AEDC team is proactive with protecting work force, local populace

  • Published
  • By Philip Lorenz III
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  AEDC Commander Col. Michael Panarisi is impressed with the way the center's work force handled a challenging situation last Friday after low amounts of ethylene glycol were found in one building's water supply.

Colonel Panarisi said the detection, investigation and mitigation efforts initiated by the work force were key.

"I want to personally thank all those involved with the discovery and reporting for their diligence, initiative and willingness to bring this forward," Colonel Panarisi said. "Since that time, we have been working parallel efforts to locate, isolate and contain the source, as well as inform and protect the workforce. I am grateful to the building managers, supervisors and others who worked through the weekend to find and stop the contamination, as well as get the word out on post-discovery actions."

Colonel Panarisi emphasized that the levels of ethylene glycol, a biodegradable organic compound, were only at "trace" levels and the chemical is expected to fully degrade in the base water treatment plant and retention pond prior to the water being released back into Woods Reservoir. The base conducts frequent checks to ensure the safety of the water flow into the reservoir.

Pam King, AEDC's chief of the civil engineering branch's asset management section, said it is important for the work force and public to fully understand the situation regarding the contaminant.

"The presence of glycol in the AEDC drinking water system and our efforts in response to this incident is localized to the AEDC industrial area," she said. "It has not and will not have any impact to Woods Reservoir, any local community public water systems, nearby private wells or groundwater."

All water used on base subsequently undergoes testing for toxicity and evaluation to ensure it is safe, by EPA standards, before being returned to Woods Reservoir for future use.

AEDC Laborer Charles Trussell, who first discovered the possible presence of the chemical, wasted no time in communicating his findings to John VanScoten, a machinist assigned to ATA's Space and Missiles Operations and Maintenance Branch, who in turn immediately passed along the information to Jonathan Mansfield, the section leader for that area.

Mansfield, who described his coworkers as "conscientious and knowledgeable," said their collective and decisive actions were paramount to the successful early detection and containment of the contamination.

Bill Lock, AEDC's Chemistry Laboratory Technical Director, recounted the sequence of events that quickly followed.

"On Friday, Jan. 28, Alex Freehardt, an ATA test engineer in the ELA Building (the Space Systems Test Facility), delivered a water sample from their clean room to our chemistry lab," Lock recalled. "Alex told us that it was from an industrial water source that they used to mop the clean room floors, and that it had an odor of glycol. To ensure that the water didn't contaminate the clean rooms, he asked that we analyze it and compare the results to what we would normally see in the base potable water."

Industrial water, in this specific area, is potable water diverted for industrial applications in the Space Systems Test Facility.

Lock said the lab staff wasted no time in identifying any possible contaminants.

"The ELA sample was run for metals, anions and glycol," he continued. "Normally, for comparison, I would send the averages of past potable water samples. Because we do not normally test for glycol in potable water, I pulled a sample from a tap in the chemistry lab, and submitted it as a [control] sample to the chemists."

"Later that afternoon, I received the results from the glycol analysis and the ELA sample was contaminated with glycol," he said. "The Chem Lab potable water was also contaminated, albeit at a much lower level. I confirmed the test results with the chemist and immediately called ATA Environmental, and then the OPS (operations) center to put an immediate hold on the drinking water."

Colonel Michael Panarisi said this was the point he and his staff initiated the "No Drink/No Contact" order. The "No Contact" order has been removed, but the no drinking order remains in effect.

An investigation to determine the cause of the contamination is on-going. AEDC has notified state officials. For updates, go to http://www.arnold.af.mil.