Pat Elder
www.civilianexposure.org
www.militarypoisons.org
St. Mary’s City, MD
pat.elder@civilianexposure.org
December 11, 2019
PFAS & Other Contaminants at Military Bases in MD
In March, 2018 the DOD reported these levels of per- and poly fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS at 5 Maryland bases).
Annapolis 70,000 ppt.
Chesapeake Beach 241,110 ppt.
Fort Meade 87,000 ppt.
White Oak 1,365 ppt.
Patuxent River 1,138 ppt
There are at least ten additional bases in MD that have a record of PFAS contamination: Aberdeen Proving Ground; Bainbridge Naval Training Center; Bethesda Naval Support Activity; Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center; Joint Base Andrews; Solomons Island Navy Recreation Center; Webster Field Annex, St. Inigoes, Air Force-Air National Guard, Martin State; Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock; Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Harvard public health professionals say 1 ppt of PFAS in drinking water is potentially dangerous. These deadly “forever chemicals,” which never break down, will poison people for a thousand years. They cause kidney, liver, and testicular cancer, and they contribute to the likelihood of developing breast cancer. PFAS is also responsible for fetal abnormalities, micro-penis in newborns, and it contributes to a host of childhood diseases, ranging from ADHD to Autism to childhood asthma.
Pregnant women should never drink well water that contains any amount of PFAS.
Municipal water suppliers can filter out the contaminants by using expensive carbon filters that must be regularly replaced.
The EPA and the state of Maryland have no enforceable regulations in place to control the military’s destructive behavior. Meanwhile, several states limit the chemicals in groundwater to levels under 20 ppt. The military claims “sovereign immunity” when states attempt to sue for damages. In other words, they admit no liability and they are free to continue contaminating the land, soil, and air. NRL-CBD’s astonishingly high levels of PFAS are remarkable, especially for a base without a runway and that’s because the Navy has been coming down “to the beach” for the Naval Research Lab since 1968 to test firefighting foams.
Other Groundwater Contaminants: Antimony and compounds 2.3 ppb Arsenic 107.0 ppb Zinc 400.0 ppb 2,4-Dinitrotoluene 400.0 ppb 2,6-Dinitrotoluene 600.0 ppb Copper and compounds 1690.0 ppb Lead 91.0 ppb
Other Soil Contaminants: Lead 978.0 ppb Antimony and compounds 2.3 ppb Arsenic 8.7 ppb Zinc 236.0 ppb Copper and compounds 1690.0 ppb Lead 67300.0 ppb
The EPA has not updated water quality standards for nearly 20 years.
Residential wells 1,200 feet from the burn site have not been tested by the Navy. Plumes may travel ten miles. The Like Pax River, the Navy says there’s no way the carcinogens can move from the surficial aquifer to the lower aquifer from which wells draw their water. However, 3 of the 40 wells tested were found to have PFAS. We don’t know the levels. The Navy used uranium, depleted uranium (DU), and thorium and it conducted high velocity DU impact studies in Building 218C and Building 227.
Altogether, the Navy sampled 42 wells in the vicinity. Three wells out of a total of 42 were found to have PFAS, although we don’t know the exact results.
Wastewater containing AFFF solutions is drained into a holding pit and allowed to absorb slowly into the soil. The EPA and the state of Maryland have no enforceable regulations in place to control the military’s destructive actions. Meanwhile, some states limit the chemicals in groundwater to levels under 20 ppt. The Navy says there is “no legal requirement to conduct drinking water testing. It is a voluntary measure because water quality for our off‐base neighbors is a priority for the Navy.”
The Maryland General Assembly has not developed legislation to counter the PFAS threat posed by both the military and industrial polluters. Sara Love, (D MD-16) is intent on introducing legislation modeled after Virginia’s law passed last year that bans PFAS from being used in in firefighting training exercises by non-military entities.
