Finding answers for Pavillion residents

Finding answers for Pavillion residents by Jim Martin, Regional Administrator, EPA Region 8, January 22, 2012, Trib.com
Finally, the Star-Tribune’s Dec. 27 article titled “Pavillion water samples improperly tested” reports the claims of state representatives that EPA failed to follow good scientific procedures. We did not respond to these charges immediately because we wanted to consider them carefully. After thorough review, we stand behind the quality of our data and the validity of our scientific methods. We are separately addressing the claims in the Dec. 27 article but, to take one example, we can categorically state that the short delay in analyzing samples of certain chemicals in one of our labs did not compromise the results. Accepted practice in such situations is not to automatically reject the data but to analyze the impact of the delay on data quality. Here, it was clear that the delay simply caused us to understate the levels at which these contaminants were found. Moreover, we analyzed the same samples at another EPA lab and identified the same contaminants. Thus, there’s no reason to doubt that the contaminants were in fact present in the Pavillion groundwater. … The residents deserve answers to their questions, and EPA will continue to use the best scientific process to determine the facts.

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