Although preliminary tests at the Lambsburg acid site indicate elevated levels of lead where computer parts where processed, an official with the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday he didn’t think it posed much of a health threat.

More than two weeks after Carroll County declared a local emergency after more than 300 drums of acid were found stored at a Lambsburg business at 496 Old Pipers Gap Road, the EPA’s clean-up efforts continue. Operator Gary Parsons allegedly used acid to remove metals such as gold from dismantled computer parts at the site.

While initial reports from the first batch of air, soil and water samples didn’t indicate any signs of contamination, EPA On-Scene Coordinator Jack Kelly said X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) screening of surface soil for potential metals contamination last week did indicate signs of elevated arsenic. Further laboratory preliminary testing indicated slightly elevated levels of lead, Kelly said.

“We are concerned about metals, but everything looks pretty low. I am having the data evaluated with a federal public health agency we work with out of Atlanta,” Kelly said. “We did what’s called a TCLP analysis of the material to see if it leaches out metals to make a determination if it is hazardous waste or not. It failed for lead. The value was slightly above the criteria, so it would be classified as hazardous waste. I really don’t see it posing much of a threat, but it shouldn’t be there just laying about. We are probably going to have to clean it up.”

Kelly said unless people were coming in contact with the material frequently, he didn’t see it posing much of a health threat with the property’s current use. The hazardous waste classification means the EPA can’t send the material to a regular landfill, making it more costly to dispose of.

Kelly said one of the three tanks at the site, where more than 14,400 gallons of various acids from the site were secured, has now been taken offsite. He said the EPA hopes to have the other two tanks off the site by Thursday or Friday.

“We’re happy to see the acid in these big tanks moving out,” Kelly said.

Kelly is still awaiting preliminary results for other samples collected at the site.

According to the EPA’s web site, preliminary information regarding the detection of organic compounds in the closest drinking water well was received from the laboratory. The preliminary information suggests that ground water (drinking water) is not contaminated with organic pollutants from past site operations. Preliminary metal results were received for an additional drinking water well and these results indicate that past site operations also did not impact this well water. The metal results indicate no health concerns from use of this water. Additional results are pending as they await quality assurance review.

“As far as the current use of the property, it doesn’t pose much of a health threat. However, since the future use of the property is for a church, this is the not the type of material that should be laying around,” Kelly said. “It would pose more of a health concern depending on the future use of the site.”