A decades-long issue on Salt Lake City’s east side continues to spark health concerns due to toxic groundwater pollutants.
The VA Salt Lake City Health Care System held a community advisory group meeting on Thursday evening to explain risk factors and ongoing efforts to clean toxins spreading from a plume contaminated with tetrachloroethylene, or PCE. A feasibility study is underway to determine the most effective way to clean up the problem.
The affected groundwater is part of the 700 South/1600 East PCE superfund site, and the Environmental Protection Agency says impacts of the contamination span approximately 300 acres on the east side of the city. This includes, but is not limited to, areas west of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ medical complex to East High School.
Shannon Smith, project manager at VA Salt Lake City, said Thursday that recent groundwater test samples found levels of PCE above federal drinking water standards. Another concern was the level of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, detected in recent water samples.
Smith mentioned that traces of contaminants had also seeped into a drinking water well near the University of Utah, which is currently not in use.
“Our goal is to try to get them back to where they can use that well,” she said.
What is PCE?
PCE was previously used by dry cleaning facilities, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Federal officials believe the chemical entered the groundwater when the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center served as a dry-cleaning facility from 1976 to 1984.
“The dry cleaner disposed of condensate from the dry-cleaning solvent recovery system into a drain connected to the municipal sewer system. Sewer system leaks are believed to be the source of PCE that entered the aquifer,” reads a determination by the EPA, which was listed in a 2024 evaluation by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Federal health officials also stated that PCE can migrate through subsurface materials and into buildings above the soil, thus reducing indoor air quality. They add that it can also lead to serious health implications for humans.
“(It) can affect your kidney and your liver, and has been identified by EPA as a likely carcinogen, and (may increase risks) of cancer with long-term exposure,” Smith said.
Air quality in question?
The agency for toxic substances said groundwater data from 2021 and 2022 near East High shows PCE levels are “rising above levels of concern and increasing over time.”
The VA did limited indoor air sampling at the school in 2019. Based on those findings, the agency for toxic substances said it could not determine whether the air inside the building would be harmful to breathe.
Smith said the samples collected largely met the EPA’s mitigation action level requirements.
“It was pretty much low level everywhere; now there were a couple (of) hits in the auto shop, and they use brake pad cleaner,” said Smith, who also noted that the sample did not represent what was coming from the ground, as brake pad cleaner itself contains PCE.
Yet, the agency for toxic substances suggested the VA conduct more robust testing inside the school during summer and winter to obtain an accurate assessment of the risk to humans.
With fear of the unknown, some who attended Thursday’s meeting sounded off about potential impacts to students and faculty at East High.
Eric Povilus, a parent of former East High students, said there needs to be more clarity on whether the school’s interior is safe.
“My question is: Is there a risk or an issue? That’s kind of a gray area, and we don’t know the answer,” Povilus said before the room of attendees at the meeting. “I don’t know, I’m a parent ... I have no idea if it’s safe or not. Some agency wrote they can’t make that determination; that’s a red flag in my book.”
Povilus also claimed there’s been little communication from the Salt Lake City School District about the matter, which he voiced frustration over.
“It would be really good if the school district came out and said, ‘Hey, you know what? We’re working with these agencies, we’re doing monitoring. There is no issue. Your kids are safe,’” he said. “That would put a lot of people at ease.”
KSL.com reached out to the Salt Lake City School District for comment but did not receive a response.
Possible solutions
Smith outlined several potential options to remediate the contaminants across different areas of the impacted site.
One solution mentioned was creating a groundwater extraction treatment through a series of wells. The contaminated water would be removed from the ground, cleaned above the ground, and then reinjected.
Another method, called in situ treatment, would clean the water while it’s still underground, with the water circulating through a treatment zone.
Either plan would take years to complete and cost more than $30 million, according to Smith. The feasibility study is set to be completed by February 2026.
The VA’s proposed plan would be unveiled in October 2026, followed by a public comment period, with a final decision expected by mid-2027.
While the project would involve coordination among various stakeholders, including the Salt Lake City School District and federal health officials, details on how any of the treatment plans will be funded will be determined at a later time.
Individuals interested in learning more about the efforts can visit pceplume.org.