#MiddleburyCT #Superfund #Veterans
VETERANS POST
By Freddy Groves
It’s not enough that I spent part of my childhood on a base that ended up as a Superfund site. This week I discovered that my current town, where I’ve lived for many years, has water contaminated by chemicals from the nearby now-defunct base.
The base, a mere few miles from my home, was declared a Superfund site in the 1980s due to the firefighting foams that contained two different perfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS), specifically perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), both deadly “forever chemicals.” Three years later responsibilities were established for who would deal with the mess, and the base was eventually closed due to BRAC (base realignment and closure).
The base was repeatedly cleaned and tested over the years, with acres paved over to contain the worst of the contaminated ground that they couldn’t dig up. Changes were made in how the water was treated as time went on, but chemicals were still found in the water. In some areas, a landfill cap was put in place; in others, there was removal of more soil; and in some areas there was cleanup and ongoing monitoring. Eventually those in authority considered the whole matter done and dusted.
Now we learn that the original PFAS chemicals at the base may be contaminating the aquifer – where we get our drinking water. Hidden away under their dirt cap, those chemicals appear to have migrated downhill. Tests done last year show that the level of chemicals was double what the state recommends, and one well was taken offline. New monitors were installed. Now, however, a recent test showed extremely high readings, higher than ever, with suspicion that closing that first well was driving the chemicals to the remaining wells where we get our drinking water.
The lesson here is this: If you live near a base that was deemed a Superfund site, and if remediation was done and the site declared to be clean, that does not mean problems won’t come back in the future. Water does, after all, flow downhill.
© 2023 King Features Synd. Inc.
