn better.
00::26 Wertling: How does it react to water?
00::28 Nirode: In water, what - what’s happened, particularly in Long Island, you know Nassau County and Suffolk County, MTBE which used to be used in gasoline as an additive which is now banned by the state of New York, has leaked into the water supply in Nassau County and Suffolk County. Once it’s in water, it can decompose into tertiary butanoyl, which is a little less, let’s say harmful, than MTBE. Other than that it just sits and exists in water as MTBE.
[Interruption]
Part II
00::00 Wertling: Is MTBE dangerous to consume?
00:02 Nirode: Yes it is dangerous. It’s toxic, it’s known to be a harmful pollutant for us to ingest and if we have large amounts that we drink in our water it can be – at some doses, some levels, fatal.
00::18 Wertling: Can it cause cancer?
00::20 Nirode: It could cause cancer. There are a lot of known carcinogens that exist in gasoline, often times – sometimes, they can seep into our water supply; MTBE could be classified as one of those.
00::37 Wertling: Are there similar chemicals that can be used that are less controversial and dangerous?
00::41 Nirode: There are some additional additives I think that could be used. Ethanol is often times added to our gasoline to help improve the efficiency, if you will, of gasoline. Ethanol is a little less harmful, still, at – at certain amounts, it could be fatal, but nowhere near the effects of MTBE.
01::00 Wertling: Is it difficult to remove MTBE from water?
01::04 Nirode: We – it can be difficult to remove. If we can determine if it’s present then, there are often times elaborate cleanup procedures that have to be followed by the water treatment plants in order to remove it; it can be difficult, yes.
01::24 Wertling: How is it detected?
01::26 Nirode: MTBE is usually detected in water by analytical chemistry techniques such as gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detection, GCMS for short, and usually this is – a water sample is injected and then you determine from that printout, if you will, from that output, how much MTBE is present. It can be detected, though, at, you know, also, it can be somewhat difficult, but we do have known detection methods for MTBE.
001::58 Wertling: At what point does consuming it become dangerous?
02::02 Nirode: The EPA regulates MTBE levels and I think they’re around about 20 parts-per-billion. And a part- per-billion is a microgram, then, of MTBE per liter of, let’s say, water you would drink. Once it’s above that level, that is deemed by the EPA to be harmful, and it then needs to be removed by your water treatment plant.
02::24 Wertling: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
02::27 Nirode: Nope, that’s it.
00::00 Jessica Wertling: Can you introduce yourself and tell me who you are?
00::03 William Nirode: Sure, I’m Professor William Nirode in the chemistry department at Hofstra University.
00::08 Wertling: What is MTBE?
00::10 Nirode: MTBE is Methyl tert-butyl ether and it’s used for – an additive in gasoline to help improve the oxygenation of gas; in other words, to help gasoline burn better.
00::26 Wertling: How does it react to water?
00::28 Nirode: In water, what - what’s happened, particularly in Long Island, you know Nassau County and Suffolk County, MTBE which used to be used in gasoline as an additive which is now banned by the state of New York, has leaked into the water supply in Nassau County and Suffolk County. Once it’s in water, it can decompose into tertiary butanoyl, which is a little less, let’s say harmful, than MTBE. Other than that it just sits and exists in water as MTBE.
[Interruption]
Part II
00::00 Wertling: Is MTBE dangerous to consume?
00:02 Nirode: Yes it is dangerous. It’s toxic, it’s known to be a harmful pollutant for us to ingest and if we have large amounts that we drink in our water it can be – at some doses, some levels, fatal.
00::18 Wertling: Can it cause cancer?
00::20 Nirode: It could cause cancer. There are a lot of known carcinogens that exist in gasoline, often times – sometimes, they can seep into our water supply; MTBE could be classified as one of those.
00::37 Wertling: Are there similar chemicals that can be used that are less controversial and dangerous?
00::41 Nirode: There are some additional additives I think that could be used. Ethanol is often times added to our gasoline to help improve the efficiency, if you will, of gasoline. Ethanol is a little less harmful, still, at – at certain amounts, it could be fatal, but nowhere near the effects of MTBE.
01::00 Wertling: Is it difficult to remove MTBE from water?
01::04 Nirode: We – it can be difficult to remove. If we can determine if it’s present then, there are often times elaborate cleanup procedures that have to be followed by the water treatment plants in order to remove it; it can be difficult, yes.
01::24 Wertling: How is it detected?
01::26 Nirode: MTBE is usually detected in water by analytical chemistry techniques such as gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detection, GCMS for short, and usually this is – a water sample is injected and then you determine from that printout, if you will, from that output, how much MTBE is present. It can be detected, though, at, you know, also, it can be somewhat difficult, but we do have known detection methods for MTBE.
