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Uploaded: Friday, February 15, 2013, 9:25 AM
EPA finds toxic vapors in Evandale homes
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by Daniel DeBolt
Mountain View Voice Staff
Photo
 | Above a much-studied toxic groundwater plume, the Environmental Protection Agency has found something of a surprise: toxic vapors creeping into homes on Evandale Avenue near Highway 101 and Whisman Road.
EPA project manager Alana Lee said that tests of indoor air so far have found two homes with levels of Trichloroethylene (TCE) vapors above the limit allowed by the EPA. Both homes are on the north side of Evandale Avenue, but the exact addresses are withheld. One has had a ventilation system installed to keep the known carcinogen out of the home and the other will have such a system soon, Lee said.
The homes are a stone's throw from one of Silicon Valley's largest collection of toxic sites, an area once home to early silicon computer chip manufactures such as Fairchild and Intel, which used TCE as a solvent in their manufacturing process during the 1960s and 1970s. The plume left behind was first discovered in 1981. The area is now home to Google and Symantec, among others. Those buildings now have ventilation systems running at all hours to keep the underground toxic vapors at bay. The collection of Superfund sites is known as the "MEW" because it is bordered by Middlefield Road, Ellis Street Whisman Road and Highway 101.
'Be concerned'
The discovery of high levels of TCE on Evandale Avenue was a bit of a surprise to Lenny Siegel, director of the Center for Public Environmental Oversight in Mountain View. "We've been following the site for 30 years and we all the sudden find new concentrations in a residential area," he said.
Previous testing nearby had not found the underground plume migrating west of Whisman Road.
"There are a lot of people who should be concerned," Siegel said. "But a lot of the homes sampled turned out to be OK."
Information about the health effects of TCE isn't in the flier the EPA is giving to residents, even though in 2011 the EPA issued its Final Health Assessment for TCE, calling it "carcinogenic to humans by all routes of exposure" and that inhalation can cause "hepatic, renal, neurological, immunological, reproductive, and developmental effects."
Probes placed under the street on Evandale Avenue have found unusually high TCE groundwater concentrations, as high as 130,000 parts per billion of TCE near Pepperwood Court. The EPA's cleanup goal is 5 parts per billion. Those results were used to create a map of a "priority testing area" which contains about 30 homes, Lee said. A flier with a map was delivered to homes on the street with a request that residents get in touch with the EPA.
Despite the outreach effort, three residents within the priority testing area area told the Voice they were unaware of the situation on Monday or did not know whom to contact.
"We are really concerned and we want to know who to call," said Alicia Balmonte, a resident of the apartment complex at 190 Evandale Avenue since the 1970s. She said it would be nice to find out if there is TCE in the apartment "because my daughter is pregnant."
Link to cancer
While it is nearly impossible to prove that exposure to TCE pollution caused someone's cancer, several longtime residents are left to wonder.
Balmonte said she was diagnosed with cancer of the lymph nodes in 2004, which was successfully treated. She said it was different from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which also attacks the lymph nodes and is linked to TCE exposure.
The Bay Area Cancer Registry recently studied historical data and found nearly twice the regional average rate of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in northeastern Mountain View between 1996 and 2005, but refused to release any detail that could show how many cases were found on a street like Evandale Avenue.
Across the street at 207 Evandale Avenue, Angelica Garcia wonders if there was a connection between her son's leukemia and the toxic plume. She said she had lived in her apartment -- which sits in the priority testing area -- for 12 years. Five years ago her son was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 4. "He's done with his treatment and he's fine. The cancer is in remission," she said.
Groundwater polluted primarily with TCE was blamed for a cluster of childhood Leukemia cases in Woburn Mass. in the 1980s. The resulting legal battle between mother Anne Anderson and Beatrice Foods, Cryovac, Inc. and W.R. Grace and Co. was the basis for the 1996 book and 1998 movie "A Civil Action."
