Discover the Latest #NewtownPA information about Roadwork, Fate of the Washington Crossing Bridge, Planning for Future Housing Projects, and More…
Read the online version: https://www.johnmacknewtown.info/noiapr24.html
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Newtown News of Interest
These Scoops are excerpts from articles published in local newspapers and other sources that may be of interest to Newtown area residents. Please click on the "From" link to access the full original article. Any opinions and "insights" appended to these article summaries are solely those of John Mack and do not represent the opinions of any other person or entity. Curated by johnmacknewtown |
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Discover the Latest #NewtownPA information about Roadwork, Fate of the Washington Crossing Bridge, Planning for Future Housing Projects, and More…
Read the online version: https://www.johnmacknewtown.info/noiapr24.html
Scooped by johnmacknewtown |
On April 4, 2024, the #NewtownPA Zoning Hearing Board granted Appeal 1210-24: i.e., Newtown Artesian Water Company (NAWC), requested variances from and a special exception pursuant to the Joint Municipal Zoning Ordinance of 2006, as amended, specifically Section 404(C) to permit a rear yard setback of 36.46 feet where a minimum of 50 feet is required; Section 404(C) to permit a building height of 40 feet where a maximum of 35 feet is permitted; to permit the construction of a PFAS filtration plant.
Supervisor Mack - a "party to the case" requested that a tree barrier be installed on the border with the Country Bend common ground to mitigate any noise generated by the facility.
For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency has established national limits for six types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water.
The EPA announced Wednesday that levels of PFOA and PFOS — two types of PFAS commonly used in nonstick or stain-resistant products such as food packaging and firefighting foam — can’t exceed 4 parts per trillion in public drinking water.
As of Wednesday, public water systems that don’t monitor for PFAS have three years to start. If they detect PFAS at levels above the EPA limits, they will have two more years to purchase and install new technologies to reduce PFAS in their drinking water.
Read “EPA imposes first national limits on 'forever chemicals' in drinking water”
Scooped by johnmacknewtown |
This is my personal summary of the March 27, 2024, meeting of the #NewtownPA Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). This is not a complete nor an official summary.
Access the 2024 BOS Chronicle for detailed summaries of all 2024 BOS meetings to date. Also, access the (UNOFFICIAL) 2024 BOS Voting Record.
Scooped by johnmacknewtown |
This is my personal summary of the 19 March 2024 Newtown Planning Commission Meeting. This is NOT a complete nor is it an official summary.
The Agenda included the following:
Note that the BOS expressed concerns about previous plans for this parcel.
Related Content:
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The next Meet Mack Monday Zoom meeting is scheduled for March 25, 2024, starting at 7 PM. Some madness may be involved. See what's on the agenda and the login info below.
A 15-minute Presentation
Privilege of the Floor
Discuss whatever is on your mind.*
RSVP to let me know what issues should be covered at my next Meet Mack Zoom meeting on March 25, 2024, starting at 7 PM. See below for possible discussion topics. Upon completion of this form you will be shown the login information. Even if you cannot attend, I will send you links to the discussion and background information.
This is not an official Newtown Township meeting. It is hosted by Newtown Supervisor John Mack to learn more about issues of concern to Newtown Township residents and to share ideas on important issues.
Scooped by johnmacknewtown |
Newtown Artesian Water Company, (NAWC) 251 Frost Lane, is proposing an addition to a building - including related driveway, parking and related improvements - to permit removal of PFAS, including perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from the water system via filtration.
To do so, it needs to go before the Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB) to get required variations. But first it will present its plans to the Planning Commission (PC), which will then recommend to the Board of Supervisors (BOS) what action, if any, the BOS should take before the ZHB. The PC will hear that case at its March 19, 2024, public meeting.
According to the application (here),: “Since the contamination of wells in Bucks and Montgomery Counties due to the PFOA and PFAS contamination of the Willow Grove Naval Air Station, the Applicant's water system requires filtration in order to remove dangerous PFA5 contaminants. The proposed addition to the existing building will permit equipment to do just that.” See the plans...