001::58 Wertling: At what point does consuming it become dangerous?
02::02 Nirode: The EPA regulates MTBE levels and I think they’re around about 20 parts-per-billion. And a part- per-billion is a microgram, then, of MTBE per liter of, let’s say, water you would drink. Once it’s above that level, that is deemed by the EPA to be harmful, and it then needs to be removed by your water treatment plant.
02::24 Wertling: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
02::27 Nirode: Nope, that’s it.
Interview with Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment
Interview with Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment
Part I
00:00 Jessica Wertling: Can you please tell me who you are, and what Citizens Campaign for the Environment does?
00::04 Adrienne Esposito: I’m Adrienne Esposito, the executive director for Citizens Campaign for the Environment. We’re a bi-state environmental lobby organization that works to protect our natural resources; everything from drinking water protection, air quality - we work on renewable energy resources, greater recycling, and protecting our oceans, estuaries and bays.
00::21 Wertling: Why might the chemical MTBE be dangerous to consume?
00::27 Esposito: MTBE was an additive to gasoline that was used back in…that was put in gasoline back in 1993 here in New York state …the problem with MTBE is that it leaks out – just like gasoline does – and it can enter into our fragile underground drinking water supply, known as an aquifer system. Aquifers are really…the drinking water …means that the drinking water comes from underneath the ground. We have three layers of aquifers. MTBE is considered a chemical contaminant, which means that it is listed by the EPA as a known carcinogenic material, which means that it causes cancer.
01::06 Wertling: Does it cause things like sore throats and headaches or stomach aches?
01::10 Esposito: Really high quantities, and even low quantities, at a constant exposure rate of MTBE, can make people sick. And causing cancer is the end result, but also, it can do things like make you nauseous, it actually smells like turpentine, when a very strong, gasoline type smell in the water when it’s at high quantities.
01::34 Wertling: Is Nassau County drinking water dangerous because of MTBE?
01::38 Esposito: Well actually, all drinking water on Nassau and Suffolk county have MTBE in them. Sadly, what happened is that a lot of these gasoline stations leak –
[Interruption]
Part II
00::06 Wertling: Is Nassau County drinking water generally dangerous?
00::10 Esposito: All of Nassau County, as well as Suffolk County, drink from our underground drinking water supplies. So whatever chemicals and contaminants are in those supplies, unfortunately, also ends up in our drinking water. The good news is that the water companies all test rigorously before water is distributed and served to the public. However, it is when that contamination gets into the drinking water supplies before it is tested. So, there is a chance throughout Nassau and Suffolk County that contamination is getting to people’s homes before the water company knows about it. But there is a rigorous testing, it occurs four times per year. Once anything is found in a drinking water well or supply, that well is then closed down before it is distributed to the homes.
00::59 Wertling: Is there a history of chemicals finding their way into water?
01::02 Esposito: Yes. That is one of the biggest problems on Long Island facing our drinking water supply is that chemicals leak into and leach into the drinking water. Gasoline stations leak; that’s what happens with their old tanks. So as the gasoline leaked into the ground water and the MTBE went with it, it can - the problem with MTBE is that it flows very freely and very quickly through the aquifer system or through the underground water supply, thereby contaminating a lot in a high quantity of drinking water with even just a little bit of contamination. And that’s a problem. That’s a very big problem.
01::41 Wertling: Once MTBE enters drinking water, how long does it stay there?
01::44 Esposito: MTBE will flow with the drinking water and also it will become dispersed as it enters the drinking water. So how long MTBE stays in there really depends on how quickly the water is moving through the ground and also it depends on how much of it was there. It doesn’t magically go away. It might dilute and it might disperse, but eventually it gets discharged into our bays and that’s not good news either.
02::15 Wertling: What is being done to prevent MTBE from entering drinking water?
02::19 Esposito: Well, the good news about this is that New York State, due to intensive lobbying by Citizens Campaign for the Environment and other environmental groups, banned MTBE from being part of the gasoline supply. And that ban went into effect in 2004. So, any MTBE that we have right now in our drinking water supply is really leftover or legacy waste, as it’s called; left over from past practices in 1993 to 2004. So, right now the gasoline that’s being pumped here on Long Island doesn’t have MTBE anymore. In addition, when an MTBE contamination plume or a contaminate plume is found on Long Island, it’s being filtered out of the drinking water by very sophisticated and very expensive equipment to filter it out of the water supply so that the public is not drinking it, and is not being made unhealthy because of it.
03::19 Wertling: How else might people be able to protect themselves?
