The WI Department of Natural Resources has announced that it is has established an internal workgroup to help determine the scope of the problem and best courses of action in response to PFAS – emerging contaminants that threaten the State’s drinking water sources and fresh water fisheries.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of toxic man-made chemicals that are very persistent and mobile in the environment, creating huge groundwater contaminant plumes that readily migrate miles from source areas. Exposure to certain forms of PFAS is associated with low infant birth weights, effects on the immune system, cancer and thyroid hormone disruption.
Among the priority sites in Wisconsin are Mitchell Air Force Base (Milwaukee), Truax Field (Madison), Volk Field (Camp Douglas) and Fort McCoy (Sparta) where high levels of PFAS have been detected in soils and groundwater.
At Fort McCoy, PFAS concentrations in groundwater have been reported as high as 121,000 parts per trillion (ppt) – more than 1,700 times the EPA Health Advisory Level of 70 ppt for drinking water.
The suspected source at these sites is aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) containing PFAS which has been used by the Department of Defense for over 40 years for suppressing liquid fuel fires, fire-training exercises and other emergency fire response activities. As a result of these activities, groundwater, surface water, and plants and animals in the vicinity of military installations have become contaminated with PFAS, some much more than others.
However the State has yet to ask the military to test nearby drinking water wells despite tragic outcomes near industrial sites elsewhere in the state. The Tyco/Johnson Controls fire-training facility in Marinette is the source of PFAS groundwater contamination that has spread, threatening nearby fisheries and affecting residential wells. So far, at least 36 families have been exposed to PFAS in their drinking water. The highest concentration detected in a private well was 1900 ppt, far above the EPA’s Health Advisory Level of 70 ppt.
Of the more than 11,000 public water systems in Wisconsin, only 90 have been tested for PFAS. The one-time testing was conducted pursuant to EPA’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule which requires the collection of data for contaminants that may be present in drinking water but do not have health-based standards set under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The rule required limited testing for six (6) of the more than 5,000 PFAS compounds and a list of 24 other unregulated contaminants.
Of the 90 community water systems tested from 2013 – 2015 in Wisconsin, PFAS was detected in two (2) public water systems above the EPA’s Health Advisory Level of 70 ppt — La Crosse (140 ppt) and Rhinelander (117 ppt). A WDNR report on the current status of these public systems is pending.
The Army recently announced that environmental testing for PFAS will be conducted at the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant. However, nearby residential wells and public water systems including Prairie du Sac and the Bluffview community have never been tested for PFAS.
In September 2017, CSWAB successfully petitioned the Wisconsin DNR to start the process for establishing enforceable groundwater standards for two common forms of PFAS – PFOA and PFOS. The petition was forwarded to toxicologists with the Wisconsin Division of Public Health and an interim drinking water health advisory level is expected by early 2019. The rule-making process for enforceable groundwater and drinking water standards normally takes several years. However, even without these standards in place, the State has authority to require cleanup and remediation of PFAS and other unregulated contaminants.
To date, the military has not held any public meetings in Wisconsin to assure that area residents, water utilities and local government are engaged and informed of discovered PFAS contamination.