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?191+ful+CHAP0838
It’s terribly weak. Instead, we must advocate for:
Since 1968, the Fire Training Area has been used to test extinguishing agents on fires started with various fuel sources. The tests were conducted by creating a fire on a concrete testing pad by the open burning of petroleum products that included gasoline, diesel, and jet-propulsion fuel. According to a report on PFAS by CH2M Hill in 2017, these operations utilize two open burning areas and two smokehouses. Fire suppressants tested include AFFF. (carcinogenic aqueous film-forming foam.) Typically, wastewater containing these solutions is drained into a holding pit and allowed to absorb slowly into the soil.
This is a crime against humanity and the earth.
Notes:
See the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR) for the chemical profiles of the substance listed herein.
See the Environmental Working Group’s site on PFAS.
See the Environmental Working Group’s Tap Water Database.
Search Navy documents at: NAVFAC
Search Air Force documents at: http://afcec.publicadmin-record.us.af.mil/
See “Flourine-Free Firefighting Foams (3F) Viable Alternatives to Fluorinated Aqueous Fil-Forming Foams (AFFF) IPEN Stockholm Convention POPRC-14 Rome September 2018
See the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, adopted by the U.N. on 22 May 2001 in Stockholm, Sweden. The Convention entered into force on 17 May 2004. The US has not ratified the treaty.
See “Why women were told not to get pregnant at George AFB,” a story in Military Times documenting how PFAS destroys women’s reproductive health.
See another piece from Military Times: “16 cancer cases in one family: Base water contamination fight moves to Congress.” 10 have died from cancers attributed to drinking PFAS-tainted water both on and off base.
See Dark Waters in a theatre near you! (Even though they only tell half the story, they do a great job.)
pat.elder@civilianexposure.org - feel free to email for sources.
www.civilianexposure.org
www.militarypoisons.org
St. Mary’s City, MD
pat.elder@civilianexposure.org
December 11, 2019
PFAS & Other Contaminants at Military Bases in MD
In March, 2018 the DOD reported these levels of per- and poly fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS at 5 Maryland bases).
Annapolis 70,000 ppt.
Chesapeake Beach 241,110 ppt.
Fort Meade 87,000 ppt.
White Oak 1,365 ppt.
Patuxent River 1,138 ppt
There are at least ten additional bases in MD that have a record of PFAS contamination: Aberdeen Proving Ground; Bainbridge Naval Training Center; Bethesda Naval Support Activity; Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center; Joint Base Andrews; Solomons Island Navy Recreation Center; Webster Field Annex, St. Inigoes, Air Force-Air National Guard, Martin State; Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock; Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Harvard public health professionals say 1 ppt of PFAS in drinking water is potentially dangerous. These deadly “forever chemicals,” which never break down, will poison people for a thousand years. They cause kidney, liver, and testicular cancer, and they contribute to the likelihood of developing breast cancer. PFAS is also responsible for fetal abnormalities, micro-penis in newborns, and it contributes to a host of childhood diseases, ranging from ADHD to Autism to childhood asthma.
Pregnant women should never drink well water that contains any amount of PFAS.
Municipal water suppliers can filter out the contaminants by using expensive carbon filters that must be regularly replaced.
The EPA and the state of Maryland have no enforceable regulations in place to control the military’s destructive behavior. Meanwhile, several states limit the chemicals in groundwater to levels under 20 ppt. The military claims “sovereign immunity” when states attempt to sue for damages. In other words, they admit no liability and they are free to continue contaminating the land, soil, and air. NRL-CBD’s astonishingly high levels of PFAS are remarkable, especially for a base without a runway and that’s because the Navy has been coming down “to the beach” for the Naval Research Lab since 1968 to test firefighting foams.
