Potential Cancer-causing chemicals found while cleaning up old Air Force Fuel Spill

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Crews working on an old Air Force fuel spill have found potentially cancer-causing chemicals beneath a southeast Albuquerque neighborhood, Kirtland Air Force Base announced. The New Mexico Environment Department said Friday that Air Force crews found the pollutant Perchloroethylene, or PCE, in water around 500 feet underground while installing test wells. However, officials say they don't believe the recently discovered pollutant is connected to a decades-old Kirtland Air Force Base jet fuel spill... Read more: www.sfgate.com...

Link

So...they found the chemicals while working on the fuel spill...but don't think it's connected?

And as far as the Fuel Spill itself...it was apparently leaking for about 40 years and has cancer causing Benzyne in it.

Article from august about the fuel spill : Link

One estimate from the State of New Mexico puts the spill at 24 million gallons. Kirtland has estimated it between 2 and 8 million gallons.

Um, I'm sorry but that's a HUGE difference.
First of all, how does a fuel leak go unnoticed for 40 years? Secondly the estimate from the Air Force base about how much spilled is WAY off from what the state estimated. And now that they find PCE in the area, they're saying its chemicals from dry cleaning? Something about this does not seem right to me. Also, I don't understand how they're "sure" that all these chemicals are not threatening the residents drinking water.

another article

Much of the leaked fuel had already seeped down through 500 feet of soil to settle in a layer a few feet thick on top of the groundwater. Now, the majority of that liquid fuel layer “is now trapped below the water table,” the Air Force said in its June report to the New Mexico Environment Department. As a result, the trapped fuel “will be an ongoing source of dissolved groundwater contamination indefinitely,” the Air Force report said.

Just found this from July 15th

So basically, they already knew it was going to contaminate the ground water because the systems they have to vacuum out the spill mostly works while the fuel is in the soil, not the water.
As for the PCE, 80 - 85% of it's use is in dry cleaning, but that still leaves 15 to 20% of other uses not in dry cleaing.

fact sheet on PCE