U.S. Water News Online
TUCSON, Ariz. -- After finding tainted groundwater near city police and fire headquarters, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has told Tucson to re-examine its removal of five underground storage tanks more than a decade ago.
Assistant City Manager Karen Masbruch said the notice means the department suspects the five storage tanks located between the police and fire departments could be the source of the gasoline that contaminated the groundwater with benzene.
"They suspect it may be coming from the old tanks and want us to determine if that's true," Masbruch said, adding the state gave clearance in 1993 to close the case after the tanks were removed.
The chemicals haven't leaked into the aquifer from which drinking water is drawn, and officials said there is minimal chance it will migrate there. They also don't know where the gasoline is coming from or how long it has been there.
Benzene was found in two wells drilled in the area as the city tested for contamination from a leak in the ventilation system of the Tucson Convention Center. The city discovered as much as 380 times the maximum level of benzene allowed by state and federal environmental standards.
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