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LEAD-IN BY HOST RENEE FELTZ: Frustration is on e way to describe how Northwest Houston area residents felt last night at a public meeting called by officials from the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality, formerly called the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission. The meeting was held to address people's concerns about an ongoing clean up of contaminated private water wells. With more, here's Jennifer Martinez. STORY: Director of remediation division for the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality, Jackie Hardy, says they've known about the contamination of private water wells in the Cy-fair area for over a year. "It was probably in the Spring of 2001 when we started finding the wells, sampling them and finding low levels of PCE in some of the water wells." Hardee says that tests found PCE or Perchloroethylene in many of the resident's private water wells. This known cancer-causing chemical is commonly used by dry cleaners and as a solvent to clean metal. She says the problem of PCE water contamination is not unique to this incident: "We see a lot of cleaners throughout the state that have problems like this. This is one of the larger sites for us because it has impacted so many private water wells." Bell Cleaner's on Jones Road, roughly half a mile away from the contaminated areas, is one of the potential sources of the chemical. With 200 wells tested, about 30 resulted in high concentrations of the PCE. Hardee says instructions were given to Bell Cleaners to begin funding the installation of filters on contaminated wells. But the commission's attorney explained to residents during the meeting that they had to get more involved when they realized the pollution was worse than they thought and Bell Cleaner's could not afford to finance the entire clean-up. "They did not think they had the resources to do the full cleanup and could not come to an agreement about what they needed to pay." The commission spent over $250,000 on carbon filters for residents with effected well. At last night's meeting, toxicologist for the commission, Torin McCoy, explained how effective these filters are in relation to health risks. "We put filters on because that's the level 5, which the nations basically agreed that's all you can have in the water. There were a couple of wells that were very high, we put filters on those as well, we treat them the same once they're above 5. But the health risks are different, OK, as you go above 5, the risks change. As you get significantly above 5, the risks get higher. But if you ask me, is it likely that there has been health risks. I'd say no, not likely. If you ask me, can you tell me there's no chance, I'd say no, I can't give you that assurance." McCoy says the Texas Department of Health has conducted cancer studies, but whether or not someone will be affected by PCE depends on the type of exposure: "You may have heard about things like nausea, dizziness or death or really serious hypothetics like that, media-hyped things. They have seen those type of things with people who are working with those chemicals in a work environment. But that is not something that is relevant, however, to what is in your wells." Resident of [neighborhood] Tall Timbers, Carol Seston, was not satisfied with the answers given at the meeting: "I have been having, ever since I moved back up here from Sugarland in March, problems with dizziness, nausea, my joints aching, my muscles hurting. And it didn't start until I started drinkin the water in my well. My well has 1.6 partes per billion contaminataion of Perchloroethylene in it by testing. And that is not high enough to qualify me for a filter. I buy my own pure water filter for my sink, and for my water, but I take a shower. How much do you think you absorb in the skin? But there's nothing being done for the people that don't have a high enough contamination level to warrant a filter. As one person said, 'You haven't earned a filter yet.'" Right now, the commission is looking into the possibility of connecting residents with contaminated wells to a municipal utility district. They may also seek funds to pay for the clean up process from either state or federal level Superfund agencies as a last resort. But, by the end of the meeting, the only thing clear to residents was that the clean up process might take at least two more years. Remediation director, Hardee: "PCE is a difficult chemical to clean up. So it will take a while to clean up. Some Superfund sites take 2-3 years to clean up, some take longer. Because of the size of this chemical and because of the type of this chemical, I think it will take a while. It will require some patience." Jennifer Martinez, KPFT News, Houston E-mail Jennifer Martinez at silverjmm@yahoo.com . This story was broadcast on October 18, 2002.