A possible source of a well contamination in a Finksburg mobile home park was dismissed by the property owner Sunday as “ridiculous.”
Dorothy Sullivan, who has owned Sullivan?s Trailer Park and Old Westminster Park with her husband, Arthur, for more than 20 years, said she doesn?t believe the state theory about how a gasoline additive made its way into the water of 70 park residents.
Sullivan called the idea ? that the trucks that once held gas delivered and spilled heating oil, and were the cause of MTBE contamination ? “out there.”
“I think that?s a little far-fetched,” she said. “What percentage of that was gas? It can?t be very high.
“The percentage would be so minimal, I don?t know how that could have happened.”
Brian Flynn, of the county Health Department, and Herbert Meade, of the Maryland Department of the Environment, could not be reached for comment.
If deemed necessary, the Sullivans would have to pay for a $40,000 water filtration system, Arthur Sullivan said.
Dorothy Sullivan and her husband use a private water-tester from Carroll County to test the water every month and were surprised last month when a higher-than-accepted level of methyl tertiary-butyl ether was detected.
The couple then contacted the state about the contamination, as mandated by law, she said.
Since then, the level of MTBE has dropped, Dorothy Sullivan said, but it is still higher than accepted levels.
Flynn told The Examiner last week that MTBE is a “potential carcinogen” that can cause damage to the nervous system, liver and kidneys at toxic levels.
Sullivan said she doubts many residents will attend a community meeting about the contamination.
“Most of the residents won?t come,” she said. “They?re not interested in it and feel they are being taken care of.”
Arthur Sullivan described the park?s residents as mostly senior citizens living by themselves, some single men and women, and a few families.
If you go
Community meeting
6:30 p.m. Thursday
Sandymount Elementary School, Finksburg
