Source: http://www.nj.com, January 24, 2017
By: Alex Napoliello
The U.S. Air Force is actively testing drinking water wells used by private residences in four Burlington and Ocean county towns surrounding Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JB MDL).
Tech Sgt. Chris Powell said requests to test water samples were hand delivered to residences in New Hanover, Pemberton, Manchester and Jackson.
The requests started going out to residents in early December. Powell said the Air Force did not receive all of the sample packages back and yet have recently sent out a second round of notifications.
Results from the water wells already tested are currently in labs, he said.
The process of testing private drinking water wells was initiated by the Air Force after two perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), were found to have levels above the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard in some samples of groundwater and surface waters.
The Air Force recently collected approximately 160 groundwater samples and 30 surface water samples at 21 sites across the base. The chemical compounds have not been found in any of the drinking water on the base.
The two PFC compounds can be found in firefighter foam and other products such as clothing, carpeting, furniture and food packaging. Manufacturers use PFCs to repel oil and water from these items, among others.
“It’s not something that’s an emergency,” Powell said. “But it’s definitely something that the Air Force is taking serious and is working with all the state regulators to ensure this process is being done thoroughly.”
A note provided to residents in Jackson said if sampling results come back with levels that exceed EPA standards, “the Air Force will take immediate action to ensure you are provided clean water to drink, at no cost to you.”
Powell did not know how many private residences had received the water well sampling packages. Contrary to other news reports, Powell said there is no testing currently being done in Lakehurst.
A press release issued by the base in November said there are currently no federal regulatory standards for PFCs, and there is “uncertainty on the impact of PFCs to human health.”
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, some studies on the effects PFCs on humans show the compound may increase cholesterol, affect the immune system, increase cancer risk, decrease fertility and affect the development of a fetus and child.
However, the agency stressed that these tests are premature and scientists are “not yet certain about the possible health effects.”
“At this time, there is not enough information to evaluate the health effects of exposures to mixtures of PFAS,” the agency said on its website. “Further studies are needed to understand whether the same effects are caused by the same mechanism of action.”
Still, the Air Force isn’t taking any chances. They said they are currently transitioning away from using PFCs to a “more environmentally sound alternative.” That transition is expected to be completed sometime this year.
Powell said the testing process will be transparent and the results from the tests will eventually be made public.
“Once the whole process is over with,” he said, “all the results will be released in a public document.”