-
The second semi-annual groundwater sampling of select areas of Fairlington Glen and Fairlington Meadows is scheduled to take place during the week of June 17.
ECS Mid-Atlantic, LLC, an environmental consulting firm, will sample the seven permanent monitoring wells in Fairlington Meadows and Fairlington Glen. The contractor expects the sampling will require one to two days. Additionally, the contractor will collect groundwater samples from the onsite wells at Fairlington Centre (where chemicals were dumped several decades ago) so that they can get a snapshot of the plume as a whole.
As you may recall, in the fall of 2017, environmental testing conducted by ECS Mid-Atlantic, occurred near Fairlington Meadows courts 6 and 7 in an effort to determine whether the dumping that impacted the adjacent Fairlington Glen community had migrated into Fairlington Meadows. At the time of testing, there was no existing evidence of contamination within Fairlington Meadows; however, the Fairlington Meadows Board decided that testing should take place to verify the site conditions as uncontaminated.
ECS team drilled eight holes and inserted PVC pipes about 15 to 20 feet deep into the ground of Fairlington Meadows to take samples of groundwater. At the conclusion of the exercise the pipes were removed, holes sealed and soil restored.
Subsequent to the analysis of test samples, interpreted results of the drilling resulted in an ECS finding that the contaminant plume touched on some Fairlington Meadows common element property, however it did not reach any residential units. Therefore, no remediation efforts were recommended. The testing was specifically looking for a contaminant called PCE (Tetrachoroethene).
As PCE decays, it converts into TCE (Trichloroethene), and then into a gas, which like Radon could seep through cracks in a basement slab, concentrate in a unit basement and become hazardous. Like for Radon, any potential hazard can be mitigated by venting the space under the basement slab. At this time, the plume has not migrated under any Meadows’ buildings and thus is not a current health concern. ECS has indicated in its reports that it does not anticipate the plume migrating further.
Additional test wells were drilled in fall of 2018 along the rear of Court 6 adjacent to the Fairlington Glen tennis courts. ECS reported that no additional contaminates were found in this area.
At the time of testing, there was no existing evidence of contamination within Fairlington Meadows; however, the Fairlington Meadows Board decided that testing should take place to verify the site conditions as uncontaminated. That testing is to take place the week of June 17.