I've been keeping track of PFAS in the NAWC wells for some time. Read, for example, “New Proposed PA Legislation Aims To Further Reduce Cancerous Forever Chemicals (PFAS) In Drinking Water”; https://sco.lt/7sp1ii
NAWC has been testing its water supply for PFAS and posting quarterly results (see here). However, it appears the sompany has stopped posting charts show the PFAS levels in its wells - I think it also removed some charts. See this Q2 2022 chart (the latest I have) with added PFAS limits added: https://sco.lt/7eob8i
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The Neshaminy Creek has been named in a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey of state streams that contain man-made "forever chemicals," which have been linked to infertility, thyroid problems, and several types of cancer.
The study found that the highest concentrations of PFAS in sampled streams were in the Philadelphia region: the highest was found in Valley Creek in Chester County, and the researchers also noted the Neshaminy Creek in Bucks County (Newtown).
The 40.7-mile-long stream runs entirely through Bucks County, rising south of Chalfont, where its north and west branches join. The Neshaminy Creek flows southeast toward Bristol Township and Bensalem Township to its confluence with the Delaware River.
The study analyzed surface water samples from 161 Pennsylvania streams for 33 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and water chemistry. At least one PFAS was detected in 76 percent of the sampled streams, the analysis found.
PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because of their durability in high heat and water, which means they remain in the environment for years without breaking down. They’re found in thousands of consumer products — cookware, cosmetics, food packaging, outdoor apparel, and carpets among them — as well as in firefighting foams.
Click here to read the full study
Related Content:
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Welcome to the April 24, 2023, Meet Mack Monday Zoom meeting! I am John Mack, your host and a Newtown Supervisor. Each month I host a Meet Mack Monday Zoom meeting to inform residents of items that are of interest to them and to get feedback and comments from them. This helps me keep better informed of residents’ concerns when voting on important issues at supervisor meetings.
This short 14-minute presentation focuses on the following topics:
* Single-Use Plastics Ban – What McCaffery’s Market had to say about it at April 3, 2023 EAC meeting. Some survey results will be presented.
* Business Commons Overlay – Specifications for “Mixed” Residential/Business use presented to Newtown Planning Commission by Bucks County Planning Commission
* PFAS In Our Drinking Water: EPA is proposing drastically lower safe limits. How do these limits compare with measured amounts in our water?
* Lower Dolington Road Trail Fiasco: Residents are disappointed in the progress or lack thereof.
* LED Streetlights Feasibility Study
* New Plan to Fix Villas of Newtown Detention Basin – Another project that has been plagued by delays. Bids accepted for new solution. Will It Work?
* Tractor Trailer Trucks Parked on Lower Dolington Road Are An Eyesore & Hazard – What Can Be Down About It?
* Deluca Construction of 2 single-family houses at 70 Twining Bridge Rd - Seeking relief in connection with a proposed subdivision of a 3.08-acre parcel into 2 lots where the lots will not comply with the dimensional regulations of the CM district. Another potential “historic resource” threatened?
* Wawa Update – Decision by ZHB regarding Amended Challenge to Validity of the JMZO put off to May 4, 2023. Why?
* Blue Point Grill Patio Expansion – The owners are seeking relief to install a 976 sq.ft. patio which will exceed the max. allowable impervious limitation for Newtown Shopping Center. More seating, less accessible parking space?
Scooped by johnmacknewtown |
New legislation has been introduced in Pennsylvania that would nearly eliminate the cancerous forever chemicals, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from the state's drinking water supply.
The bill's newly proposed regulation would cut the amount of the chemical down to 10 parts per trillion. It's significantly stricter than the current federal guideline of 70 ppt, and stricter than the 14 ppt first proposed a year ago by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
"Every Pennsylvanian has a constitutional right to clean drinking water and should not fear that something so basic and necessary to their life is slowly poisoning them," State Rep. MaryLouise Isaacson (D-Philadelphia) wrote in a co-sponsorship memorandum.
President Joe Biden's administration proposed the even stricter standard of 4 ppt this month (read “U.S. EPA Proposes New LOWER PFAS Levels for National Primary Drinking Water Regulation”), but there's no guarantee it will be approved.
Related Content:
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation to protect public health from PFAS pollution. Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are human-made chemicals that do not occur naturally in the environment and can cause adverse developmental and immune system effects.
The proposed EPA regulation would establish legally enforceable levels, called maximum contaminant levels (MCLs), along with health-based, non-enforceable maximum contaminant-level goals (MCLGs) for six PFAS in drinking water:
The proposed rule notably establishes limits for more compounds and has more stringent levels than those adopted by the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board earlier this year. The commonwealth set MCLGs for PFOA at 8 ng/L and PFOS at 14 ng/L and MCLs for PFOA at 14 ng/L and PFOS at 18 ng/L. These levels were adopted to protect the health of commonwealth residents while the U.S. EPA continues to address rulemaking.
