The news that more private drinking water wells in southern Vermont have tested positive for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is chilling. PFOA is a carcinogenic chemical used to create nonstick and other surfaces.
Earlier this year PFOA was found in multiple private wells in and around North Bennington. The chemical is thought to have come from a former ChemFab facility which closed over a decade ago. PFOA is linked to low birth weight, cancer, high blood pressure and thyroid disease.
This week Vermont learned that more private drinking wells south of the Bennington Landfill have tested positive for PFOA. Those wells were tested after five groundwater monitoring wells around the landfill were tested by the EPA.
Of the 40 wells, three had no detection of PFOA, three had below 20 parts per trillion and 34 had detections above 20 parts per trillion. The highest detection was 201 parts per trillion. Vermont's health advisory level for drinking water is 20 parts per trillion. The majority of the new results were from residences with private wells. The state is now testing more wells surrounding the landfill.
The Vermont Department of Health is concurrently conducting blood tests for those whose wells are contaminated. The state’s response to this public health crisis has been swift and thorough, and Saint-Gobain, the company that ran the ChemFab plant, has stepped up to the plate in terms of paying for the testing and water for those affected.
What is chilling is how widespread the PFOA contamination is and how very hard it is to swallow the fact that this dangerous carcinogen has been ingested by so many people for such a long time.
We pride ourselves on our clean environment, our crisp air, our pure water, our protected high-elevation ridgelines and our commitment to keeping things that way.
If one pocket of our small state has this invisible contaminant in its water, what else might lurk in other pockets of the state? How extensive could the PFOA contamination be?
It’s horribly distressing to consider how much we may have fouled our own nests.
