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11/08/2022 03:37 PMA long-awaited State issued report on the extent of the perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination detected in several dozen area well tests in 2020 will be issued next week, according to town officials. Officials did not want to comment on what the report might contain until the final version is publicly released, but it is known that further testing will be conducted and the extent of the contamination is expected to widen in some capacity.
State officials discovered the contamination near the Killingworth firehouse on Route 81 next to Town Hall during testing in 2021. The contaminants are believed to have been released via firefighting foams that the Killingworth Fire Department utilized for many years. Concerns have been raised that these compounds may have possible ties to health issues including, developmental disorders, thyroid issues, and several cancers.
According to State and Town officials, further sampling of drinking water at another 70 nearby homes, discovered that approximately 34 of those private wells contained lesser amounts of PFAS and as many as 15 of the wells exceeded established health limits.
First Selectwoman Nancy Gorski said that she could not comment publicly on any specifics of the report but stressed that the problem needs immediate resolution for residents.
“At this point, I don’t want to comment until they [the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Department of Public Health (DPH)] are ready to speak to the media,” Gorski said. “I am anxious at this point to receive the final report and move forward with whatever we have to do to — not only mitigate the impact of PFAS, but to conduct any remediation that is available to us.”
Currently, Killingworth’s contamination appears to be centered around the area surrouding the firehouse and Town Hall and includes more than two dozen wells where some level of PFAS contamination has been found. Unfortunately, the issue of PFAS contamination is something that is likely to increase around the state and the country as more and more areas of potential contamination have been identified and tested, according to Gorski and State media releases.
Gorski met with DPH and DEEP officials earlier this month in the hopes of receiving the final report, but it was not submitted to the town at that meeting.
“Killingworth is obviously very much impacted by PFAS, and we are likely not to be the last town in Connecticut or the nation to be impacted by this,” Gorski said. “Once we get the final report… we can begin to discuss what the next steps will be.”
According to published reports, PFAS have been used for decades in the manufacture of numerous products, including non-stick pans, carpeting, hydrophobic clothing, food packaging, and a firefighting foam that was routinely utilized and released into the environment during emergencies and training exercises.
According to State estimates, there are more than 2,400 sites across Connecticut where officials suspect possible PFAS contamination, including airports, factories, firehouses, and even sewage treatment facilities.
It is known that PFAS do accumulate in the human body, but as of yet, though suspected, there has been no clear link established as to whether or how much of a negative impact these compounds can have on human health.
However, there are other obvious concerns such as property values, who is going to pay for health testing, and who will pay for remediation and/or well-site mitigation for those properties affected by contamination.
There is some positive news concerning recent state testing conducted in the last few years by DEEP and DPH. Though other sites of contamination have been discovered across Connecticut, the respective departments have stated that at many of the sites where they had expected to find unhealthy amounts of contamination, no significant levels were detected. Including major cities such as Hartford, Stamford, and New Haven.