[The new US EPA "enforceable" limits for PFOA and PFOS is 4.0 parts per trillion. Practically EVERY Newtown Artesian Water Company well has levels ABOVE these amounts. See chart.]
More details: "Proposed PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation"
Related Content:
“New Proposed PA Legislation aims To Nearly Eliminate Cancerous Forever Chemicals (PFAS) In Drinking Water”; https://sco.lt/7tVL7Y
“EPA PFAS Fact Sheet”; https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-06/drinking-water-ha-pfas-factsheet-water-system.pdf
Scooped by johnmacknewtown |
[Image: Composite from test data provided by the Newtown Artesian Water Company.]
The Environmental Quality Board (EQB) published notice in the January 14, 2023, edition of the PA Bulletin of an amendment to Title 25, Chapter 109 of the PA Code relating to safe drinking water. This amendment sets maximum contaminant level goals and maximum contaminant levels for perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water.
Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) are members of the chemical group called PFAS. These are human-made chemicals that do not occur naturally in the environment. These chemicals are often known for use in surface protection products (including cookware treatments), food packaging materials, and some foam firefighting materials.
The new maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFOA and PFOS are 14 ng/L (ppt) and 18 ng/L (ppt), respectively, considerably lower than the current 2016 EPA health advisory level of 70 ng/L (ppt).
While EPA has begun the process of setting more stringent standards for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water, the federal rulemaking is expected to take years to complete.
Until then, these new levels will apply to all water systems in the commonwealth. Initial compliance monitoring for community water systems serving more than 350 persons will begin January 1, 2024; initial monitoring for community water systems serving less than or equal to 350 persons will begin January 1, 2025.
Related Content:
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New federal advisories for a family of unregulated chemicals could make three local communities a model for others looking to clean up their water supplies.
The Environmental Protection Agency last week released new advisories for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that are up to 17,000 times lower than a previous lifetime advisory of 70 parts per trillion of the “forever chemicals” in public wells.
The advisories are for four of the more common types of PFAS compounds, setting an advisory for PFOA at just four parts per quadrillion [0.004 ppt] and PFOS to 0.02 ppt.
The new levels, part of the EPA’s “Strategic Roadmap” toward PFAS regulation, aren’t far off from what Horsham, Warminster and Warrington have been using for several years, according to state Rep. Todd Stephens, R-151.
“People in Horsham, Warrington and Warminster, their water has been meeting these standards for years now and we’re glad that the federal government has finally caught up with us,” the Horsham lawmaker said during a phone interview Thursday.
With the new EPA guidelines almost certain to have communities across the country rethinking their water supplies, Stephens said it's likely towns in Pennsylvania and across the country might look to Bucks and Montgomery counties on ways to cut contamination.
“The (towns) in our area have been dealing with this issue now for many, many years and have already turned a corner on it. But there are some who may now be facing a new issue that they’re going to have to deal with for their water customers,” Stephens said.
“I would suggest that every municipality develop a plan to reduce the contaminants to the lowest possible level that they can because I think that the health advisory level will ultimately convert to law,” Bender said.
Municipalities should also find ways to connect with as many back-ups water supplies as possible.
A filtration system can take several years to design, permit and build out, Bender said.
The Delaware Riverkeeper Network, a longtime advocate for PFAS reform, said Wednesday the EPA’s new advisories are a significant acknowledgement of the potential danger posed by PFAS.
Related Content:
“EPA PFAS Fact Sheet”; https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-06/drinking-water-ha-pfas-factsheet-water-system.pdf
“PA DEP Announces Public Comment Period on New PFAS Drinking Water Regulation”; https://sco.lt/9CHzVo
“Perfluorinated Compounds Detected in Newtown Township's Water Supply”; http://sco.lt/70ujU9
Scooped by johnmacknewtown |
UPDATE (6/15/22): The EPA issued interim, updated drinking water health advisories for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) that replace those EPA issued in 2016. The updated advisory levels, which are based on new science and consider lifetime exposure, indicate that some negative health effects may occur with concentrations of PFOA or PFOS in water that are near zero and below EPA’s ability to detect at this time. See press release.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced today a 60-day public comment period that begins Saturday, February 26, 2022, on a new regulation to protect Pennsylvanians’ drinking water from PFAS chemicals.
