Pcb From Pump Found In Family's Well Water

When Curt Weyrich's family got gassy whiffs last year from the well water of the Whatcom County home they were renting and about to buy, they were concerned enough to switch to bottled water while tests were made.

The caution proved prudent.

The family of four discovered in November that their well water had been contaminated with cancer-causing PCBs from a leaking well pump. One sample from the toilet tank showed levels of polychlorinated biphenyls at 600 times the level considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Today, the state Department of Ecology is warning that the Weyrichs are probably not alone.

Some well-water pumps manufactured before 1979 could be contaminating drinking water throughout Washington with PCBs, the agency cautioned. It urged homeowners, well associations and water districts to check the safety of their supply.

The Weyrichs have since tem-

porarily moved out of the home, in the town of Everson. The home's owners are waiting for authorities to decide if the wells and plumbing can simply be scoured, costing up to $10,000, or must be replaced, costing up to $20,000.

Contaminated pumps and plumbing have to be treated as hazardous waste, sealed, and shipped to a dump site in Arlington, Ore. ``It's quite a problem,'' Weyrich said.

Blood tests turned up no detectable accumulation of PCBs in the family, which first smelled the leaking pump oil in their water in

July.

But if accumulation had occurred, the result could have been serious. The syrupy, colorless and odorless chemical - used for 50 years as an electrical and motor insulator - can cause cancer, rashes or acne, jaundice, vomiting, abdominal pain, liver damage, and fetus and reproductive problems.

At risk are homes or water districts with submersible pumps made before 1979 by one of nine manufacturers, and which have two wires leading into the well.

Pumps fitting that description should be replaced and the wells tested for contamination, a spokeswoman for the Ecology Department said.

``This leakage is something that is known to cause cancer,'' warned Jonna Van Dyk, the spokeswoman.

Unknown, however, is how widespread the problem may be.

``We don't know to what extent this may be occurring,'' said Steve Hulsman, an environmental scientist with the state health department. Hulsman investigated the Weyrich problem.

Water with an odor of oil or gas is probably most at risk, he said, because it could indicate pumps are leaking.

However, such smells can be caused by bacteria or other problems unrelated to leaking pumps, and PCBs could also escape without such an odor.

``The numbers are probably a very, very small proportion of the population as a whole,'' Hulsman said, urging homeowners not to panic. ``I sometimes wonder if people getting too excited does more damage to their health than the compounds in their drinking water.''

The Weyrichs' case was caused by a pump that leaked and yet kept operating, a situation which Hulsman and well-company officials said is unusual. Most old pumps quit without leaking, or if they do leak, freeze up quickly.

Still, the potential threat is enormous. Bill Miller, a hydrogeologist with the Ecology Department, estimated up to 80 percent of Washington's population gets all or some of its water from private or municipal wells. ``The lion's share of water consumed in Pierce County, for example, is well water,'' he said.

Seattle's water is surface water, he said.

Kathryn Hansen, executive director of the Washington Well Drillers Association, said the life expectancy of a well pump is 10 to 15 years, meaning many older pumps may already have been replaced. ``People have been warned (by well installers) for quite some time,'' she said.

But she and Ken Fowler, another association member advising the Ecology Department, said the industry has no idea how many PCB-laden pumps may be out there.

Low levels of PCB environmental contamination is common. In the 50 years PCBs were in common use before being banned in 1979, enough escaped into the environment that one out of two Americans now has 1.3 parts per million in their fatty tissue, the EPA estimates.

Sickness usually appears at levels of 50 to 75 parts per million.

The Weyrichs' water showed contamination up to 1.2 parts per million, 600 times the EPA recommendation and serious because PCBs accumulate over time.

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Homeowners should be concerned if:

-- The pump is submersible, instead of being above the ground.

-- It was manufactured in 1979 or before. If the pump is submerged, a date code can sometimes be found on the above-ground equipment.

-- It has two wires, (usually black, red or yellow) leading from the pressure switch on the pressure tank to the well. Do not count the copper grounding wire. If there is a motor control box on the wall close to the cold-water holding tank, you probably have a three-wire switch and don't have to worry.

-- The pump was manufactured by Dempster Industries, Fairbanks Morse, Johnston Water Systems, F.E. Myers, Montgomery Ward, Peabody Barnes, Reda, Red Jacket or Sta-Rite.

-- Details on those and other brands, lists of laboratories that test for PCBs, and other advice is available from the Department of Ecology's Redmond office, 4350 150th Ave. N.E., 98504.