The Illinois Department of Public Health is recommending residing residents of an unincorporated Lake Bluff mobile home park who received their drinking water from private wells should consider testing the water for contaminants. That directive follows routine testing that indicated the presence of elevated levels of a carcinogen, possibly in the groundwater.
The IDPH advisory went out May 23 to residents of the Lake Bluff Estates Mobile Home Park, previously known as the Rockland Mobile Home Park in unincorporated Lake Bluff. The alert was issued due to the presence of contaminant 1,4-Dioxane, described as a “volatile organic compound” by the state, was in the private wells.
Recent testing showed the level of 1,4-Dioxane found in the mobile home park’s water supply was 0.95 ppb, according to the IDPH. The state has a groundwater quality standard of 0.78 parts per billion (ppb) for 1,4-Dioxane.
Exposure to 1,4-Dioxane above 0.78 ppb may lead to an increased risk of liver cancer, according to the IDPH.
The state advised residents with private wells in an area bounded by the Elgin Joliet and Eastern Railway to the north and west, Illinois Route 131 to the east, and Illinois Route 176 to the south to have their water tested for 1,4-Dioxane by a private laboratory.
The state is also suggesting that the mobile home park residents could install carbon filters or ask for a connection to the Village of Lake Bluff community water supply.
In April, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said it notified the mobile home park of the detection of 1,4 Dioxane at the entry point of the water distribution system. The IEPA states there were 66 direct service lines at the mobile home park providing drinking water to approximately 165 residents.
Efforts to contact the owners of the mobile home park were unsuccessful.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
