By HANNAH MILLER 
COURIER TIMES 
May 2, 2001 
 

The Ayres Texaco station 500 feet away has been leaking elevated levels of methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE, for the last eight years, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. 

But in the 26 years that Massaroni has lived in her house on Dara Faith Drive, not once has she been told that potentially dangerous chemicals might have been in the standing water in her back yard, in the tomatoes she grew there, and in the soaked basement that she sometimes splashes in while doing her laundry. 

"You feel secure in your neighborhood," Massaroni said. `And then something like this happens ... It's really scary. We just want it cleaned up." 

Gasoline had leaked from underground storage tanks at the Texaco station on Brownsville Road, owned by Motiva, in 1992. It has been testing the wells under the station ever since. 

Then, between November and December last year, MTBE levels in the area spiked - soaring from 200 to 161,000 parts per billion. The maximum level considered safe is 20 ppb. 

The DEP determined the gas station's underground tanks weren't to blame and that a one-time spill from a truck in the fall of last year is responsible. 

But to determine whether a largescale cleanup is needed, 44 private wells, Massaroni's ground water and sump pumps in three homes have been tested. A report on the findings is due June 8. 

Some of the wells have already tested positive for MTBE, DEP spokesperson Deborah Friez said, but none above a level of 1 ppb. 

While Lower Southampton residents on the other side of Brownsville Road were notified of the spill by the DEP and the private tester hired by Motiva, Trevose residents were never notified because almost all use public water instead of wells and are assumed to be safe. 

After learning about the spill from a news report, Massaroni called Motiva and asked that her yard be tested. A private engineering firm tested the oily seep in her backyard and found that it contained 884 ppb of MTBE and 11.2 ppb of benzene, when the acceptable level is 5. 

MTBE has been shown in some studies to afflict lab animals with nausea, dizziness, tiredness and at high doses, cancer. Benzene is known to cause leukemia, immune system damage leading to tumor formation and, in animal studies, low birth weight and bone damage. 

"The longer a person is exposed to a contaminant, the greater the risk that it will have a harmful effect on their health," said Amleto Pucci, chief of environmental engineering with the Bucks Cotmty Department of Health. "This spill has been a problem for quite some time ... although the seep might not be dangerous, the water in the basement is another issue." 

Like many of those in her neighborhood downhill from the station, Massaroni's back yard is saturated with water. But the neighbors deal with the drainage problems. They grow gardens and let their kids play in the mud. And they've watched their dogs romp through the yard - although several neighborhood dogs have died from cancer in the last few years, they said. 

Karen Jaxheimer, who smelled gasoline in her basement on Knabel Lane, also asked Motiva to test the water in her sump pumps. The results showed there are gas fumes, but not enough to require a cleanup since levels are below the explosion threshold. 

MTBE also showed up in some sump pumps, at amounts between less than 1 ppb and 5 ppb. That means MTBE is in the air in those homes, environmental experts said. 

One thing that especially alarms neighbors is that they were not told of the spill for such a long time, and even during the recent spike. 

"We're trying to do a better job at getting the responsible party to look at all the communities in the area," Friez said. Motiva "did the routine kinds of things [for a gas station] in this situation. I don't think anyone was looking for the scenario out there, with an underground creek at Dara Faith."

While neighbors wait for the site characterization report that Motiva is preparing, due June 8, they have stuffed letters into the mailboxes at all their neighbors' houses. So far, though, only a few people have responded. 

Friez, the spokesperson for the DEP, said she could not say how much danger Texaco's neighbors had faced. 

"This is somewhat unusual," she said. "We cannot know what was there two years ago. If they were wading around in the backyard, we cannot know how much exposure they might have had." 

Across from Jaxheimer's house on Knabel Lane, a developer is trying to build another home. As much as they love their homes, Massaroni and Jaxheimer said, they should never have been built. 

"So I went to the zoning board and went off," Jaxheimer said, laughing nervously. "I just felt we should do something."