Unaware of the danger
Another resident in the priority testing area on the south side of the street said he was entirely unaware of the issue. Ali shares a home with an infant, a high-schooler and two other adults. He told the Voice he was concerned "not for myself but for my baby sister, you know, more than anything else. If there is something serious I think we should be notified so if we should get out of here, we can get out of here. So many people have died in my family because of cancer it's a joke now. It's crazy."
He added that when he talked to the workers drilling into the street, "they said they were just testing the water and that's it." They even placed a tank inside his home -- apparently testing the indoor air -- without explanation, he said.
Garcia said she received similar treatment. She talked to workers but, "I don't recall them saying anything about any danger."
For its part, the EPA says its staff is knocking on doors to try and reach every resident.
"We have gone door-to-door in the impacted residential areas and tried to reach every resident in the impacted neighborhoods," said EPA press officer Rusty Harris-Bishop in an email, adding that fact sheets, access agreements and sampling results are provided in Spanish "where needed."
A transforming street
Evandale Avenue is a mix of apartments, duplexes, condos and townhomes. It is home to some of the area's poorest residents, but is also to a growing number of tech employees as Google moves in nearby on Whisman Road. Despite being located near the priority testing area, one condo dweller was happy to report that his neighbor had put his three-bedroom unit up for sale a few weeks ago and in three days 300 possible buyers walked through. "It was pretty astonishing. Some large fraction of them must have been Google employees."
The drive for housing in the area spurred an investor to renovate a former slum at the corner of Evandale Avenue and Whisman Road. The EPA's Lee said the owner of the 64-unit complex refused to allow testing of the units, formerly known as 291 Evandale Avenue, now known as 600 Whsiman Road. The crawl spaces under the units passed air tests before they were renovated, Lee said. Nevertheless, one resident of the complex said she would prefer to know for sure that her home was safe.
TCE pathway a mystery
Siegel said there is some suspicion that there is a pathway under the street allowing TCE to migrate from the MEW under Evandale Avenue. The EPA had tested on Devonshire and Fairchild Drive before, and had not found evidence of the plume migrating very far past Whisman Road. "Hopefully it is just gravel around the sewage line or something," Siegel said.
The latest discovery is proof that "to prevent intrusion (of vapors into homes) you need much denser sampling," Siegel said. "That's what we asked for and that's what we got."
The plume of TCE in the groundwater -- which is not used as drinking water -- slowly shifts overtime, mostly flowing towards the Bay. But more sampling of the groundwater would require permission from landowners. "It's harder to get permission to sink a probe into private property," Siegel said.
The EPA says it will continue to seek permission for such tests on private property.
Residents in the priority testing area are asked to contact the EPA for indoor air testing. The indoor air tests are voluntary and renters who want the tests need to get permission from their landlords. Lee said in some cases that was an obstacle, but the EPA was eventually able to get permission for the tenants.
If indoor air is above the limit, ventilation systems are installed at the expense of the polluters, but in a situation where a renter wants such a system, "The owner certainly has to agree," Lee said.
A meeting between the EPA and the Wagon Wheel Neighborhood Association is set for Sunday March 3. A time and location was not available by press time.
For more information, contact the EPA:
Alana Lee
EPA Vapor Intrusion Project Manager
Lee.Alana@epa.gov
415.972.3141
Penny Reddy
EPA Groundwater Project Manager
Reddy.Penny@epa.gov
415.972.3108
Leana Rosetti
EPA Community Involvement Coordinator
Rosetti.Leana@epa.gov
415.972.3070
Photographer Michelle Le contributed to this story
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Posted by superfund, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 15, 2013 at 11:08 am The city has known about toxic waste problems in this area for decades. How many generations of kids have grown up with these toxic vapors in their bedrooms? How many will now die prematurely? Why doesn't the city just condemn the whole area and make the polluters pay to clean it up once and for all? Most of the polluters are still in business and have confessed to their liability, right?
