PFAS are called “chemicals forever” because they don’t break down naturally. They can be found in common household items like non-stick cookware and microwave popcorn.
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania – Following reports that about a third of the water samples taken in Pennsylvania since mid-2019 were found to be forever toxic, Mahoning Matters’ review of testing efforts in Ohio found low levels of contamination in southern Trumbull County.
About a third of the 412 Pennsylvania sites examined were contaminated with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, according to the state Department of Environment, the Associated Press reported Friday. Of this positive evidence, only two were above the U.S. EPA’s health limit, which is 70 parts per trillion, or PPT.
The highly toxic chemicals can be found in numerous household items such as non-stick cookware, microwave popcorn, carpets, and disposable food containers. Studies have found that the chemicals may be linked to certain forms of cancer, high cholesterol, or pregnancy risks, according to the CDC.
They are called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down naturally and can linger in the environment indefinitely, according to the Associated Press. According to the EPA, rainwater runoff can move PFAS into lakes or ponds, or cause it to seep into the ground and reach underground water sources.
The CDC estimates that most Americans already have some form of PFAS in their blood.
Governor Mike DeWine called for PFAS tests in public drinking water systems across the state in 2019. Tests of about 1,550 locations, completed late last year, showed detectable PFAS levels at 6 percent of those locations – about 90. Today there are about 60 locations with detectable PFAS levels, mostly along the southwest and southeast borders of the state, but including two in Trumbull County.
The statewide analysis found that PFAS was above the EPA limit in samples at only two locations, one of which, according to the Ohio EPA, has now been remediated. Check out the full test results card here.
However, PFAS were below the EPA’s limit of action at both locations in Trumbull County.
In early May, surface water sampling at the Meander Creek facility in the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, north of the Meander Creek Reservoir, found perfluorooctanesulfonic acid – or PFOS, a chemical used to treat fabrics – at nearly 11 PPT. The EPA limit is 70 PPT. This sample also contained perfluorohexanesulfonic acid – or PFHxS found in fire-fighting foam and food packaging – at 5.6 PPT. The EPA limit is 140 PPT.
This water system is not used by the community. The other side is however.
In early February, surface water sampling from the city of Newton Falls’ public water system found perfluorobutanesulfonic acid – or PFBS, a water and grease repellent – at 185 ppt. The EPA limit is 140,000 PPT. The city’s water was tested at 75 PPT in January, WKBN reported – so PFBS levels have more than doubled since then.
Newton Falls city manager David Lynch told WKBN in January that he believed the contamination came from the city’s water source, the Mahoning River.
The Newton Falls Proving Site is also located southeast of Ravenna’s Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center. The PFAS contamination has been traced to military bases, including two locations in Pennsylvania, but also from fire fighting training areas, landfills and factories, according to the AP.
At least since 2006, government-regulated airports, including Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport and Youngstown Air Reserve Station at Vienna Center, have required the use of military-grade, AFFF, aqueous film-forming foams that are used as fire extinguishers and have been proven to be a significant source of PFAS .
A federal lawsuit filed in April by Aqua Ohio Inc. against 3M Company and DuPont – two of the largest users of PFAS chemicals – alleged that the foam is a likely source of PFAS contamination of its water systems.
The case has since been transferred to a federal court in South Carolina.
Jeff LaRue, spokesman for Aqua Ohio, told Mahoning Matters that the cost of removing such chemicals from its systems would be “extreme” – “they are called ‘chemicals forever,'” he said.
The company is closely monitoring research on PFAS, he added.
The Ohio EPA this week requested clarification of an environmental remediation plan for the YARS property that was submitted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last year because the plan does not appear to address possible PFAS contamination at the site.
Comments are closed.