Trace amounts of a potentially carcinogenic chemical have been detected in a Mountain View water source, according to the state Department of Health.
According to a DOH report last week, samples taken from the Hawaii County Department of Water Supply’s ‘Ola‘a-Mountain View water system — which supplies water to an estimated 7,166 people — were found to contain small amounts of a compound called 1,2,3-Trichloropropane, or TCP.
The substance was first detected in April and was confirmed in August, according to a statement by the DOH Safe Drinking Water Branch.
The DOH detected TCP levels within the water samples ranging from 0.05 to 0.07 parts per billion, well below the department’s maximum allowable concentration of 0.6 parts per billion.
TCP is a man-made chemical with a history of being used in pesticide products. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, animals exposed to high amounts of the substance have been observed to suffer liver, kidney and lung damage, as well as a decrease in fertility.
Animal testing also has observed the formation of tumors in animals orally exposed to the compound, leading the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to conclude that TCP is “reasonably anticipated” to be a human carcinogen.
However, CDC data does not indicate that TCP builds up in the body over prolonged exposure. Rather, the compound rapidly breaks down and leaves the body within two days of exposure.
The Safe Drinking Water Branch stated that TCP has been detected in other Hawaii drinking water systems since it began testing for it since 1993. This is the first time it has been detected in the ‘Ola‘a-Mountain View system.
The DOH report attributes the substance’s presence in the ‘Ola‘a-Mountain View system to soil fumigants used by long-gone pineapple farms in the area.
Jason Armstrong, information and education specialist for the Department of Water Supply, said the DWS traced the source of the contamination to a single spigot located within a DWS-secured site that is off-limits to the public. DWS has replaced that spigot and is awaiting testing results on a subsequent water sample.
“The public’s potable water is safe to drink based on routine, compliance water quality testing results,” Armstrong said in a statement. “If there are any changes, the DWS will notify its customers accordingly.”
Because the ‘Ola‘a-Mountain View system is a wholly independent water system, the contamination cannot spread into DWS’ other 22 municipal water systems on the island.
Because the substance is no longer used in such pesticides, DOH predicts that the chemical’s concentration in the water is not likely to increase.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.