Residents can decide for themselves if they want to drink water contaminated with a gas additive, but one Carroll County official said he wouldn?t let his son do it.
“I wouldn?t have a problem drinking a small amount [of the contaminated water], but I wouldn?t give it to my 2-year-old son,” said Bryan Flynn, water quality supervisor for the county Health Department.
County and state officials are continuing an investigation to find the source of gasoline additive MTBE in a well that serves 100 people in a Finksburg mobile home park ? one of 12 sites the county is actively monitoring for MTBE contamination, Flynn said Wednesday.
Residents of 40 houses in Sullivan?s Trailer Park on Old Westminster Pike learned of the contamination over the weekend through letters from owner Arthur Sullivan.
Such notification is required by the state.
Sullivan could not be reached for comment.
Scientists don?t agree on the exact health risks related to MTBE or how much of it needs to be in water before it becomes dangerous.
Flynn said it takes 20 to 40 parts per billion for water drinkers to taste and smell what he described as a “potential carcinogen.”
“Toxic levels could cause nausea and affect the nervous system, liver and kidneys,” he said.
The contamination is limited to the trailer park, and an investigation into nearby gas stations as a potential source found that “nothing had moved off site,” Flynn said.
A community meeting on the issue is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. May 4 at Sandymount Elementary School in Finksburg.
Other Finksburg-area sites the county is monitoring for MTBE include Gamber and the Shell gas station on Route 140 and Suffolk Road.
The Associated Press contributed to the story.
