EPA concerned about oxygen loss in Kansas homes
Eds: UDPATES with details on problems, quotes from EPA official and emergency management planner for Sedgwick County, background on oxygen depletion.
By MARIA SUDEKUM FISHER
Associated Press Writer
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -- The Environmental Protection Agency is investigating reports of potential oxygen depletion in homes in four south-central Kansas counties.
Oxygen depletion, which can occur when carbon dioxide, methane or other soil vapors seep into buildings, can threaten residents' health. But David Bryan, an EPA spokesman in Kansas City, Kan., said Thursday that no major injuries had been reported.
Bryan said his office in August began investigating reports of carbon dioxide and methane vapors in homes after heavy rainfall in Sedgwick, Butler, Sumner and Harper counties in September 2008.
Residents then reported having trouble with pilot lights on their water or gas heaters in their basements. There also were reports of light-headedness and the death of one household pet, a dog, from apparent carbon dioxide poisoning.
Rick Shellenbarger, emergency management planner for Sedgwick County, said about 12 homes in the county reported the problems to local officials after the heavy rainfall. The other counties reported fewer problems, he said. It's unclear how many homes could be affected.
Several of the Sedgwick County houses had oxygen levels at 18 percent or lower, Shellenbarger said. An area is considered oxygen deficient when oxygen falls below 19.5 percent.
"If it saturates the air to the point where it reduces the oxygen level then obviously it becomes a health concern," he said of any offending gas.
The EPA plans to collect groundwater and soil vapor samples from properties where residents reported the oxygen depletion. The agency hopes to determine if there are chemical pollutants or contamination in the groundwater and soil that may be causing or contributing to the problem.
Its lab in Ada, Okla., would conduct a long-term study to determine if the cause is manmade or naturally occurring. Bryan said the investigation was in its initial phases, and it was unclear when results would help pinpoint the cause of the depletion.
"It's quite the mystery at this point," he said.
The EPA said in a news release that there appears to be "little or no published research on oxygen depletion and carbon dioxide buildup in homes due to gas intrusion."
The agency advised residents in the four counties to check for oxygen depletion in basements by testing their pilot lights.
"That's the big thing that clued us that there might be a problem," Bryan said.