03::21 Esposito: Well one thing that everyone on Long Island should know about, is that there is a report issued by their water company once a year called the Annual Water Supply statement. This is a report that will tell people not only about MTBE, but also about all other contaminants that might be found in the drinking water supply for that particular community. All people have to do is ask the water company to send them the water report; it’s called the Annual Water Supply Report. And also, members of the public should ask for the supplement as well. The supplement…the supplement will have additional information for people. That report will be very interesting because it will tell you not only what’s in the drinking water, but what is the standard. So, for instance, MTBE has a standard right now of 10 parts per billion. So you might see, some people might have three parts per billion or two parts per billion. Still it’s a contaminant, still in the drinking water, but yet it would be considered under standards for what New York State has set as a health threshold. So, it’s something to be concerned about, we are concerned about the number of different contaminants found in Long Island’s drinking water supply and the number of different contaminants that people are exposed to pretty much on a routine basis.
04::37 Wertling: Is there anything else you’d like to add or think people should know?
04::40 Esposito: I think that one of the most important things about protecting our drinking supply on Long Island is that we need open space. Because when the land surface is open, that is what allows for the rainwater to seep back down underground in a cleaner fashion. So, open space is good for the quality of drinking water and also for the quantity of drinking water. We have to remember that everything we do on the land surface on Long Island impacts the quality of our drinking water supply under the land. And that’s why it’s so important that industrial wastes is not illegally discharged onto the land, that gasoline stations are being monitored so that they’re not leaking gasoline, and that even the public does their part – we should not be using pesticides anymore, we should not be using fertilizers. We need to be very vigilant about what to do to protect our drinking water supplies and it’s gonna mean making choices, in some cases, hard choices. But we think those are choices worth making in order to ensure a clean, healthy supply of drinking water.
Part I
00:00 Jessica Wertling: Can you please tell me who you are, and what Citizens Campaign for the Environment does?
00::04 Adrienne Esposito: I’m Adrienne Esposito, the executive director for Citizens Campaign for the Environment. We’re a bi-state environmental lobby organization that works to protect our natural resources; everything from drinking water protection, air quality - we work on renewable energy resources, greater recycling, and protecting our oceans, estuaries and bays.
00::21 Wertling: Why might the chemical MTBE be dangerous to consume?
00::27 Esposito: MTBE was an additive to gasoline that was used back in…that was put in gasoline back in 1993 here in New York state …the problem with MTBE is that it leaks out – just like gasoline does – and it can enter into our fragile underground drinking water supply, known as an aquifer system. Aquifers are really…the drinking water …means that the drinking water comes from underneath the ground. We have three layers of aquifers. MTBE is considered a chemical contaminant, which means that it is listed by the EPA as a known carcinogenic material, which means that it causes cancer.
01::06 Wertling: Does it cause things like sore throats and headaches or stomach aches?
01::10 Esposito: Really high quantities, and even low quantities, at a constant exposure rate of MTBE, can make people sick. And causing cancer is the end result, but also, it can do things like make you nauseous, it actually smells like turpentine, when a very strong, gasoline type smell in the water when it’s at high quantities.
01::34 Wertling: Is Nassau County drinking water dangerous because of MTBE?
01::38 Esposito: Well actually, all drinking water on Nassau and Suffolk county have MTBE in them. Sadly, what happened is that a lot of these gasoline stations leak –
[Interruption]
Part II
00::06 Wertling: Is Nassau County drinking water generally dangerous?
00::10 Esposito: All of Nassau County, as well as Suffolk County, drink from our underground drinking water supplies. So whatever chemicals and contaminants are in those supplies, unfortunately, also ends up in our drinking water. The good news is that the water companies all test rigorously before water is distributed and served to the public. However, it is when that contamination gets into the drinking water supplies before it is tested. So, there is a chance throughout Nassau and Suffolk County that contamination is getting to people’s homes before the water company knows about it. But there is a rigorous testing, it occurs four times per year. Once anything is found in a drinking water well or supply, that well is then closed down before it is distributed to the homes.
00::59 Wertling: Is there a history of chemicals finding their way into water?
01::02 Esposito: Yes. That is one of the biggest problems on Long Island facing our drinking water supply is that chemicals leak into and leach into the drinking water. Gasoline stations leak; that’s what happens with their old tanks. So as the gasoline leaked into the ground water and the MTBE went with it, it can - the problem with MTBE is that it flows very freely and very quickly through the aquifer system or through the underground water supply, thereby contaminating a lot in a high quantity of drinking water with even just a little bit of contamination. And that’s a problem. That’s a very big problem.
01::41 Wertling: Once MTBE enters drinking water, how long does it stay there?
