AUSTIN (AP) - State environmental regulators on Tuesday said sediment collected at Barton
Springs Pool contains only traces of the carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene, which does not pose an
apparent health risk to swimmers.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said the water meets federal drinking water
standards for benzo(a)pyrene or BaP.
On either side of a tributary upstream from the pool, levels of BaP above screening levels were found
in sediment samples and the commission is continuing to assess the results.
The TCEQ said it has not yet received sampling results for metals, arsenic and pesticides.
The commission made its findings after the Austin American-Statesman reported this month that
the toxic levels at the pool and upstream on a hillside overlooking Barton Creek have exceeded
those found in a dozen of the worse hazardous waste sites in the country.
Some toxicologists who reviewed test results for the newspaper said the elevated levels of the
neurotoxic metal arsenic and several benzene-based compounds found in sediments in Barton
Springs warranted closing the pool until public safety questions can be answered.
The city closed the pool for 90 days after the newspaper report.