Other Groundwater Contaminants: Antimony and compounds 2.3 ppb Arsenic 107.0 ppb Zinc 400.0 ppb 2,4-Dinitrotoluene 400.0 ppb 2,6-Dinitrotoluene 600.0 ppb Copper and compounds 1690.0 ppb Lead 91.0 ppb
Other Soil Contaminants: Lead 978.0 ppb Antimony and compounds 2.3 ppb Arsenic 8.7 ppb Zinc 236.0 ppb Copper and compounds 1690.0 ppb Lead 67300.0 ppb
The EPA has not updated water quality standards for nearly 20 years.
Residential wells 1,200 feet from the burn site have not been tested by the Navy. Plumes may travel ten miles. The Like Pax River, the Navy says there’s no way the carcinogens can move from the surficial aquifer to the lower aquifer from which wells draw their water. However, 3 of the 40 wells tested were found to have PFAS. We don’t know the levels. The Navy used uranium, depleted uranium (DU), and thorium and it conducted high velocity DU impact studies in Building 218C and Building 227.
Altogether, the Navy sampled 42 wells in the vicinity. Three wells out of a total of 42 were found to have PFAS, although we don’t know the exact results.
Wastewater containing AFFF solutions is drained into a holding pit and allowed to absorb slowly into the soil. The EPA and the state of Maryland have no enforceable regulations in place to control the military’s destructive actions. Meanwhile, some states limit the chemicals in groundwater to levels under 20 ppt. The Navy says there is “no legal requirement to conduct drinking water testing. It is a voluntary measure because water quality for our off‐base neighbors is a priority for the Navy.”
The Maryland General Assembly has not developed legislation to counter the PFAS threat posed by both the military and industrial polluters. Sara Love, (D MD-16) is intent on introducing legislation modeled after Virginia’s law passed last year that bans PFAS from being used in in firefighting training exercises by non-military entities.
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?191+ful+CHAP0838
It’s terribly weak. Instead, we must advocate for:
- Mandating state-wide testing of municipal water systems and cutting off water if levels are above regulatory limits.
- Setting Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL’s) for all PFAS at 10 ppt-20 ppt in groundwater & drinking water - like several states have done with PFOS & PFOA. (Perfluorooctanoic acid)
- Putting in place a notification level like CA has done (5.1 & 6.5 ppt for PFOA/PFOS)
- banning incineration
- testing private wells within one mile of military bases where contamination is documented - and further out where warranted.
Since 1968, the Fire Training Area has been used to test extinguishing agents on fires started with various fuel sources. The tests were conducted by creating a fire on a concrete testing pad by the open burning of petroleum products that included gasoline, diesel, and jet-propulsion fuel. According to a report on PFAS by CH2M Hill in 2017, these operations utilize two open burning areas and two smokehouses. Fire suppressants tested include AFFF. (carcinogenic aqueous film-forming foam.) Typically, wastewater containing these solutions is drained into a holding pit and allowed to absorb slowly into the soil.
This is a crime against humanity and the earth.
Notes:
See the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR) for the chemical profiles of the substance listed herein.
See the Environmental Working Group’s site on PFAS.
See the Environmental Working Group’s Tap Water Database.
Search Navy documents at: NAVFAC
Search Air Force documents at: http://afcec.publicadmin-record.us.af.mil/
See “Flourine-Free Firefighting Foams (3F) Viable Alternatives to Fluorinated Aqueous Fil-Forming Foams (AFFF) IPEN Stockholm Convention POPRC-14 Rome September 2018
See the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, adopted by the U.N. on 22 May 2001 in Stockholm, Sweden. The Convention entered into force on 17 May 2004. The US has not ratified the treaty.
See “Why women were told not to get pregnant at George AFB,” a story in Military Times documenting how PFAS destroys women’s reproductive health.
See another piece from Military Times: “16 cancer cases in one family: Base water contamination fight moves to Congress.” 10 have died from cancers attributed to drinking PFAS-tainted water both on and off base.
See Dark Waters in a theatre near you! (Even though they only tell half the story, they do a great job.)
pat.elder@civilianexposure.org - feel free to email for sources.