The Region : Toxic Waste Plume Reaches Glen Avon

A plume of toxic waste has seeped into the ground about two miles from the Stringfellow acid pits, reaching Glen Avon, a semi-rural area where scattered homes are located, officials said. However, most of the residences either are connected to water supplies furnished by wells several miles away, or are receiving bottled water furnished by the state pending a cleanup of the former toxic waste dump. The plume is moving south-southwest from the acid pits 50 miles east of Los Angeles at a rate of about a foot a day at Pyrite Canyon, where Stringfellow is located. The flow apparently is slower by the time it reaches Glen Avon, but the speed is not yet known, officials said. Theodore Rauh of the state Department of Health Services said the state will begin treating the contaminated water after it completes its study of cleanup options for Stringfellow next year.