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Show Jet fuel discovered in HAFB soil and water 4 ly the contamination has spread off base. However, if it has, off-base residents will be notified immediately, im-mediately, he said. Residents will be advised of test results as soon as iacy become available. Questions regarding the con tamination should be directed to David Harris, Environmental Management Directorate, 777-6741. 4 " HILL AIR FORCE BASE Jet fuel which apparently leaked from a former underground storage tank has been discovered on base in soil and shallow ground water near Bldg. 870. The location is about one quarter mile east of the base's Southwest Gate. Environmental workers will begin some time this month to take soil samples at various locations near Sixth Street and in the Patriot Hills housing area near Minuteman Street. About 50 Patriot Hills residences received letters from the base commander. com-mander. Col. Steven Emory, Wednesday, informing them of the situation. "While it is highly doubtful that there is any health risk to anyone, we are taking these measures as a precaution," CoL Emory said. "Our policy is to err on the side of caution, if necessary, rather than ignore ig-nore or overlook even the smallest degree of risk. ' The contamination was discovered while workers were replacing the faulty tank as part of an ongoing tank replacement project. pro-ject. A monitoring well and soil borings bor-ings confirmed that an unknown quantity of jet fuel had leaked from the older tank and contaminated nearby soil and ground water. Although the extent of the contamination con-tamination is not yet known, Hill Environmental officials said it's possible the plume extends into the nearby Patriot Hills housing area. The fuel storage area is located across the street from Patriot Hills. "We will sample approximately 40 locations using probes designed to detect fuel vapors in the soil," said Andrew Gemperline, Hill's underground storage tank manager. "We'll know more once soil gas tests are analyzed. ' The test procedure will involve "driving half-inch probes into the ground Residents will not have to be at home. Each sampling will take about 30 minutes. "These probes will give us a good idea of the size of the plume and help us determine the concentrations concen-trations of contaminants in the soil and ground water," Gemperline said. The ground water lies approximately approx-imately 21 feet beneath the surface and is not used for drinking water or for irrigation. Gemperline stressed that residents will be notified immediately im-mediately if any hazard is discovered. "Our first priority is to protect people," he said. Because of the tank's location and its relatively small size, Gemperline said it is highly unlike- |