Detergents contaminated a third or more of tested suburban drinking wells by 1960.

Evidence

By 1960, a rapidly growing body of evidence indicated that the problem of detergent pollution was widespread. In a review of 30 studies from 13 states, the director of water conservation studies at the U.S. Public Health Service reported that detergents had shown up in 37 percent of the drinking wells tested for contaminants. In some subdivisions, the figure was almost 100 percent. According to official estimates, the number of homes with contaminated wells approached 17,000 in one Long Island county – and 27,000 in metropolitan Minneapolis-St. Paul. — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside, 413

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Postwar septic-tank homes contaminated their own wells with synthetic detergent suds. — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside:…, 412; Affluent suburban families were forced to haul drinking water when suds tainted their wells. — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside:…, 417; By 1960 industrial chemicals had tainted groundwater in at least 25 states — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside:…, 407 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Suds from household detergents in suburban wells nationalized water pollution concern #corroborates (0.85) — Adam Rome, The Bulldozer in the Countryside, 1530