Arsenic Levels Hit Unhealthy Highs In A Dozen Lithia Wells

By MIKE SALINERO The Tampa Tribune

Published: Jun 26, 2007

TAMPA - Unhealthy levels of arsenic have been found in a dozen scattered drinking water wells in the Lithia area of eastern Hillsborough County.

State environmental authorities are providing the owners of the affected wells with alternative water supplies. Although arsenic levels in the wells are above federal water quality standards, state officials say there is no reason for alarm.

"I think the arsenic numbers, the kind of exposure we're talking about, is not enough to cause an immediate health impact," said Bill Kutash, an official with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Southwest District.

"So no, it's not an emergency or imminent problem," Kutash said.

Arsenic is a semimetal element that can enter drinking water from natural deposits in the earth or from agricultural and industrial practices. It is a carcinogen. Long-term exposure can cause discoloration of the skin, vomiting, diarrhea, numbness in the hands and feet, partial paralysis and blindness.

The contaminated wells are in an area dotted with small farms and orange groves, east of the Polk County Line and south and east of the Alafia River's north prong.

The Hillsborough County Health Department found the first contaminated well last year at Stepping Stone Farm, a home for girls who are no longer in their parents' care. Federal regulations require that the home's well be tested periodically because of its size, said Cindy Morris, environmental administrator at the Health Department.

After the contamination was found, the Health Department had the home's residents switch to another well on the property with low arsenic levels, Morris said.

"We wanted them to get another drinking water supply," Morris said.

The Health Department tested another 25 to 30 wells in a half-mile radius south of Stepping Stone and found three other wells with high arsenic levels.

The Health Department called in the DEP, which expanded the investigation this year in an effort to find the source of the arsenic. Investigators drove up and down the rural roads, talking to residents about the history of the area. They also studied old and new aerial photographs. So far, they've found nothing that looks like a potential source.

"Some of those people have lived there since the 1960s," Kutash said. "None of them reported a business or industry in that area that would account for the arsenic."

The DEP then decided to do its own testing over a larger area than the Health Department covered. The agency asked about 180 property owners to test their wells, and 67 agreed. Eight wells showed unhealthy levels of arsenic.

Randy Tagliarini, who lives on Pritcher Road, said DEP investigators told him the arsenic levels were too high to use the water for drinking. A neighbor's well also had high levels of arsenic, Tagliarini said.

"They said, 'Look, the water is unsafe to drink,'" Tagliarini said. "Nobody would say you'll be fine if you water your garden with it or take a bath in it … It bothers me."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says on its Web site that absorption of arsenic through the skin is minimal. Hand-washing, bathing and washing clothes with water containing arsenic does not pose a human health risk.

The DEP has just begun a new round of testing farther east. If no other arsenic hot spots are found, the agency may end the investigation, Kutash said.

Researcher Michael Messano contributed to this report. Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at msalinero@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-8303.