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Posted by AJ, a resident of the Martens-Carmelita neighborhood, on Feb 15, 2013 at 11:48 am @superfund: Condemning it and making polluters pay would be a federal thing, not a city thing.
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Posted by Old Ben, a resident of the Shoreline West neighborhood, on Feb 15, 2013 at 11:51 am Good idea, superfund, but it will never happen. Mountain View is OWNED, lock, stock, and barrel, by real estate developers. The City of Mountain View is not concerned with any carcinogens except cigarette smoke.
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Posted by Christine, a resident of the North Whisman neighborhood, on Feb 15, 2013 at 1:53 pm This is less than a block from me. Can't afford to move, but it would have been nice to know this earlier for some prevention. i.e. no planting a garden! I have vapor barriers under all my flooring, and I'm so glad I put them in! It should be standard. EPA should give solid suggestions to minimize contact.
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Posted by vkmo, a resident of the Cuesta Park neighborhood, on Feb 15, 2013 at 2:17 pm Besides Evandale Ave, we have another problem. Castro is the name of a communist dictator, a bad guy. We should hence change the name of Castro Street. My suggestion is to name it Obama Street.
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Posted by Jeff, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 15, 2013 at 2:54 pm A pause for a few facts: the MEW is already a Superfund site (dating from the mid-1980s). The polluters have spent and still spend the required $. This newly found problem will be covered if traceable to the previous area. It is very difficult to clean up due to the jumbled hydrogeological circumstances, hence ongoing vapor removal in buildings.
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Posted by Lenny Siegel, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 15, 2013 at 3:09 pm In some ways, EPA's response to community concerns about TCE contamination in Mountain View is a national model, but more homes need to be sampled. For background, see
Web Link and Web Link
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Posted by Kathy, a resident of the Sylvan Park neighborhood, on Feb 15, 2013 at 4:50 pm Castro St named after Fidel? Hopefully that is a joke.... but just in case... "Mountain View’s modern history begins with Mariano Castro, who was born in San Francisco. Castro received title to mission land that included both Mountain View and Sunnyvale. He quickly took up
residence and established himself as both a cattle rancher and a
local activist. He called his land Rancho Pastoria de las Borregas.
This land grant would become the setting for a new town, and the
Castro family would play an important role in its development."
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Posted by nicole, a resident of the Rex Manor neighborhood, on Feb 15, 2013 at 5:16 pm
nicole is a member (registered user) of Mountain View Online While I think Obama would go down well, given the comments I've seen here (now that is a joke), I too hope that was a joke. Although I did hear a funny story about a mom who's kids were chatting with some kids in Florida, impressing them with their Spanish, until she revealed they learned it at a wonderful school called "Castro Elementary"
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Posted by the_punnisher, a resident of the Whisman Station neighborhood, on Feb 15, 2013 at 6:58 pm Everybody should be aware that the " Rust Bucket " Fairchild Wafer Fab plant was part of the area. My brother worked there. It was much like the AMD Wafer Fab plant on the Sunnyvale / Santa Clara City limits where I worked.
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Posted by Jim Enloe, a resident of another community, on Feb 16, 2013 at 3:53 pm We live about 1.5 miles from MEW in Sunnyvale and as part of our home purchase the super fund sites were clearly identified in the disclosures when we bought our home 14 years ago.
So the government did their job, and individuals need to do there's by being observant and taking proper precautions.
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Posted by Old News, a resident of the Martens-Carmelita neighborhood, on Feb 19, 2013 at 2:24 pm This is old news. Buyer beware. Caveat emptor. You gets what you pay for.
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Posted by wendy, a resident of another community, on Feb 22, 2013 at 10:43 am Everyone who purchases property in this area are given a mountain of disclosures to sign about this very issue before they buy. People who rent these properties should also receive disclosures about the hazards. Further, this issue is in the paper at least once a year. I have known about the issues in this area for 15 years. I don't know how people can plead ignorance. A lot of people I talk to that live in that area have said that they don't believe there is a real danger to their health.
