Arizona State and Local Government Documents Collection

The Blue Ridge Elementary School began receiving complaints from parents and staff in 1996. The primary complaints were related to air quality problems associated with renovation activities. The school responded to these complaints by hiring a consultant to evaluate the environmental conditions at the school. The school received a report in 1997 containing several recommendations that the school implemented in 1997. A group of parents continued to express concerns about environmental conditions at the school. This group suggested that environmental exposures might be causing some students to be absent from school. In response to these complaints, the school hired another environmental consultant to conduct a follow up environmental assessment in December 2002. This report summarizes and evaluates the environmental data collected for the school and examines school attendance rates to determine whether students are absent more than at similar schools and if so, whether environmental conditions could be a contributing factor.

In September 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency contacted the Arizona Department of Health Services, Office of Environmental Health, concerning potential contamination of private drinking water wells along Lynx Creek in the Walker, Arizona, mining district. Historical mining activities in the area might have resulted in contamination of groundwater by acid mine runoff as well as metals from extraction processes. EPA and ADHS determined the historical mining activity had caused environmental damage and the potential for adverse human health impacts. ADHS initiated a private well sampling program to determine if the mining activity has had an adverse impact on the quality of water from these wells. Several area residents have expressed concerns about their water quality. The objective of this public health consultation is to evaluate the potential for health effects from exposure to contaminants in private drinking water wells in the Walker, Arizona area.

The purpose of the consultation is to identify any current groundwater use in the Motorola 52nd Street Superfund Site area that might result in human exposure to site contaminants. The Arizona Department of Health Services previously evaluated well use in Operable Units 1 and 2 in 1992. This report updates the well use inventory for Operable Units 1 and 2 and provides an evaluation of potential groundwater exposure pathways in Operable Unit 3.

In August 2001 a resident of New River contacted the Arizona Department of Health Services, Office of Environmental Health to request information on the health risks of arsenic in drinking water. The resident collected two well water samples and submitted them to a private laboratory for arsenic analysis. The analyses detected arsenic at 560 and 600 μg/L. To confirm these very high arsenic results, ADHS staff sampled the well for arsenic and submitted the samples for analysis by the ADHS State Laboratory. Arsenic was detected at 340 μg/L. ADHS determined that the health risk posed by arsenic levels in this range and the exclusive reliance of area residents on private wells warranted further investigation. Consequently ADHS initiated a private well sampling program to determine if arsenic contamination of private wells was a widespread problem in the New River area. The objective of this public health consultation is to evaluate the potential health effects from exposure to arsenic in private drinking water wells in the New River, Arizona area.

In August 2001, a resident of New River contacted the Arizona Department of Health Services, Office of Environmental Health to request information on the health risks of arsenic in drinking water. The resident collected two well water samples and submitted them to a private laboratory for arsenic analysis. The analyses detected arsenic at 560 and 600 μg/L. To confirm these very high arsenic results, ADHS staff sampled the well for arsenic and submitted the samples for analysis by the ADHS State Laboratory. Arsenic was detected at 340 μg/L. After that, a large number of people requested health advice on arsenic in their well water. This public health consultation primarily evaluates arsenic levels found in private wells and documents health advice provided to well owners. When other metals were found at levels of concern, health advice was provided to well owners regarding exposure to those metals too.