Myrtle Beach officials say they are concerned that groundwater contamination from AVX Corp. might be more widespread than previously thought, and they are looking into whether legal action is warranted against the manufacturer.

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control will review documents that AVX Corp. kept hidden for nearly 30 years to see if it warrants a criminal investigation of the company and its executives.

The U.S. military's careless handling practices and inadequate testing helped contribute to environmental contamination on Horry Land Co.'s property along 17th Avenue South in Myrtle Beach, a geologist said Thursday, and AVX Corp.

AVX Corp. on Monday reached a confidential settlement with an adjacent land owner over groundwater contamination near the manufacturer's facility on 17th Avenue South in Myrtle Beach, bringing an end to a dispute that started in late 2007.

Consultants first warned AVX Corp. in June 1981 that cancer-causing chemicals it had dumped into groundwater at its 17th Avenue South facility in Myrtle Beach were migrating to adjacent property, city and private wells, and the Pee Dee aquifer, but the company chose to keep that information secret, according to evidence and testimony presented during a civil trial.

An expert who is studying groundwater contamination on property adjacent to the AVX Corp. manufacturing facility in Myrtle Beach said Wednesday the extent of the pollution has not yet been determined, making it impossible to say how long cleanup will take.

Electronics component-maker AVX Corp. has asked a federal judge to exclude much of the testimony and evidence that could be damaging to the company during a trial this week that will determine whether AVX must pay adjoining property owner Horry Land Co.

AVX Corp. has no proof that the military contributed to environmental contamination in a Myrtle Beach neighborhood, and the electronics manufacturer's claims should be dismissed, the federal government stated in court documents filed this week in Florence.

A federal judge is expected to rule soon on whether AVX Corp. must release more than 1,500 documents that a lawyer says will show the manufacturer was operating what amounted to a "landfill and hazardous waste treatment center" just blocks from the oceanfront after it polluted groundwater at its Myrtle Beach plant with a toxic degreaser called trichloroethylene.

Myrtle Beach-based AVX Corp.

An environmental report issued more that 12 years ago alerted Myrtle Beach officials to the possibility that trichloroethylene was polluting the city's groundwater, but the city apparently never conducted a follow-up investigation to identify the extent or source of that contamination.

John Gilbertson, AVX Corp.'s chief executive officer, said Thursday his company will not seek money from residents of a neighborhood where the manufacturer has contaminated groundwater with a toxic chemical.

The lawyer representing Myrtle Beach residents in an environmental contamination lawsuit against AVX Corp. has asked a judge to dismiss a court filing by the manufacturer that experts say is meant solely to intimidate property owners.

Myrtle Beach officials are investigating whether they can take legal action against AVX Corp. because the manufacturer secretly dumped water contaminated with a toxic chemical into the city's sewer system for more than a decade.

Myrtle Beach officials say they are concerned that groundwater contamination from AVX Corp. might be more widespread than previously thought, and they are looking into whether any legal action against the manufacturer is warranted.

A federal judge on Thursday said two lawsuits that claim AVX Corp. ruined property values by polluting the groundwater in a Myrtle Beach neighborhood should be tried in an S.C. circuit court.

AVX Corp. on Friday withdrew its application for a permit that would have allowed the company to emit hazardous air pollutants at its Myrtle Beach headquarters, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Dick Rosen has resigned from AVX Corp.'s board of directors, according to a regulatory filing this week.

Myrtle Beach-based AVX Corp. announced its revenue for the quarter ending Sept. 30 was up 7 percent over the same quarter last year to $400.7 million, according to a Thursday news release.