FRANKLIN, IN – Two groups are seeking a federal investigation into why toxic contamination continued decades after discovery here at a former factory site once owned by Amphenol.

If It Was Your Child and the Edison Wetlands Association sent a letter to the US EPA’s Office of Inspector General asking for an investigation.

Tests indicate the groundwater and sewer vapors in Franklin contain cancer-causing chemicals.

Concerns over the site date to at least the early 1990s. A 1994 risk assessment found the site did "... not pose a risk to human health ... but may pose a risk at some time in the future." Later, the EPA designated the area for SuperFund remediation, but contaminants reportedly migrated to nearby water supplies.

According to the letter, the EPA’s handling of a site previously owned by Amphenol involved "serious mismanagement."

Ownership of the site has changed hands through the decades. While some of the contamination has been linked to Franklin Power Products, the EPA also found that former owner Bendix (now Amphenol Aerospace) released VOCs and other chemicals into the environment there. (https://www.in.gov/idem/cleanups/2417.htm)

The EPA claims it has "worked expeditiously to investigate, develop a plan, implement the plan and communicate" its findings.

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