GEORGETOWN – This town may have a cancer problem, but the state Health Department does not have enough investigators to conduct a probe here, according to the town’s Health Director.
Last week, residents received a letter from the town’s Water Department stating that tests had shown the water from the Patriot Lane Booster Station, east of Interstate 95, had exceeded the maximum allowed levels for the possible-to-probable cancer-causing chemical Trihalomethanes (THMs).
The contamination averaged over the last year at 83 micrograms per liter, while the maximum allowable level for THMs is 80 micrograms per liter.
The water department stated that the excess was probably caused by chlorine. THMs are the most common chlorinated disinfection by-products.
“This is not an emergency,” the Water Department’s letter stated.
Chlorine is added to the drinking water after filtration for disinfection and before iron and manganese are removed.
“Some people who drink water containing THMs in excess of the maximum allowable level over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys or central nervous system and may have an increased risk of getting cancer,” the Water Department letter stated.
Children and pregnant women may be potentially more susceptible to risks from exposures to chemicals, such as THM, the letter stated.
Bill Holt, the town’s Health Director, told the SelectBoard his office has been “getting a lot of calls” about the cancer cases. He has contacted the assistant state health director, who told him the department can not launch an investigation in Georgetown as this time.
Asked by SelectBoard chair Doug Dawes when the state probe might be conducted, Holt said, “I’ll know when I know. It may take a year.”
In the interim, the Water Department has completely flushed the system in that area and will be flushing the entire northern part of the town in October. The flushing will reduce the stagnation and eIevated water temperatures that occurred during the summer months. It said it also continues to look for potential causes of contamination and is reducing the amount of disinfectant products.
The letter also claimed that the new pretreatment filtration building, which is under construction, will improve the department’s operations.
For more information, visit the water department’s website, www.georgetownwater.org or call 978-352-5750.
