A Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City ran a dry cleaning operation from the late 1970s to the early 1980s, using PCE (tetrachloroethylene). Disposal of dry cleaning waste into the sanitary sewer pushed PCE into the soil and groundwater beneath the facility and into areas downhill from it. PCE was first spotted in a cemetery irrigation well in the 1990s at 32 micrograms per liter, well above the federal drinking water standard of 5.0 micrograms per liter. Concentrations as high as 320 micrograms per liter were later found in monitoring wells, a municipal drinking water well was pulled from service, and PCE turned up in residential springs in 2010. EPA placed the site on the Superfund National Priorities List in May 2013, naming the VA as the potentially responsible party.
PCE is a colorless liquid with a sharp, sweet odor. People can be exposed by breathing contaminated indoor air through vapor intrusion, drinking contaminated water, or absorbing it through skin. High concentrations can cause dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness, and death. The Department of Health and Human Services considers PCE a reasonably anticipated human carcinogen. The VA, EPA, and Utah Department of Environmental Quality have set a protective indoor air removal action level of 5.97 parts per billion by volume.
Cleanup work has covered both vapor intrusion sampling and spring and seep testing. Phase one sampling at 36 properties in 2015 found no indoor air levels above action limits. Phase two in 2016 found PCE above drinking water standards in 20 springs and seeps and six storm drains. One home showed vapor intrusion at levels requiring action, and the VA installed and later modified air purification systems there. A removal action was completed in February 2018. The VA finished a sitewide remedial investigation report in September 2022 and is planning to finalize a feasibility study in early 2026, which will weigh cleanup technologies before EPA picks a preferred remedy for public comment and final decision. A Record of Decision is expected between August and October 2027.
Current status shows that human exposure is not under control, meaning unsafe contamination levels have been detected and people could reasonably be exposed. Physical construction of the cleanup has not been completed. The groundwater operable unit has been merged into the main sitewide operable unit.
Community members who want to stay informed can contact the VA Project Manager for information about upcoming public meetings. For questions, contact the EPA's Remedial Project Manager, or the Utah Department of Environmental Quality's Community Involvement Coordinator. Records related to Superfund work at this site are held at the EPA Superfund Records Center in Denver and can be requested by calling (303) 312-7273.
