Energy Firm's Dumping Sows Anxiety in Gambrills

After complaints, Constellation started testing some of the private wells but stopped when the county began its own testing as part of an eight-month investigation. Of 83 wells tested, county health officials found wells serving 45 households to be contaminated. Ten of those, including Greenleaf's well, had dangerous levels of metals.

Cadmium, which can damage the kidneys, was found to be three times the Environmental Protection Agency standard. Thallium, which in large amounts causes hair loss and vomiting, was also found to be triple the EPA standard. Arsenic, which can be poisonous and cause cancer, was found to be more than twice the EPA standard.

"The only reason it wasn't a public health catastrophe is that thousands of people within blocks of the site were already on public water," said Anne Arundel Health Officer Frances B. Phillips.

The findings left Greenleaf's family and their neighbors both angry and fearful.

One of Greenleaf's sons, Greg, 57, abandoned his vegetable garden after realizing it had been watered for years with well water. Many in his family began taking shorter showers and quickly drying off in an attempt to prevent the water from seeping into their pores. At Greg's house and his brother Stan's next door, green corrosive patches have marred the faucets. Both brothers have replaced their water heater and faucets twice in the past two years because of corrosion.

At a County Council meeting last week, Constellation representatives said they have taken precautions over the years to avoid contamination, such as leaving a layer of soil and clay between the ash and groundwater. But, they said, storm water accumulated in puddles on the surface and leaked into the ash, causing the metals to leach into the well water.

Constellation continued to dump the fly ash even after the contamination was found 11 months ago. But in a "gesture of good faith," the company last week voluntarily halted dumping at the Gambrills site. Company officials called the halt temporary, while it negotiates with the Maryland Department of the Environment on how to fix the problems. For now, Constellation is trucking the ash to Richmond and King George County in Virginia, at a cost of $1 million a month.

Regardless of the outcome Monday, the affected residents and their supporters say it will not be enough. "There has not been any health study of the people impacted by this," said Phillips, the county health officer. "We don't know if they might now have kidney problems, cancer or anything else."

It is unclear whether the contamination in the groundwater can be reversed and, if so, how long it would take. Constellation has promised to pay for the most severely affected households to be connected to public water, but that could take months. This week, the company connected hoses to a fire hydrant to bring clean water to those residents.

"Right now, they're promising the world to us, hoping we'll shut up," Keith Greenleaf said. "But I don't care if they bring us a train full of water tomorrow, we are talking about health problems here."