The aquifer also supplies the City of Amarillo. Not only is the Panhandle rich farm country, but large numbers of beef cattle are raised there. For years, Pantex used the playa lakes to collect contaminated runoff and hold waste discharges from the plant. In 1995 a nearby farmer discovered traces of explosives in his well water. And in 1997, an off-site monitoring well on the same farmer's property showed high levels of heavy metals, including lead, which greatly exceeded drinking water standards.
Somebody needs to be doing a little stouter job than their doing.
Exposure to TCE through ingestion, inhalation, or skin contact has been linked to liver and kidney damage, immune system disorders, birth defects, and childhood leukemia. Direct seepage from the pit to the aquifer and run-off from pit overflow most likely resulted in the contamination found in the Ogallala monitoring well. While local residents are worried about the contamination, they are equally angered by the fact that the monitoring information was withheld from the public-Pantex and the DOE did not notify the public of the contamination until March 2000, a full nine months after the discovery. In either case, the agency failed in its mission to protect the region's primary water resource. Methylene chloride was detected in concentrations that exceeded the federal drinking water standard of 5 parts per billion.