01::44 Esposito: MTBE will flow with the drinking water and also it will become dispersed as it enters the drinking water. So how long MTBE stays in there really depends on how quickly the water is moving through the ground and also it depends on how much of it was there. It doesn’t magically go away. It might dilute and it might disperse, but eventually it gets discharged into our bays and that’s not good news either.
02::15 Wertling: What is being done to prevent MTBE from entering drinking water?
02::19 Esposito: Well, the good news about this is that New York State, due to intensive lobbying by Citizens Campaign for the Environment and other environmental groups, banned MTBE from being part of the gasoline supply. And that ban went into effect in 2004. So, any MTBE that we have right now in our drinking water supply is really leftover or legacy waste, as it’s called; left over from past practices in 1993 to 2004. So, right now the gasoline that’s being pumped here on Long Island doesn’t have MTBE anymore. In addition, when an MTBE contamination plume or a contaminate plume is found on Long Island, it’s being filtered out of the drinking water by very sophisticated and very expensive equipment to filter it out of the water supply so that the public is not drinking it, and is not being made unhealthy because of it.
03::19 Wertling: How else might people be able to protect themselves?
03::21 Esposito: Well one thing that everyone on Long Island should know about, is that there is a report issued by their water company once a year called the Annual Water Supply statement. This is a report that will tell people not only about MTBE, but also about all other contaminants that might be found in the drinking water supply for that particular community. All people have to do is ask the water company to send them the water report; it’s called the Annual Water Supply Report. And also, members of the public should ask for the supplement as well. The supplement…the supplement will have additional information for people. That report will be very interesting because it will tell you not only what’s in the drinking water, but what is the standard. So, for instance, MTBE has a standard right now of 10 parts per billion. So you might see, some people might have three parts per billion or two parts per billion. Still it’s a contaminant, still in the drinking water, but yet it would be considered under standards for what New York State has set as a health threshold. So, it’s something to be concerned about, we are concerned about the number of different contaminants found in Long Island’s drinking water supply and the number of different contaminants that people are exposed to pretty much on a routine basis.
04::37 Wertling: Is there anything else you’d like to add or think people should know?
04::40 Esposito: I think that one of the most important things about protecting our drinking supply on Long Island is that we need open space. Because when the land surface is open, that is what allows for the rainwater to seep back down underground in a cleaner fashion. So, open space is good for the quality of drinking water and also for the quantity of drinking water. We have to remember that everything we do on the land surface on Long Island impacts the quality of our drinking water supply under the land. And that’s why it’s so important that industrial wastes is not illegally discharged onto the land, that gasoline stations are being monitored so that they’re not leaking gasoline, and that even the public does their part – we should not be using pesticides anymore, we should not be using fertilizers. We need to be very vigilant about what to do to protect our drinking water supplies and it’s gonna mean making choices, in some cases, hard choices. But we think those are choices worth making in order to ensure a clean, healthy supply of drinking water.
Transcript of Interview with Joe Duminuco, Vice President of Roux Associates Inc. – Environmental Consulting and Management
Transcript of Interview with Joe Duminuco, Vice President of Roux Associates
00:00 Jessica Wertling: Can you please tell me your name?
00:03 Joe Duminuco: Joe Duminuco.
00:05 Wertling: And what is your company and what does your company do?
00:07 Duminuco: Roux Associates Inc., we’re an environmental consulting firm.
00:11 Wertling: What gets done when MTBE spills are found?
00:14 Duminuco: When they’re first found we’ll try to determine the extent of the problem…is it in the soil? In the groundwater? Surface water? Soil vapor? Where it is, how bad it is, and determine what needs to be done to address it.
00:30 Wertling: How do you find MTBE?
00:33 Duminuco: Multiple ways…sometimes people will complain of odors in their basement…someone near a gas station, and we’ll know that there’s been a release. Sometimes you’ll see a release into a sewer system, sometimes into the surface water, or sometimes you’ll just know a tank leaked because the inventory from the…the gas station can tell that they lost product. Then maybe an overfill of the tanker truck comes in, and then the tank is full and they try to put more in, and then you’ll know immediately there’s an overfill. So, there’s many ways that we learn about the spills.
01:08 Wertling: Who gets held accountable when MTBE is found in water?
01:12 Duminuco: You’ll try to find the most likely responsible party, which, typically is gonna be a gas station. Unfortunately though, many times there are three or four gas stations at the same street corner, so if you find the MTBE a block away, everyone is gonna point to the other gas stations, say “It’s theirs,” – so you have to get into a program of investigation and sampling to try and determine which party it came from. Sometimes that can be difficult to determine. And there are times when the owner or the operator of the gas stations who’s responsible has upped and left and you’re never gonna find them anyway, and then typically the government, either the state or the federal government, will have to pick up the tab on the cleanup.
