Watch the Orlando Sentinel forum on Seminole County water

The Orlando Sentinel hosted a community forum Tuesday night at Seminole State College’s Sanford-Lake Mary campus to discuss how 1,4-dioxane contaminated drinking water in northwest Seminole County. All tickets to the 7 p.m. event we’re quickly claimed, but the forum was live streamed on OrlandoSentinel.com and the Sentinel’s Facebook page.

Sentinel reporters Kevin Spear, Martin E. Comas and Caroline Catherman participated in the forum and discussed their series of reports called “Toxic Secret.” Their stories and subsequent follow-up reports explored how 1,4-dixoane, an industrial chemical and likely carcinogen, was able to spread into northwest Seminole County utilities while residents – and even some officials – were kept in the dark.

Others on the forum panel included Sanford Mayor Art Woodruff, Lake Mary’s Chief Water Plant Operator Scott Rankin, Seminole County Commissioner Lee Constantine and representatives from Carollo Engineers, a consulting firm hired by Seminole County to address the 1,4-dioxane issue.

Sentinel Managing Editor Roger Simmons and Spectrum News 13 anchor Tammie Fields were the moderators for the forum.

Q&A: What is 1,4-dioxane, is it safe to drink and how do you get rid of it?

The contamination is alleged to have originated from an old General Dynamics and Siemens plant operated by subsidiary Stromberg-Carlson off Rinehart Road that manufactured telephone circuit boards for decades beginning in the late 1960s.

Lake Mary, Sanford and Seminole County all responded in different ways to the contamination, first discovered by utilities in northwest Seminole County in 2013. All say that after adjustments their drinking water is safe now for customers. There is likely no way to know how long ago contamination began and at what concentration.

While the Sentinel has secured space for the forum at the college, this event and the Sentinel are neither affiliated with nor endorsed by Seminole State College of Florida.