The comment period concerns a proposed rule to set maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in drinking water for two forms of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) – to protect the public from potential adverse developmental and immune system effects linked to exposure to PFOA and PFOS. The comment period will begin Saturday, February 26, 2022, and close Wednesday, April 27, 2022.
“Since Governor Tom Wolf signed an executive order in 2018, DEP has worked tirelessly to protect Pennsylvanians from these chemicals. This public comment period allows stakeholders to share their feedback and concerns as we continue to put the safety and health of Pennsylvanians first,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell.
The proposed rule would set an MCL of 14 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and an MCL of 18 ppt for PFOS, which are stricter limits compared to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s lifetime Health Advisory Level (HAL) of 70 ppt for PFOS and PFOA combined.
When the comment period opens, comments may be submitted to the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) through DEP’s eComment system at http://www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/eComment. Comments may also be submitted via e-mail at RegComments@pa.gov. Each comment must include a subject heading of the proposed rulemaking and the name and address of the person submitting the comment. Written comments may be mailed to the Environmental Quality Board, P.O. Box 8477, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8477.
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A board within Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection has cleared the way for setting strict drinking-water limits for two forms of toxic man-made substances known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in humans and the environment.
The proposed rule approved Tuesday by the Environmental Quality Board would set stricter limits compared with a federal Environmental Protection Agency advisory for compounds within the per and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, family. The proposal is expected to be published next year in the PA Bulletin, followed by a 60-day public comment period and five public hearings.
“This rulemaking not only protects our environment from elevated levels of contamination and pollution but also protects the public health of Pennsylvanians,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell.
The rule would set limits of 14 parts per trillion for PFOA and 18 parts per trillion for PFOS. The current EPA health advisory level is set at 70 parts per trillion for both.
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Temple University's study into possible links between PFAS contamination and cancer is getting $1.6 million from Pennsylvania taxpayers.
The state passed a $40 billion spending budget that included funds requested in January by Reps. Todd Stephens, R-151, of Horsham; Meghan Schroeder, R-29, of Buckingham; and Todd Polinchock, R-144, of Warrington.
The state study by Temple's School of Public Health supplements a multi-state health study administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry currently underway.
The national study includes testing 1,300 residents in Horsham, Warrington and Warminster exposed to the chemicals used in firefighting foams for decades at former and active nearby military bases.
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[Chart: PFAS in some Newtown water wells are above limits set by other states. These wells are used to replenish fire hydrant water sources and not for drinking.]
Pennsylvania may be joining a growing list of states to set their own standards for federally unregulated chemicals known as PFAS.
The state's Environmental Quality Board voted 18-1 Tuesday morning to pursue a Maximum Contaminant Level rule for the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances found in public and private drinking water wells throughout the commonwealth. A lower state limit could give officials and residents legal grounds to hold polluters accountable.
It is uncertain at this time what limits the board may consider at a later date, but it does seem likely the rules will be significantly less than a federal advisory level in place since 2016.
Several states have created their own PFAS limits since as early as 2018, starting with New Jersey's limits for 13 ppt of PFOS and 14 ppt for PFOA. Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont have set similar standards, though the limits vary by each state.
The Federal Environmental Protection Agency set a lifetime health advisory level for PFAS of 70 ppt in May 2016, after conducting nationwide drinking water testing for potentially harmful chemicals.
Tuesday's vote came as the result of a 2017 petition from the Delaware Riverkeeper Network asking the board to set safe drinking water limits between 1 ppt to 6 ppt for PFOA, one of several PFAS chemicals.
While the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection did not support the Riverkeeper's limit to the board, the DEP did recommend moving forward based on state studies.
A Drexel University study on PFAS rules set by other states and statewide sampling published in January proposed several limits for Pennsylvania to consider.
The Drexel study recommended a limit of 8 ppt for PFOA and 14 ppt for PFOS, two of the most prevalent compounds.
The wait for a final rule could still be several months away at least, according to DEP spokesman Jamar Thrasher.
Nearly two years ago Governor Wolf claimed that regulation of PFAS in PA is “not going slowly.” LOL! If more than 2 years delay isn’t “slowly”, then I don’t know what “slowly” means.
