[[link removed]]
LOCAL FEARS GROW AFTER MAJOR PFAS SPILL AT FORMER NAVY BASE IN MAINE
[[link removed]]
Julia Conley
August 27, 2024
Common Dreams [[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]
_ Forever chemicals were stored in tanks at an airport at more than
10,000 times the federal limit. _
Firefighter foam is seen on the surface of water in Bensalem
Township, Pennsylvania. A spill in Brunswick, Maine on August 19, 2024
raised concerns about PFAS contamination., Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto
via Getty Images
Maine officials in recent days have downplayed the public health risk
posed by an accidental discharge of firefighting foam containing the
toxic substances known as "forever chemicals
[[link removed]]" over a week ago,
but initial tests
[[link removed]]
on Monday revealed startlingly high concentrations of the chemicals
near the airport where the spill occurred.
The state found that perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), a type of
synthetic perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS
[[link removed]]) that's been widely used to
make firefighting foam and is still in circulation despite being
phased out of production, was present in a chemical tank at Brunswick
Executive Airport at a level of 3.2 billion parts per trillion (ppt).
The Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC)
advised
[[link removed]]
the public not to consume freshwater fish from Mere Brook, Merriconeag
Stream, Picnic Pond, and the site 8 stream near the airport, which is
a former Naval Air Station.
The chemical tank fed firefighting foam concentrate into a fire
suppression system that malfunctioned at Hangar 4 at the airport on
August 19, sending the toxic foam into a nearby parking lot, down
sewage and storm drains, and floating through the air at Brunswick
Landing, a residential and business development in the area. About
1,500 gallons
[[link removed]]
of the foam concentrate spilled.
The tests indicated a level of PFOS well over federal and state
limits. Maine requires remedial action when PFOS is found at a level
of 1,000 ppt in groundwater and 210 ppt for milk—while the federal
drinking water standard is less than 4 ppt.
Samples taken at nearby drainage ponds found PFOS concentrations of a
little over 1 million parts per million where the foam entered and 701
ppt where it would leave the ponds.
Exposure to PFOS, which are among the substances known as "forever
chemicals" because they don't break down easily, have been linked to
compromised immune and cardiovascular functions, decreased fertility,
and several types of cancer—even in trace amounts, let alone the
levels found after the spill.
Environmental toxicology expert Kurt Pennell of Brown University told
[[link removed]]the_
Portland Press Herald_ that officials would likely need to treat the
water in the highly contaminated drainage ponds and determine whether
the ponds now pose a risk to the public.
"In terms of risk, the next step is figuring where that water is
going, and if it has reached a public or private drinking water
source," Pennell told
[[link removed]]
the _Press Herald._
Officials are planning to continue taking samples from the drainage
ponds, nearby water bodies, and Harpswell Cove—the part of Casco Bay
where the ponds discharge—but despite the Maine CDC's warnings about
freshwater fish in the Brunswick Landing area, the state Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) said in a statement last Friday that it
does not believe nearby water wells will be impacted.
"We understand the concerns expressed by the community given the
foam's visibility," the DEP said.
[[link removed]]
"The Maine DEP and the Environmental Protection Agency have been
studying the former Brunswick Naval Air Station for 30 years and are
familiar with hydrogeology on the site. Although the site has a
history of PFAS contamination, DEP continues to believe that the
recently released material will not impact any nearby wells. The
Brunswick-Topsham Water District has confirmed that the public water
supply has not been impacted by this incident."
The _Press Herald_ reported that because the public water district
"taps distant aquifers" and the "groundwater under Hangar 4 flows away
from nearby residential wells," people who rely on the area's water
supply are not at risk.
The water district has increased its PFAS testing since the spill, and
initial results are expected in September.
The _Press Herald_'s editorial board on Sunday condemned
[[link removed]]
state officials—both for allowing PFOS-laden foam to be stored at
Brunswick Executive Airport at more than 10,000 times the federal
limit, and the "conflicting and confusing" response to one of the
country's largest firefighting foam spills in 30 years, marked by a
"flamboyant" absence of transparency:
The Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, the body created by the
state to redevelop what is the former Brunswick Naval Air Station,
said Monday that the cause of the spill remained under investigation.
At the same time, state and town officials were reporting that the
fire suppression system in the hangar in question had malfunctioned.
In a subsequent statement, the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment
Authority said it was committed to "addressing the cleanup with the
utmost urgency and transparency." It was heavily criticized for not
adequately notifying local environmental organizations, businesses, or
the broader public.
Brunswick officials referred reporters calling about the spill to the
state, while state environmental officials would not release
information about past forever chemical discharges at the airport—of
which there have been several
[[link removed]]—and
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "referred questions back to
the state, even though the property is a contaminated Superfund site
that requires long-term EPA monitoring and remediation," reported the
_Press Herald. _
While state officials offered conflicting messages, Jared Hayes, a
policy analyst with the public health watchdog Environmental Working
Group, said
[[link removed]]
the spill would "likely create a long-lasting contamination problem"
in the area.
"Neighbors should be concerned," Hayes told the _Press Herald_. "So,
yeah, this is a problem. It's a pretty big problem."
State toxicologist Andy Smith acknowledged
[[link removed]]
that the harm PFOS can cause when people inhale foam, which was
visible blowing around Brunswick Landing after the spill, is not yet
known.
Brunswick officials announced they would host
[[link removed]]
a public information session on Thursday, with state lawmakers as well
as representatives from the Maine CDC and the DEP present.
The_ Press Herald _editorial board accused
[[link removed]]
state officials of responding to the disaster so far with the words:
"Best of luck with that."
"Best of luck to our water supplies, ponds, brooks, rivers, beaches,
and coves, now tainted by these chemicals which we know all too well
to have potentially disastrous effects on human and animal
health—even in trace quantities," wrote the editors.
"Just how much of this substance is there in Maine?" they added. "Who
ensures that it is stored safely and securely? Who is liable for any
escape of firefighting foam concentrate and PFAS-laden substances like
it? What is the funding formula for the multimillion-dollar cleanup of
incidents like this? What is the official protocol for testing exposed
drinking water wells, relevant stormwater outfalls, and more? Where
else has this happened?"
"The questions go on and on," wrote the board, "and we urgently need
answers to all of them."
===
Julia Conley is a staff writer for Common Dreams.
* Chemical spills; Brunswick
[[link removed]]
* Maine; Public Health; Forever Chemicals;
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]
INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT
Submit via web
[[link removed]]
Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]
Manage subscription
[[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]
Twitter [[link removed]]
Facebook [[link removed]]
[link removed]
To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]
