Possible carcinogen found in water supply

Sue Doyle

COSTA MESA -- Orange County Water District officials have closed a Costa

Mesa well after detecting a potential carcinogen in local water supplies.

N-nitrosodimethylamine, or NDMA, is commonly found in pesticides, rocket

fuel, cosmetics and even some foods, such as milk and processed meats.

The levels found in the local water system do not pose a threat to public

health, said William R. Mills, Jr., general manager of the water

district.

“The city will continue to get their water supply from other places. The

well wasn’t considered an unhealthy situation anyway,” Mills said.

Officials also shut down a well in Huntington Beach. The Orange County

Water District serves nearly 2 million residents in more than 20 cities.

Mills said the water district recorded NDMA levels at 34 parts per

trillion -- the state Department of Health mandates that water sources be

cut off at 200 parts per trillion.

Little is known about NDMA, which was first detected in 1998 at a

Sacramento aerospace facility. Scientists are not even sure of the

precise chemical compound that make up the possibly cancer-causing

substance.

However, Mills said ultraviolet light destroys NDMA and officials are

working to find a treatment.

“This is so new that all of us are flying around trying to find a

solution for it,” he said.

Some experts have claimed that NDMA is not toxic to ecological life,

because sunlight destroys the suspected carcinogen once it gets into an

open body of water.

Still, others want more evidence before drinking water with even trace

levels of NDMA.

Betty Olson, a professor at UC Irvine’s school of environmental analysis

and design, recommended turning off the tap water until water district

officials can take corrective steps.

“I wouldn’t drink from a well with 30 parts per trillion and I wouldn’t

bathe a newborn in it. I’d switch to bottled water,” Olson said.

FYI

To hear a prerecorded message about NDMA, call the water district’s

hotline at (714) 378-3333.