Xerox Told to Clean Up Toxic Wastes

County officials have ordered the cleanup of a site in Santa Ana where they say the soil and ground water are extensively contaminated with high levels of toxic chemicals, including one known to be a carcinogen.

The chemicals would pose a health threat if they reach drinking water, but tests in the last year on four nearby municipal drinking-water wells showed that the wells had not been contaminated, officials said.

“Anytime the ground water is contaminated, it sends up a red flag,” said Mary Burns, a county hazardous waste specialist. “It tells us to watch the drinking water.”

The site at 2200 McFadden Ave. near the interchange of the Santa Ana and Costa Mesa freeways is owned by Xerox Corp., which operates an administrative office there. Between 1969 and 1976, the firm used the site as a refurbishing center at which chemical solvents were used to clean equipment, Burns said.

Tank Leak Suspected

Two above-ground 5,000-gallon tanks which Xerox used to store the solvents are believed to have leaked over a long period of time, causing the contamination, Burns said.

The contaminants were identified by the county Health Care Agency as tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene, both skin and eye irritants that are toxic when ingested in high concentrations, and methylene chloride, which is known to be a carcinogen when inhaled and is also toxic when ingested in high concentrations.

The levels of tetrachloroethylene were found to be 100 times greater than the acceptable level for drinking water. The concentrations of trichloroethylene were 50 times and methylene chloride two times the acceptable levels.

Burns said the chemicals have contaminated 10,000 cubic feet of soil, an area she described as “quite large” considering that the tanks were not underground and had been removed 12 years ago.

Burns said the drinking-water wells are all within a mile of the contaminated site. Three are operated by the the city of Tustin, the other by Santa Ana.

Burns said the contamination was discovered as Xerox prepared to sell the property. Al Hamlin, who is in charge of the Xerox administrative office, could not be reached for comment.

The firm, will develop cleanup plans under the county’s supervision and pay for the work, which could take as long as three years, Burns said. A meeting between the firm and county officials is scheduled April 6, she said.

On Thursday, employees at two gas stations, the businesses nearest the site, said they had not been informed of the contamination. Also nearby are strips of small businesses and an apartment complex.

Times staff writer Carlos Lozano contributed to this report.