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Solvent traces found in water at two Sherborn homes

Print | Comments () Posted by Leslie Anderson April 24, 2012 09:29 AM

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By John Dyer, Globe Correspondent

Miniscule traces of solvents that could be linked to the General Chemical Corp. in Framingham, a hazardous waste storage facility due to close in the coming months, were found in the drinking water of two Sherborn homes, state environmental officials said Monday.

The homes are on Meadowbrook Road and Prospect Street, said Edward Coletta, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

The DEP was testing the water in 12 homes to see if an underground plume emanating from General Chemical had reached their wells.

Coletta said the amounts were far below the state limits for contamination, meaning the drinking water was safe.

Coletta added that the chemicals could have come from cleaning agents in septic systems, so it’s impossible to know if the plume was the source of the toxins.

The drinking water of another house on Prospect Street tested positive for a gasoline additive that couldn’t have come from General Chemical because the facility never handled the substance, Coletta added. The levels of that chemical were also safe, he said.

John Dyer can be reached at johnjdyerjr@gmail.com.