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Posted by Alana, a resident of the North Whisman neighborhood, on Feb 23, 2013 at 10:00 pm It's great that the people buying property in the area are fully informed--but as a brand new renter I can tell you the same cannot be said for renters. I just moved here from WA and have been here less than a month and would not have thought to search for information about toxic waste sites when looking for an apartment. Would you? Now, I probably will. And by now, I mean--right now, because I will need to move again. I am very likely to die from cancer someday (aren't we all?), but I don't really need to UP my chances of it happening by living on top of soil filled with a known carcinogen. Cripes.
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Posted by Oscar, a resident of the North Whisman neighborhood, on Feb 24, 2013 at 8:58 am When I bought my place almost a decade ago, I was told by my realtor that these superfund sites are all over the place. In fact, Mountain View has lots of places that probably need to be tested. Really, there seems to be a lot of panic and inciting of worry over this...so if you are planning on looking for another place to rent over this, renter..make sure your new home isn't over a gas main, the drinking water is tested, the soil is tested, no lead based paint, no fire retardant in your home, you probably want to look at the sex offender database to ensure you're not loving in a crime ridden area or near any offenders, check for asbestos in the ceiling, see if there are any leaf blowers being used regularly to contaminate your air quality, etc., ..you should get the idea...
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Posted by Old Ben, a resident of the Shoreline West neighborhood, on Feb 24, 2013 at 5:08 pm Mountain View has no standards whatsoever when it comes to rental properties. The city has no interest in whether or not a rental property meets the basic habitability standards set by the state. When you rent an apartment in Mountain View, you are on your own.
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Posted by Laura, a resident of the Slater neighborhood, on Feb 25, 2013 at 11:10 pm Just lovely. I had breast cancer last year and as a result a masectomy. No breast cancer in my family before this. I live off of Gladys and Ada next to middle field and Whisman with my two kids the past five years. Bad enough my landlord doesn't make needed repairs but for him to not disclose this is morally wrong. And he raises the rent each year. Funny mortgages don't go up but he says he needs to increase it as rents are rising again. I do hope they do clean up the area. And start being truthful about this area. Parents want protect their families not subject them to toxic fumes
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Posted by Old Ben, a resident of the Shoreline West neighborhood, on Feb 26, 2013 at 5:36 am Mountain View lets landlords do (or FAIL to do) anything they want. As far as rental properties go, it's the Wild West. This city won't even test the water coming out of your tap, if you are a renter. It's absurd.
Unless you're the Hacker Dojo. Then, all of a sudden, the city has STANDARDS. Funny how that works.
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Posted by My2cents, a resident of the North Whisman neighborhood, on Feb 26, 2013 at 7:23 am The plume previously identified in this area was said not to extend past Whisman. The recent discovery is of concern because the EPA said it was contained. Either it is not contained, and spreading or else it is a newly discovered plume. It is true there is TCE in a lot of areas....one is near Cuesta Park, as I understand it... But this one seems big and possibly spreading. A big concern is that the owner of the condos on Whisman andEvandale apparently did not allow testing. So those residents may not know about this.
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Posted by Checker, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 26, 2013 at 9:33 am "....one is near Cuesta Park, as I understand it... "
Hmm. Never heard that one. Its not on any maps of affected areas so doubtful that's true.
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Posted by jravanell, a resident of the Whisman Station neighborhood, on Mar 17, 2013 at 9:04 am we lived at 107 evandale for 10 years in the 80's. we used to ride our bikes up whisman. i remember the liquid air corporation, a chemical company (i dont recall the name) and FMC and Honeywell where whisman station now stands.iam not surprised.it was a time when we didnt put much thought as to what was being dumped. ironically my mom died of cancer of the limbic system in 1998.
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