Wells G and H were found to be contaminated by a number of chemicals. This chart shows the levels of the five chemicals specifically named in the lawsuit, as detected in water samples taken by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Quality Engineering from municipal wells G & H on May 14, 1979.
| Chemical | Concentration Well G / Well H (micrograms per liter) |
U.S. EPA MCL Public Drinking Waters (micrograms per liter) |
| tricholoroethylene (TCE) | 267 / 184 | 1 |
| tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 21 / 13 | 1 |
| 1,1,1-trichloroethane | 1 / nd | 26 |
| dibromochloromethane | 2 / nd | -- |
| chloroform | 12 / nd | -- |
(MCL = maximum contaminant level; nd = non-detectable)
[Source: http://www.geology.ohio-state.edu/courtroom/defendants.html]
TCE is listed on the ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) / EPA list of Top 20 Hazardous Substances for 1997. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization, lists TCE in Group 2A: chemicals that are "probably carcinogenic to humans."
A 1997 report by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health concluded that "the relative risk of developing childhood leukemia was greater for those children whose mothers were likely to have consumed water from Wells G and H during pregnancy."
View the IARC report on TCE.
View more studies on Woburn conducted by the The Massachusetts Department of Public Health.