Checking the Cancer Link in Crestwood

Crestwood, Illinois - They are tapping 20 feet below ground, sampling the ground water around a contaminated well and checking which way the water is flowing.

It's the first step towards answering the question that people in Crestwood have been asking for years. What was contaminating the well that supplied their drinking water. Tricia Krause has made this her crusade.

"Should this have been done a long time ago?"

(Tricia Krause, former Crestwood resident) "This should have been done a long time ago"

Krause believes it was the Crestwood water she drank while pregnant that caused her son's cancer and her daughter's brain tumor. She's counting on the Illinois EPA's investigation to find the source of the contamination.

"What do you believe these tests will show?"

"I do believe these tests will show a plume of severe contamination and this just doesn't pop up over night, it takes time."

State environmental officials suspect a nearby dry cleaner may have polluted the ground water.

Toxic chemical were found in the well in 1986 and it was supposed to be capped. But the EPA says village officials kept using it, mixing it with Lake Michigan water.

"Will you be able to find the source of the contamination?"

(Bruce Everett, Illinois EPA) "That's a good question, you know were certainly gonna look in this area because that's where the focus has been."

Investigators have mapped out the area, and will be drilling more this week to test the groundwater and soil.

"I do know that whatever information we have were very willing to share it with all the community."