Water samples taken in 1993 found concentrations of tetrachloroethylene exceeding allowable limits by 24 times. More testing found levels 433 times the limit of 5 parts per billion. But instead of dissolving, the problem has grown over time. Tests last year found levels 600 times the legal limit. The chemical can cause dizziness, nausea, headaches and damage to nerves, the liver and kidneys.
Some studies suggest expopsure to it causes spontaneous abortions in women.
It is also classified as a probable cancer causing agent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The state Department of Ecology continues testing but it has not found a source of the contamination. Today, property owners are trying to get clean water by appealing for help to the city of Chehalis. To develop the approximately 300 acres in question, property owners are asking to develop land by city standards, which allow more homes per acre than in rural lands. But to do that, the city of Chehalis must convince Lewis County commissioners to permit the expansion.