Bulletin Board

For residents within Mulry and Cresswell Environmental's testing area:

The Methyl tertiary-Butyl Ether (MTBE) remediation program at the APlus Sunoco on SR 896 in Kemblesville has been underway for a while. As part of the remediation plan, residents residing within roughly a one-quarter mile radius of this site are eligible for free quarterly well water testing. If you are unsure if you are eligible, or if you are eligible and have not yet signed up, please call Mulry and Cresswell Environmental, Inc at 610-942-9010.

At the March 19, 2008 Board of Supervisors meeting, representatives from both Mulry and Creswell Environmental, Inc and Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) were on hand to answer residents' questions. The following information regarding MTBE and drinking water was provided at the meeting:

• US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USACHPPM): MTBE in Drinking Water
  Contains a quick synopsis of facts and includes related links (2 pp).
• US Environmental Protection Agency:
  Drinking Water Advisory: Consumer Acceptability Advice and Health Effects Analysis on Methyl Tertiary–Butyl Ether (MtBE)
  Along with technical data, this analytical paper presents health effects data from studies done on MTBE (48 pp).
• US Dept of the Interior: USGS: Environmental Behavior and Fate of Methyl tert–Butyl Ether (MTBE)
  National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) Fact Sheet FS–203–96 (Revised 2/98).

Other resources:

• US EPA: Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE)
  Contains a comprehensive list of Frequently Asked Questions and links to other sites.
• US EPA: Drinking Water Contaminants: MTBE (methyl-t-butyl ether) in Drinking Water

Or search on keyword “MTBE” on the US Geological Survey and US Environmental Protection Agency web sites.

For residents outside Mulry and Cresswell Environmental's testing area:

For those of us who use well water, it is a good practice to occassionally have our water tested. A Listing of Accredited Environmental Laboratories is available from Pennyslvania's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The list includes several laboratories in Chester County that are certified to test drinking water (DW). Certified facilities may offer two categories of drinking water tests: a basic drinking water category that reports certain bacterial levels and a broader potable water/drinking water category that reports levels of certain chemicals and metals. Fees will vary.

Key to designations on listing of accredited environmental laboratores:

NPW	non-potable water
DW	drinking water
SCM	solid and chemical materials

(Source: PA DEP's Bureau of Laboratories: Laboratory Accreditation Program)

– March 29, 2008