FAYETTE POLLUTION

The more researchers learn about the Fayette Tubular Products contamination, the murkier the situation becomes. That’s not good news to village residents and school officials. The public looks for answers, but instead the number of questions continues to grow.

The most recent study—funded by school and village officials, and independent of the on-going research overseen by the Ohio EPA—has thrown a wrench in the works, at least it will if the Ohio EPA chooses to investigate.

None of the studies up to this point have dug into the sludge of sewer catch basins. After all, it’s ground water that’s carrying contaminants onto school property and occasionally into the school air.

But ground water flow may not provide an explanation for a few odd findings west and southwest of the contamination site. Sewers might be the missing link. The level of contaminants found in a catch basin near the plant was more than four times higher than at the Fayette Tubular Products’ degreasing room site, where solvents were used. Another sewer basin on school property also showed contamination.

The new study suggests that there’s still much to learn about how and where the pollutants have spread.

The Ohio EPA needs to act soon to evaluate the new findings and plan followup action.

In addition, many residents are connecting the health-related deaths of residents living near the plant to the contamination issue. Epidemiological studies should be ordered by the state health department, either to quash the rumors or to sound the alarm.

More than a decade has passed since contamination was first found on the factory grounds. Fayette residents have been quite patient about the issue, maybe too patient. Perhaps it’s time talk a little louder.

The law firm employed by the school board is collecting data to support relocation to a new building. Their plan: Get the students and staff away from the contamination and start over.

However, the newest data places the village itself in the thick of the matter. The cleanup plan now needs to address the sewer system—a source of contamination that was nearly overlooked.

Solving the school’s predicament is “easy” in one sense: construct a new facility. But what about the village sewers—who’s responsible for erasing that problem?