The Twin Beaches PFAS Contamination Coalition
A Navy slide shows 7,950 NG/G of PFOS in subsurface soil. That’s 7,950,000 parts per trillion. The Navy has yet to answer if these are the highest concentrations of PFOS on any Naval facility worldwide.
We come together as a group of concerned citizens who live in the area of Chesapeake Beach and North Beach, Maryland, and throughout the region, who are concerned about PFAS contamination in the environment.
Mark Mank, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of the Environment, (MDE) acknowledged “massive contamination” caused by the Navy’s use of PFAS at the Naval Research Laboratory - Chesapeake Bay Detachment in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland during the Navy’s RAB meeting on May 18, 2021.
Mank responded to a question asking if there is anywhere on earth with higher levels than the 7,950,000 parts per trillion (ppt) of PFOS found in the soil in Chesapeake Beach. Mank did not specifically address the question but responded by saying that residents have reasons to be concerned. "We will continue to press the Navy. Stay tuned, more will follow," he said.
Thank you, Mr. Mank. We will stay tuned, and we will continue to press the Navy as well.
PFAS are per-and poly fluoroalkyl substances. They are in the firefighting foam used during routine fire-training exercises on base. PFAS has been used in Chesapeake Beach since 1968, longer than anywhere in the world. The chemicals have severely contaminated the soil, groundwater, and surface water in the area. PFAS in the tiniest amounts are linked to fetal abnormalities, childhood diseases, and a host of cancers.
Some in the area may be drinking contaminated well water, although the greatest threat to human health is from eating food, especially seafood, with high levels of PFAS.
During the Navy’s RAB meeting in May, Ryan Mayer, the Navy’s chief spokesperson with the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) in Washington was asked if PFAS were still being released into the environment today. He replied, “No.” He said other Navy sites have already been cleaned up because “they’re ahead in the process.” Mayer said after the PFAS foams are used on base they are “shipped off-site for proper disposal.”
High concentrations of the chemicals are escaping the base through groundwater and surface water. No Navy sites have been “cleaned up” and the Navy’s definition of “proper disposal” may sicken millions. Modern science has not developed a way to dispose of PFAS. We are in trouble here.
Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should not consume food or water containing PFAS.
As we move forward as a coalition, here are a few points to consider:
1) It's not just the drinking water were concerned with - it's the seafood too.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) estimates that “fish and other seafood” account for up to 86% of dietary PFAS exposure in adults."
2) People with wells may consider having them tested
The Town of Chesapeake Beach says their drinking water has no traces of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Tests were conducted on all town drinking wells, which draw from the Aquia Aquifer.
I have asked Holly Wahl, the Town Administrator, for a copy of their testing results but the town has not responded. We ought to know the numbers and depths of the wells they tested and we ought to know the names of all of the per-and poly fluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) they tested. Hopefully, they tested for all 36 of the chemicals that may be tested. We also need to know the minimum level of detection they used. We should know who did the testing.
3) We must test the seafood from these waters. We can’t trust the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), or any arm of the Maryland state government to do the testing. See this story, Maryland Report Misleads the Public on PFAS Contamination in Oysters by Leila Marcovici, Esq. and Pat Elder, November 16, 2020
The MDE oyster tests had a detection limit for oysters at 1 part per billion, or 1,000 parts per trillion. (ppt.) Consequently, as each PFAS compound is detected individually, the analytical method employed was unable to detect any one PFAS present at an amount of less than 1,000 parts per trillion. The state of Maryland says the oysters are fine but they’re not.
The oysters I tested with PEER, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, using Eurofins, a trusted, EPA-certified lab, found 2,070 ppt of PFAS in oyster tissue, 6,650 ppt in crab, and 23,100 ppt in rockfish. Harvard’s School of Public Health says we ought to keep ingestion of these chemicals in drinking water under 1 ppt daily.
Also, see this article, PFOS in Michigan Fish. The state tested 2,841 fish and found the average fish contained 93,000 ppt of PFOS alone. People are free to catch and consume fish with up to 330,000 ppt of PFOS while the state limits the chemicals in drinking water to 16 ppt. In Maryland there has been no credible testing and there are no regulations regarding the consumption of PFOS in seafood.
4) We must demand the cessation of the use of PFAS at the Naval Research Lab - Chesapeake Beach Detachment. Enough is enough.
5) We must demand the cessation of placing these materials in landfills.
6) We must demand the cessation of incinerating these materials.
Here’s a list of legislative priorities in Maryland:
Establish a maximum contaminant level of 1 ppt. for all PFAS drinking water and groundwater.
Set PFAS levels for surface water and publish fish advisories for PFAS.
Test all public water systems for PFAS and require the testing of private systems near military sites and airports.
Test all varieties of edible seafood throughout the state for PFAS and establish consumption advisories to protect human health.
Test the leachate, soils and groundwater at landfills for PFAS.
Test sewage sludge to determine the levels of PFAS and establish limits for such materials--and prohibit any contaminated materials from being spread on farm fields anywhere.
Secure research funding for PFAS containment and mitigation and filtration strategies
·Ban the use of all fire-fighting foams containing PFAS.
Ban incineration, landfilling, or underground injection of materials containing PFAS and ban the transport of these substances out of state for these purposes.
·Ban the use of any PFAS chemical in food packaging or wrappers, clothing, carpets, etc.
Here are a few great resources:
The Environmental Working Group
Military Poisons
www.militarypoisons.org Click on News Stories to read about the recent past at Pax River and Chesapeake Beach.
www.patelder.weebly.org - Search for Chesapeake Beach
Chesapeake Beach PFAS Contamination Coalition on Facebook www.facebook.com/groups/3841547575954409/