Rising levels of lead have a Pittsylvania County family concerned. They believe drilling at a nearby uranium deposit has contaminated their drinking water.
When Virginia Uranium, Incorporated made sample drills in December 2007, it performed water tests at nearby homes, including the Gross'.
When the results came back, Deborah and her husband Allen noticed the presence of lead in their water was going up.
"Every month it was going up, until it got to the unsafe level," said Allen.
VUI performed five tests between December of 2007 and September of 2008. The first test, before the drilling, showed a lead level of 2.83. By September, the lead had risen to 17.9.
We took the Gross' numbers to Virginia Uranium's Patrick Wales.
"Lead levels can be affected by lots of things. There's a large variability," said Wales.
The Gross' live about a mile from the Cole's Hill uranium deposit. Wales says the Gross' live upstream and several watersheds away from this site. Based on that geography, Wales doesn't believe sample drilling 14 months ago could have affected lead levels in the Gross' water supply.
News7 talked to Dan Richardson with the Pittsylvania County Health Department. He says lead in drinking water can be caused by copper pipes, brass water fixtures, even the groundwater's source.
Until they know what's causing the problem, the Gross' say they'll stick to bottles.
"I definitely don't drink the water, and I brought water from a neighbor's house to give to my dogs and cats," said Deborah.
A situation they hope will dry up soon.
http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=10030819&nav=menu368_2
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