Mulberry Contamintion

Do we really want this possibility in Eastern Polk? Contaminated groundwater and wells Toxins on Tap in Mulberry Fuller Heights residents file suit against major corporations. By Dana Willhoit The Ledger MULBERRY The residents of Fuller Heights, a Mulberry community whose wells have been contaminated with toxins including arsenic and radium, are suing six companies that own or manage property bordering them. They have named CSX, Purina, Mosaic/Cargill, Kaiser, KC Industries and Environmental Risk Solutions in the lawsuit, alleging that the companies produced the toxins that have soaked into the groundwater and contaminated their wells.Some in the community have developed health problems because of the contamination, according to a lawyer for the residents.Nada Harrison, a board member of the Fuller Heights Community Association, has lived in the area since 2003, but her mother has lived there for more than 30 years.When residents were told by the Department of Environmental Protection in 2005 that their water supply was contaminated, "We were shocked. We couldn't believe it," she said.The DEP installed filters for their drinking water, but it could only treat three gallons at a time, she said. And because her well had been found to have unsafe levels of arsenic, she was still concerned about drinking the water, so for two years she and her family bought drinking water rather than using tap water.In March 2007, most of the approximately 50 households in Fuller Heights were connected to the county water service for free.The $716,589 cost was paid by the DEP and Polk County. Some households did not want to accept the water service because they are living on fixed incomes and didn't want to have to pay a water bill, Harrison said.According to the lawsuit filed in Polk County on Wednesday, Kaiser formerly owned and operated a chemical manufacturing facility at 2420 Old Highway 60, Mulberry, and then sold it to KCI in 1999.They discharged wastewater into two mining pits and a drain field on the north and east sides of their property.In 2004, according to the lawsuit, Kaiser informed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection that contaminated water had spilled over from the two mining pits, which are managed by Environmental Risk Solutions, or ERS.This was caused by the hurricanes in 2004, according to Joseph Giannell, a lawyer representing the residents.However, Giannell said, there is no way to know how long the contaminants had been leaking into the Fuller Heights community's groundwater.The DEP began testing the groundwater of the Fuller Heights community for the first time in December 2004 and determined that the water supply was unsafe for human consumption, the lawsuit claims."Based on its sample study, the DEP determined that the contamination in Fuller Heights was likely coming from the KCI property, the Purina Property, the CSX property, or from another related source, including, but not limited to, the Cargill Property. KCI, Kaiser, CSX, Purina, Cargill and ERS have caused or permitted pollutants, contaminants, and/or hazardous substances on their property to discharge into underground waterways, groundwater and in the air, and said contaminants have migrated to Plaintiffs' properties and persons," the lawsuit said.Because of this, Giannell said, the residents have suffered and will most likely continue to suffer health problems, including cancer, tumors, and heart and kidney ailments, and they have suffered a loss of value in their property.Harrison said it has affected quality of life in the community as well.She stopped having her grandchildren come over until the community was hooked up to the county water, she said, because they would not be able to bathe or drink water in her house.Residents who used to grow vegetable gardens, fish and hunt no longer do so for fear of the contamination.One thing they hope to gain from the lawsuit is to discover who has caused this contamination, Harrison said."We feel like, if they can put a man on the moon, they can figure out where this stuff is coming from." [ Dana Willhoit can be reached at dana.willhoit@theledger.com or 863-533-9079. ]