02:00 Wertling: How do you get MTBE out of the water?
02:05 Duminuco: It’s a difficult compound to address. Ya know, it could be in the soil, the water, soil vapor, or surface water; depending on where it was spilled and what happened. In groundwater, it’s difficult to get out. You would have to extract the water from the ground, so essentially put in wells that draw the water out through pumps, bring it to the surface, and then you’d run it through a treatment system. And then after it’s cleaned up, discharge the water either back into the ground or into the sewer. The treatment is difficult; it’s not a compound that’s readily degradable. It takes a lot of effort and time and money to treat it.
02:43 Wertling: Do you know who pays for that?
02:45 Duminuco: If you’re lucky enough to find the responsible party, they’ll pay for it; otherwise…
02:49 Wertling: Taxpayers?
02:50 Duminuco: Possibly, yeah.
02:55 Wertling: How dangerous is Nassau County drinking water, in general, do you think?
03:02 Duminuco: That’s a difficult question. If you’re on city-supplied water, you know, if you have water in your house that’s coming from your own well, you’re going to be drinking clean water, ‘cause all the ground water we are given as drinking water is up to the highest standards. So, from that standpoint, you’re not being exposed to contaminants. And most people don’t have a private well to contact the water themselves.
03:33 Wertling: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
03:36 Duminuco: No, not at this point.
03:38 Wertling: Ok, thank you.
00:00 Jessica Wertling: Can you please tell me your name?
00:03 Joe Duminuco: Joe Duminuco.
00:05 Wertling: And what is your company and what does your company do?
00:07 Duminuco: Roux Associates Inc., we’re an environmental consulting firm.
00:11 Wertling: What gets done when MTBE spills are found?
00:14 Duminuco: When they’re first found we’ll try to determine the extent of the problem…is it in the soil? In the groundwater? Surface water? Soil vapor? Where it is, how bad it is, and determine what needs to be done to address it.
00:30 Wertling: How do you find MTBE?
00:33 Duminuco: Multiple ways…sometimes people will complain of odors in their basement…someone near a gas station, and we’ll know that there’s been a release. Sometimes you’ll see a release into a sewer system, sometimes into the surface water, or sometimes you’ll just know a tank leaked because the inventory from the…the gas station can tell that they lost product. Then maybe an overfill of the tanker truck comes in, and then the tank is full and they try to put more in, and then you’ll know immediately there’s an overfill. So, there’s many ways that we learn about the spills.
01:08 Wertling: Who gets held accountable when MTBE is found in water?
01:12 Duminuco: You’ll try to find the most likely responsible party, which, typically is gonna be a gas station. Unfortunately though, many times there are three or four gas stations at the same street corner, so if you find the MTBE a block away, everyone is gonna point to the other gas stations, say “It’s theirs,” – so you have to get into a program of investigation and sampling to try and determine which party it came from. Sometimes that can be difficult to determine. And there are times when the owner or the operator of the gas stations who’s responsible has upped and left and you’re never gonna find them anyway, and then typically the government, either the state or the federal government, will have to pick up the tab on the cleanup.
02:00 Wertling: How do you get MTBE out of the water?
02:05 Duminuco: It’s a difficult compound to address. Ya know, it could be in the soil, the water, soil vapor, or surface water; depending on where it was spilled and what happened. In groundwater, it’s difficult to get out. You would have to extract the water from the ground, so essentially put in wells that draw the water out through pumps, bring it to the surface, and then you’d run it through a treatment system. And then after it’s cleaned up, discharge the water either back into the ground or into the sewer. The treatment is difficult; it’s not a compound that’s readily degradable. It takes a lot of effort and time and money to treat it.
02:43 Wertling: Do you know who pays for that?
02:45 Duminuco: If you’re lucky enough to find the responsible party, they’ll pay for it; otherwise…
02:49 Wertling: Taxpayers?
02:50 Duminuco: Possibly, yeah.
02:55 Wertling: How dangerous is Nassau County drinking water, in general, do you think?
03:02 Duminuco: That’s a difficult question. If you’re on city-supplied water, you know, if you have water in your house that’s coming from your own well, you’re going to be drinking clean water, ‘cause all the ground water we are given as drinking water is up to the highest standards. So, from that standpoint, you’re not being exposed to contaminants. And most people don’t have a private well to contact the water themselves.
03:33 Wertling: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
03:36 Duminuco: No, not at this point.
03:38 Wertling: Ok, thank you.
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