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Rescooped by johnmacknewtown from Public Health & Safety |
Recruitment for a study into the long-term health effects of PFAS exposure in Bucks and Montgomery counties should start this spring.
Officials with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) are hoping to have 1,000 adults and 300 children exposed to the suspected carcinogen near Warminster, Warrington and Horsham.
The chemicals contaminated public and private drinking water wells for decades from firefighting foams used at nearby active and former military bases.
The ATSDR, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and researchers from the nonprofit group RTI International, the state Department of Health, Temple University and other groups have been organizing the study over the past several months.
Researchers were able to provide more details on eligibility during a Dec. 3 public Zoom meeting announcing the potential expansion of the study area since July.
The primary focus will be in residents living near some of the most heavily contaminated wells in the three townships, a population of roughly 32,000 people in 12,000 households.
Wells in Bucks and Montgomery counties were among the most contaminated sites tested in the country four years ago, with some having nearly 100 times more than the EPA’s 70 ppt limit.
Researchers will directly contact certain residents in those areas once a study site office is established and operational in the spring.
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After the Newtown Artesian Water Company (NAWC) sent a letter to residents in February 2019, that PFAS (Definition) - perfluorinated compounds - were detected in Newtown Township's water, supervisor Mack requested that Mr. Dan Angove, NAWC General Manager, return to report on the situation. Mr. Angove complied and presented the Q1 2019 test results at the May 8, 2019, Board of Supervisors public meeting (read "Update on PFAS in Newtown's Water Supply").
At that meeting, Mr. Angove promised that NAWC would test Newtown's water sources for PFAS every quarter and publish the results on its website. The 2019 third quarter (Q3) results are now available. John mack created charts to show the levels of PFAS in relation to different Minimum Contamination Levels (MCLs) and the trends.
Rescooped by johnmacknewtown from Public Health & Safety |
Wolf also gave an update on the state’s PFAS Action Team, saying the first results from a statewide water testing program were anticipated to be released this fall. He added the Pennsylvania Department of Health had hired a toxicologist to help study PFAS and that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection was finalizing a contract for an outside toxicologist to help develop state drinking water standards for the chemicals.
Asked about criticisms the state was moving too slowly to regulate PFAS, Wolf acknowledged that states such as New Jersey are further ahead on regulations but then pushed back.
“It’s not going slowly,” Wolf said. ”(New Jersey) started before we did. I think we’re catching up to them. We want to do this right, we want to have this science-based.”
State Sen. Maria Collett, D-12, of Lower Gwynedd, has introduced legislation that would force the creation of state standards for drinking water and hazardous substances (read “PA Senator Maria Collett Introduces Two PFAS Bills - Classifying PFAS as Hazardous Substances & Lowering 'Safe' Limits in Drinking Water to 10 ppt vs EPA's 70 ppt’"). Collett was in Greece on Thursday but released a statement welcoming the money and calling for additional action.
“While this is positive news for the pocketbooks of residents in my district, it is a band-aid on a bullethole,” Collett said. “Meaningful progress will not occur in Pennsylvania until we classify these dangerous chemicals as hazardous substances... and set a maximum contaminant level.”
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For years, we’ve been closely following the U.S. Department of Defense’s response to the discovery of toxic PFAS chemicals in water wells used by more than 70,000 local residents near current and former military bases where firefighting foams containing the chemicals were used since the 1970s. So we weren’t surprised to learn government officials knew about — but did little to address — the ways residents could be exposed to the chemicals beyond drinking water from their wells.
Still, the U.S. Navy gets a Thumbs Down for showing, once again, that ducking culpability while minimizing and delaying its response took priority over protecting residents from the contamination it caused.
Thousands of pages of recently obtained internal documents, which reporters Kyle Bagenstose and Jenny Wagner reviewed, yielded a number of instances in recent years in which environmental experts counseled Navy officials to evaluate exposure pathways other than drinking water. Examples include consumption of crops fertilized with waste from treatment plants and fish caught in nearby ponds and streams.
But it seems the advice was either ignored or considered but then dismissed. In one case, a remedial project manager for the Navy sent word to the East Coast director of the Navy’s Base Realignment and Closure program that he could evaluate potential fish exposure pathways in Warminster. The director responded telling him to “hold off on that course of action” until higher-ranking officials could weigh in.
