PHOENIX, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Government agencies and a private contractor are debating who should stem spreading groundwater poisoning in the Phoenix area.
Crane Co. is responsible for cleaning the contaminated water, and it says it is spending millions on the job. But city, state and federal government leaders say the company isn't doing enough, The Arizona Republic reported.
The dispute centers on how to keep a plume that has been spreading for decades from reaching drinking-water wells that serve Avondale, Goodyear and Litchfield Park.
Goodyear already has shut down four wells, while Avondale's are unaffected so far. Litchfield Park fears the plume could contaminate its privately owned wells and the city's lake.
Current supplies are unaffected, but officials say wells are at risk unless the toxic plume is contained. It is not known how far and how fast the contaminants might spread.
The Phoenix Goodyear Airport Superfund Site contains two contaminated plumes. The northern plume is spreading while the south plume has been largely contained.
The source of the pollution in the north plume was Unidynamics Phoenix Inc., a military contractor now owned by Crane.
Most of the contamination is trichloroethylene, a solvent believed to cause cancer and other illnesses.
