November 3, 2011
By Cynthia Mccormick
Excerpt: Most of the 20 private Cape wells tested by researchers showed evidence of chemicals from medicine or consumer products, officials from the Silent Spring Institute announced Tuesday.
Traces of an artificial sweetener, acesulfame potassium, were detected in 85 percent of the well water samples, while four chemicals used in stain-resistant and nonstick coatings on paper and textiles were found in at least 50 percent of the wells.
The levels found for three pharmaceuticals — an antibiotic, an anti-seizure and a cholesterol-lowering drug — matched the highest quantities found in private wells across the U.S., said Silent Spring researcher Laurel Schaider.
"We know they are out there," Shaider said during a meeting Tuesday at Eastham Town Hall, where she presented the results of a recently released study, "Emerging Contaminants in Cape Cod Private Drinking Water Wells."
The scientists also found evidence of flame retardants, hormones, a plasticizer and an insect repellent in some of the samples taken from private wells ranging from Falmouth to Wellfleet.
The study shows that chemicals in household wastewater can seep from septic systems into groundwater and then into drinking water.