We’re not sure what happened after that, but the communications office of the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry told us last month that fish near the bases still had not been tested. We wish that came as a surprise.
Related Stories:
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Pennsylvania health official provided more details on a chemical blood testing study conducted last year near military bases in Bucks and Montgomery counties.
Long-term residents, men, and those living closest to military bases in Bucks and Montgomery counties have the highest levels of firefighting chemicals in their blood, according to a presentation given by Pennsylvania Department of Health officials at the Horsham Township Library on Monday night (April 29. 2019).
The presentation offered the latest details on a blood testing program the department conducted last year. The test enlisted 235 residents of Horsham, Warrington, and Warminster to have their blood drawn. While the department previously made public that residents of all three towns had elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in their blood, officials Monday presented more complex analysis.
Sharon Watkins, director of the Bureau of Epidemiology, said scientists found that in addition to higher levels of PFAS being found in those groups, those who used private wells as opposed to public water supplies, those who drank more tap water, and those with a higher body mass index had elevated PFAS levels. But after putting the data for statistical rigors, some stuck out more than others.
“When we did that, one of the primary findings was that the average serum levels ... were positively associated with drinking water source and total length of residence in the study area,” Watkins said. “If you lived in the area more than 10 years, you generally had higher levels of PFAS.”
Township-by-township results showed that Horsham residents had the highest levels of the four PFAS that were tested for: PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, and PFNA. The first chemical is the one most closely associated with firefighting foam use, and testing results showed the 69 people tested in Horsham had an average of 12.38 parts per billion (ppb) in their blood, compared to a national average of about 4.72 ppb.
PFOS levels in Warminster averaged 10.06 ppb, and Warrington was split: a 11.47 ppb average in a district that used groundwater for the public system, and 5.65 ppb in a system that traditionally purchased water from the North Wales Water Authority.
Since the contamination was discovered, the water systems in all three towns have implemented zero-tolerance plans to remove the chemicals down to nondetectable levels.
Read more to learn about plans to study if there is a link between PFAS in blood to increased cahnce of developing cancer.
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Rescooped by johnmacknewtown from Public Health & Safety |
Thursday marks the third anniversary of when firefighting foam sprang to life in a “special report” on the front page of local papers. The top of page one shouted, “Unclear and uncertain danger,” announcing a water crisis in Bucks and Montgomery counties that continues unabated. The latest headline accuses the EPA of spinning wheels.
In 2015, the Department of the Navy posted a small notice for a public information session set during a workday regarding contamination at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove in Horsham and the Johnsville Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster. We locals were used to this — we all knew the bases were Superfund sites.
We’ve got many sick friends and neighbors. As an A-10 Warthog flies and firefighting foam seeps, only 3 miles separate the two bases — both have tested at the highest levels in the nation.
This has long been known and artfully hidden from the public. The earliest concerns date to reports from Dupont in 1954. More than a decade ago, the National Fire Prevention Association’s Committee on firefighting foam stated that consumption of PFOA and PFOS was a death warrant.
Although the EPA lowered its “advisory” limit to 70 parts per trillion, ppt, Harvard University Chan School of Public Health said their research showed that the level should be 1 ppt. Richard Clapp, the leading researcher, spoke at the only meeting held in Warminster that was sponsored by the township’s Environmental Advisory Council. He told us that New Jersey’s limit of 14 ppt was closer to what was needed, but is still inadequate.
If we stop being mesmerized by the EPA, Navy and Department of Defense spinning wheels, we’ll realize that we’re being played for fools. Veterans have taken the brunt. Government strategy has been out of the same playbook that they use for traumatic brain injuries. They used it against Agent Orange claims, PTSD, shell shock and a host of other veteran issues.
Our answer now lies at the state level. We need to actively support Senate and House bills like Tom Murt’s — co-sponsored by Madeleine Dean and others — to set a 5 ppt limit for Pennsylvania. The Delaware Riverkeeper Network, DRN, submitted a similar petition for rulemaking to the Environmental Quality Board, EQB.
All our local legislators, Gov. Wolf and Sen. Casey are on our side. We, the people, just need to step it up. It’s our water, our health. Over 80,000 local residents and many veterans are depending on what we do. Let’s end the spinning wheels.
[Warminster resident Larry Menkes is the CEO of Veterans Green Jobs Initiative that finds green jobs for wounded warriors.]
Further Reading: