Navy Confuses St. Mary's Community with Misinformation and Inaccuracies Concerning PFAS
Navy firefighters practice their trade.
March 5, 2020 - During its PFAS public meeting held on March 3 at the Lexington Park Library, officials from the Patuxent Naval Air Station displayed several posters containing misleading information to St. Mary’s County residents. This article will explore the inaccuracies contained in one of those posters. The claims made here are part of a nationwide misinformation campaign being waged by the DOD to quell the public’s concerns regarding the carcinogenic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. The DOD is facing tens of billions of dollars of liability from knowingly and willingly poisoning Americans for two generations and this is how they’re handling it.
March 5, 2020 - During its PFAS public meeting held on March 3 at the Lexington Park Library, officials from the Patuxent Naval Air Station displayed several posters containing misleading information to St. Mary’s County residents. This article will explore the inaccuracies contained in one of those posters. The claims made here are part of a nationwide misinformation campaign being waged by the DOD to quell the public’s concerns regarding the carcinogenic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. The DOD is facing tens of billions of dollars of liability from knowingly and willingly poisoning Americans for two generations and this is how they’re handling it.
One of the posters displayed by the Navy during the PFAS public meeting
Many of the 300 who left the Lexington Park, MD Library after attending the Navy’s
PFAS event on March 3 had more questions leaving the library than they had entering it.
PFAS event on March 3 had more questions leaving the library than they had entering it.
Top Left Pane
“CDC monitoring estimates that most people in the U.S. have PFAS in their bodies; Levels of PFOS and PFOA are decreasing following their phase out from use; Some PFAS stay in the body a long time; There is no recommended medical treatment to reduce PFAS in the body.”
Most people have these carcinogens in their bodies because of military activities. It didn’t just happen. While these are all true statements above, the Navy is purposely misleading people as they are doing nationwide. The accompanying chart shows the decline of PFOS and PFOA - two types of per and poly fluoroalkyl substances, (PFAS) in the blood serum levels of the U.S. population. It’s not surprising to see this development since U.S. chemical manufacturers began voluntarily phasing out PFOA and PFOS amid mounting evidence of their health harms. The Navy doesn’t tell you that they’ve replaced the carcinogenic eight - carbon chain substances with carcinogenic six - carbon chain PFAS varieties.
Many of these replacement chemicals are used in different formulations of fire-fighting foam. The EPA has allowed their manufacture and use in military and industrial applications even though it is widely recognized they pose a serious threat to human health. A new study documents “strong evidence” that multiple PFAS suppress the immune system and interfere with cell growth and hormonal signaling, all factors associated with carcinogenicity.
It is reprehensible that the Navy fails to address the levels of twelve other types of harmful PFAS found in St. Inigoes Creek: PFBS, PFHxA, PFHpA, PFHxS, PFNA, PFDA, PFUnA, PFDoA, PFTrDA, PFTA, N-MeFOSAA, NEtFOSAA. Instead, they question the “veracity and accuracy” of the results.
Instead of downplaying the threat to human health, as the DOD is doing nationwide, the Navy in St. Mary’s ought to be funding studies to test the blood of residents living close to the base. In similarly contaminated Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Senator Jeanne Shaheen has secured $10 million funding for a community health study to ascertain the level of the carcinogens in the local population. It’s unlikely that Rep. Hoyer or Senators Cardin or Van Hollen would get behind such a measure in heavily militarized Maryland.
Portsmouth’s oysters were found to contain 55,000 ppt of PFAS. The Portsmouth group, Testing for Pease worked together to secure the funding from Congress to study the level of sickness caused by the Air Force’s use of PFAS in their community.
“CDC monitoring estimates that most people in the U.S. have PFAS in their bodies; Levels of PFOS and PFOA are decreasing following their phase out from use; Some PFAS stay in the body a long time; There is no recommended medical treatment to reduce PFAS in the body.”
Most people have these carcinogens in their bodies because of military activities. It didn’t just happen. While these are all true statements above, the Navy is purposely misleading people as they are doing nationwide. The accompanying chart shows the decline of PFOS and PFOA - two types of per and poly fluoroalkyl substances, (PFAS) in the blood serum levels of the U.S. population. It’s not surprising to see this development since U.S. chemical manufacturers began voluntarily phasing out PFOA and PFOS amid mounting evidence of their health harms. The Navy doesn’t tell you that they’ve replaced the carcinogenic eight - carbon chain substances with carcinogenic six - carbon chain PFAS varieties.
Many of these replacement chemicals are used in different formulations of fire-fighting foam. The EPA has allowed their manufacture and use in military and industrial applications even though it is widely recognized they pose a serious threat to human health. A new study documents “strong evidence” that multiple PFAS suppress the immune system and interfere with cell growth and hormonal signaling, all factors associated with carcinogenicity.
It is reprehensible that the Navy fails to address the levels of twelve other types of harmful PFAS found in St. Inigoes Creek: PFBS, PFHxA, PFHpA, PFHxS, PFNA, PFDA, PFUnA, PFDoA, PFTrDA, PFTA, N-MeFOSAA, NEtFOSAA. Instead, they question the “veracity and accuracy” of the results.
Instead of downplaying the threat to human health, as the DOD is doing nationwide, the Navy in St. Mary’s ought to be funding studies to test the blood of residents living close to the base. In similarly contaminated Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Senator Jeanne Shaheen has secured $10 million funding for a community health study to ascertain the level of the carcinogens in the local population. It’s unlikely that Rep. Hoyer or Senators Cardin or Van Hollen would get behind such a measure in heavily militarized Maryland.
Portsmouth’s oysters were found to contain 55,000 ppt of PFAS. The Portsmouth group, Testing for Pease worked together to secure the funding from Congress to study the level of sickness caused by the Air Force’s use of PFAS in their community.
See the intensity in these women from the group Testing for Pease while they listen skeptically as Air Force officials dismiss their concerns regarding PFAS. The St. Mary’s community is behind the learning curve.
It is audacious for the Navy to tell the people of St. Mary’s County that there is no recommended medical treatment to reduce PFAS in the body. Is the Navy suggesting we do nothing? For starters, women must be warned of the potentially devastating effects these chemicals have on the unborn.
Data from California will help put this into some perspective. Because the Navy and the other branches have been silent on the killing nature of the foams they’ve been using for two generations - and keeping secret the propensity of these substances to contaminate adjacent communities and waterways, public health officials have been slow to react. One exception is in the state of California where influential teams of environmental activists and progressive legislators have prevailed on state officials to get tough with the stuff.
In the last few months California has set Response Levels for PFOA and PFOS at 10 ppt and 40 ppt respectively. A Response Level means water systems must either shut down the wells providing the tainted water to consumers or treat the water to acceptable standards. California is trying to protect its citizens. In contrast, just a year and a half ago, water officials in Annapolis didn’t know what PFAS was until they were told. One of the main drinking wells in the city, drawing from an aquifer contaminated by the Navy, contained 70,000 ppt of PFOA and PFOS.
In California last year, the state tested 568 municipal water wells that contained a combined total of 19,200 ppt of 14 different kinds of PFAS, most which are discussed above. The testing largely stayed away from military communities. Roughly half of the contaminants came from PFOS/PFOA while the other half came from the other 12 contaminants.
The top readings from wells in five military bases had 12.4 million ppt of just PFOS and PFOA. If the 50-50 split evident in the statewide testing is prevalent, the five bases could be contaminating the state’s precious groundwater systems with 25 million parts per trillion. Another 40 bases are known to have used the carcinogens in the state. See Telling Half the Story for more.
It is reprehensible for the Navy to tell the people of St. Mary’s that drinking water, food, indoor dust, consumer products, and workplaces are sources of PFAS contamination while leaving out the 800-pound gorilla in the room, firefighting foam on base.
The Navy says, “Scientists are still learning about how exposure to PFAS might affect people’s health.” Although this is another true statement, it leaves so much out, like the other frames paraded at the library. PFAS contributes to testicular, liver, breast, and kidney cancers, although the Navy never mentions the “C” word. Scientists know quite a bit about these chemicals. For instance, one of the chemicals found in St. Inigoes Creek, PFHxS, a substitute for PFOS/PFOA has been detected in umbilical cord blood and is transmitted to the embryo to a larger extent than what is reported for PFOS. Prenatal exposure to PFHxS is associated with occurrence of infectious diseases (such as ottis media, pneumonia, RS virus and varicella) in early life.
Data from California will help put this into some perspective. Because the Navy and the other branches have been silent on the killing nature of the foams they’ve been using for two generations - and keeping secret the propensity of these substances to contaminate adjacent communities and waterways, public health officials have been slow to react. One exception is in the state of California where influential teams of environmental activists and progressive legislators have prevailed on state officials to get tough with the stuff.
In the last few months California has set Response Levels for PFOA and PFOS at 10 ppt and 40 ppt respectively. A Response Level means water systems must either shut down the wells providing the tainted water to consumers or treat the water to acceptable standards. California is trying to protect its citizens. In contrast, just a year and a half ago, water officials in Annapolis didn’t know what PFAS was until they were told. One of the main drinking wells in the city, drawing from an aquifer contaminated by the Navy, contained 70,000 ppt of PFOA and PFOS.
In California last year, the state tested 568 municipal water wells that contained a combined total of 19,200 ppt of 14 different kinds of PFAS, most which are discussed above. The testing largely stayed away from military communities. Roughly half of the contaminants came from PFOS/PFOA while the other half came from the other 12 contaminants.
The top readings from wells in five military bases had 12.4 million ppt of just PFOS and PFOA. If the 50-50 split evident in the statewide testing is prevalent, the five bases could be contaminating the state’s precious groundwater systems with 25 million parts per trillion. Another 40 bases are known to have used the carcinogens in the state. See Telling Half the Story for more.
It is reprehensible for the Navy to tell the people of St. Mary’s that drinking water, food, indoor dust, consumer products, and workplaces are sources of PFAS contamination while leaving out the 800-pound gorilla in the room, firefighting foam on base.
The Navy says, “Scientists are still learning about how exposure to PFAS might affect people’s health.” Although this is another true statement, it leaves so much out, like the other frames paraded at the library. PFAS contributes to testicular, liver, breast, and kidney cancers, although the Navy never mentions the “C” word. Scientists know quite a bit about these chemicals. For instance, one of the chemicals found in St. Inigoes Creek, PFHxS, a substitute for PFOS/PFOA has been detected in umbilical cord blood and is transmitted to the embryo to a larger extent than what is reported for PFOS. Prenatal exposure to PFHxS is associated with occurrence of infectious diseases (such as ottis media, pneumonia, RS virus and varicella) in early life.
So, what do we do? The brightest minds working on this issue across the country have come up with this to do list:
Immediately warn Pregnant women to not ingest PFAS
Immediately warn Pregnant women to not ingest PFAS
- Establish Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL’s) of 1 ppt in drinking water
- Require testing of water systems and immediately publish the levels of at least 14 PFAS, for starters.
- Set MCL’s for all food; especially seafood caught in Southern Maryland’s tidal waters.
- Test food, especially food grown in soils contaminated by PFAS-contaminated sewer sludge. (Asparagus, Strawberries, and Lettuce are most susceptible.)
- Test sewer sludge, fields, and agricultural products grown in contaminated soil.
- Ban the incineration of PFAS
- Ban the manufacture and use of all PFAS, like EU is currently doing.