MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont officials say suspected cancer-causing chemicals have been found in groundwater near the former IBM plant in Essex Junction and the former Hercules Inc. plant in Colchester. But they say there's no concern about drinking water wells being contaminated.
Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin on Wednesday announced test results showing that eight of 15 groundwater monitoring wells tested at the IBM site contained PFOA in concentrations ranging from 8 to 190 parts per trillion.
At the former Hercules site in Colchester, all 12 groundwater monitoring wells contained PFOA in concentrations ranging from 77 to 7,200 parts per trillion.
The state health advisory level is a combined level of 20 parts per trillion for both PFOA and PFOS.
Residences and businesses surrounding the properties are primarily served by clean municipal water supplies.