[Pharmwaste] Testing finds drug contaminants at Groton lakes (MA)

[Tenace, Laurie]

http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_24084971/testing-finds-drug-contaminants-at-groton-lakes


Early testing of the water table surrounding Lost Lake and Knops Pond were inconclusive for contamination, the Lost Lake Sewer Commission was told Thursday.

"We can't tell about the level of contaminants based on the data we have," said Eileen Pelletier, an engineer for commission consultants Comprehensive Environmental Inc (CEI).

Pelletier met with commissioners to discuss the first draft of a report of her findings following multiple ground samples taken around the lakes.

While cautioning that not enough information was available to draw definitive conclusions, Pelletier said the findings did indicate the existence of unexpected "emergent contaminants" at different points including those near the Water Department's Whitney Well site.

Emergent contaminants is a new category of potential pollutants of groundwater that is little understood. Testing at two sites on the lakes indicated the presence of five kinds of mostly prescription drugs, including tranquilizers, nicotine, insect repellent, pain relievers, and medicines needed to control seizures. Pelletier suggested that the drugs could have been introduced into the groundwater by people swimming in the lakes, showering, or simply the disposal of outdated medicines down the toilet. Pelletier added that due to there being no research on the threat if any presented by emergents, the infinitesimal traces of them in the ground water suggest that they pose no harm.

Initial results indicate relatively low concentrations nitrates or phosphates. The extremely low levels of contaminants in the lakes, said commission member Jay Prager, seemed to say more about the sensitivity of the testing than how contaminated the lakes were.

Fellow commissioner Susan Horowitz insisted that the unexpected presence of emergents in the water "was a wake up call" for everyone.

Town Planner Michelle Collette agreed, calling it "a serious concern."

Commission Chairman Jack Petropoulos, however, reminded everyone that the emergents, "were only one piece of the puzzle."

Prager noted that the traces of emergents found in the lakes area were less than the normal background level of contaminants found in any soil sample.

"It would be a mistake to take these numbers and draw any conclusions from them," Petropoulos said.

"There are limits to what we can correlate," Pelletier said.

Carol Quinn, a former commission member as well as a resident of Lost Lake, pointed out that even though she didn't use any medicines, traces of them were still found in her area of the lake.

Pelletier said the emergents did not necessarily have to come from the lake area but could have come from farther away. Because little was known about their migration, she could not say with certainty where the emergent contaminants may have come from.

Commission member Michael Rosa insisted that the presence of pollutants proved that there was a connection between local septic systems and lake contamination.

"The emergent contaminants go a long way to proving that," Rosa said.

Sharing Rosa's concern, Horowitz wanted to know if any importance could be attached to the fact that emergents were found at the Whitney Well site and would that justify construction of a sewer system at Lost Lake?

Pelletier said she could not draw the conclusion from the presence of the emergents at the well site that other contaminants could get there in the same fashion.

At the 2012 fall town meeting, residents voted down a measure that would have appropriated the funds to build a new $12.9 million sewer system in their neighborhood. One of the reasons for the rejection was due to uncertainty that the source of the contamination of the lakes was coming from neighborhood septic systems. Instead, residents insisted that a more thorough study of the area around the lakes be undertaken to make sure.

As a result, a reconstituted Lost Lake Sewer Commission was appointed and CEI hired to proceed with testing.

With the early draft report's findings, it was agreed that any conclusions about them should wait until all testing had been completed.



Laurie Tenace
Environmental Specialist
Waste Reduction Section
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 4555
Tallahassee, FL 32399-2400
850.245.8759
Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us



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