October 15, 2004

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Publication Date: Friday, October 15, 2004

Residents to discuss future of toxic cleanup

By Jon Wiener

Efforts to clean the toxic chemicals out of Mountain View's ground water seem to be working, but no one knows how much longer they will continue to do so.

The so-called "pump-and-treat" system entails removing the contaminated ground water from the aquifers and then filtering out the trichloroethene (TCE) using granulated carbon. The water is then released into Stevens Creek or the sewer system while the waste product is sent to a disposal site.

The problem, said Lenny Siegel of the Center for Public Environmental Oversight, is that TCE tends to sink. As time goes on, the water pumped out becomes progressively cleaner but the contamination remains at the bottom of the aquifer.

"It's very difficult to target the places where the TCE is found," said Siegel.

The Northeast Mountain View Advisory Council will discuss new technologies in cleaning contaminated ground water at its Oct. 20 meeting, scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Slater School, 325 Gladys Ave.

The Navy's Rick Weissenborn and NASA's Don Chuck will discuss advanced technologies being explored at Moffett Field. Potential technologies include bio-remediation, which involves adding nutrients to promote naturally-occurring bacteria that break down TCE, or building an underground wall that reacts with chemicals as water passes through.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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