Escondido

Experts on toxic wastes began boring for underground water samples Friday at the Chatham Brothers hazardous waste site in Escondido as part of their continuing investigation to determine the type and extent of toxic poisoning of the ground at the site, in the 2200 block of Bernardo Avenue.

Project officer Megan Cambridge of the state Department of Health Services said results from the water samples will be known within two to three weeks.

She said health officials are eager to learn whether the underground water table has been tainted by waste oil and other discarded chemicals. Earlier this week, barrels and sludge were found about four feet beneath the surface; the water table is only about eight feet beneath the surface.

Hazardous waste experts so far have inventoried 180 drums at the site, 95% of which contained a thin, hardened resin material and 5% of which contained a softer sludge material, Cambridge said. Some of the waste material was flammable, she said.

The testing is being conducted so officials can determine how best to clean up the six-acre parcel, used for 30 years as a chemical recycling yard.