Chincoteague likely had PFAS in drinking water for years. What's changing to make it safe

Not all research by NASA's best minds is meant solely to be applied beyond the surly bonds of Earth, and their advancements to fight pervasive water pollution is a prime example.

Water contaminants like PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, refers to thousands of human-made chemicals that can cause maladies like a compromised immune system, higher rates of cancer, and developmental issues in fetuses and newborn if the mother is infected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 97% of the public already has trace amounts in their blood.

This year, NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility moved to quarterly sampling of Wallops’ drinking water and production wells as a result of low contaminant levels along with the town of Chincoteague's deep wells. Such sampling has yielded five years of data showing "non-detect or less than one part per trillion detections of PFAS" and other contaminants.

Investigations between 2000 and 2016 by the Army Corps at various areas around Wallops Flight Facility identified several areas of concern. From 2012 through 2016, PFAS was also found in the Chincoteague drinking water supply.

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According to the Environmental Protection Agency, samples that exceed 28 parts per trillion of the contaminants means conducting yearly monitoring with the results to be reported to the department.

Samples that exceed 35 parts per trillion of the contaminants means conducting semi-annual monitoring at the impacted water treatment plant and conducting yearly sampling at other points of entry.

Finally, samples exceeding 70 parts per trillion require issuing a Tier II Public Notification, taking the impacted water treatment plant offline, exploring treatment options or acquiring alternate water sources, and conducting quarterly monitoring.

"We invested a great deal of time building a relationship with regulatory agencies as we began doing our investigations. Beginning in 1998 to 2002, we started working with the Environmental Protection Agency (and other partners) in terms of what needed to get done," said TJ Meyer, Medical and Environmental Management Division deputy division chief at Wallops Flight Facility.

A 2017 petition by the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1923 union, which represents employees at Wallops Flight Facility, requested the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to estimate historical PFAS levels in Chincoteague drinking water.

Members of the union employed at NASA checked public records for the amount of water Chincoteague had been pumping from affected wells for the past 10 to 30 years and concluded it was likely that residents had been exposed to the chemical at 5-10 times the federally recommended limit.

In 2004, NASA and the EPA entered into their first consent agreement, under which NASA agreed to conduct cleanup on areas of concern where NASA was the responsible party. In 2020, NASA and EPA entered into a second consent agreement to address Formerly Used Defense Sites where the Department of Defense was determined to be the responsible party.

The town’s shallow wells and finished drinking water are still sampled monthly, and Wallops Island Flight Facility still shares all results with federal and state health and environmental agencies.

RELATED INVESTIGATION: 'Forever chemicals' PFAS likely in Chincoteague water for years. No one told residents

The Wallops campus added a new water production well replacing another that was shut down in 2019. Tests showed low concentrations of PFAS in only that well. According to Wallops, these detections were likely due to the age of the well and historic construction methods used.

The infrastructure design to connect the well to the main base water system was approved by the Virginia Department of Health in 2021.

BACKGROUND: Chincoteague drinking water: Feds to investigate if it's been contaminated for decades

Construction began in February 2022.

"So many of the issues we handle are so multifaceted and there isn't just one organization that has the umbrella on it. There's no single entity that can do all of it and that translates directly to our environmental work. These partnerships have been brilliant as evidenced by the work we've done," said Jeremy Eggers, chief of the Office of Communications at the NASA Wallops Island Flight Facility.

The facility completed the pipeline installation to connect the well to the main base water system with all remaining construction completed by August 2022. State health department approval to operate the well is expected by the end of this year.

Chincoteague water

NASA initially began supplementing the town of Chincoteague’s drinking water with water from Wallops’ finished drinking water in spring 2017 while at the same time evaluating groundwater treatment options to remove PFAS. That has since ceased since the town is once again using all its deep and shallow water wells for production.

The NASA investigators discovered that, due to groundwater flow paths and the particular signature of the PFAS found in the Chincoteague wells, it is most likely that the PFAS contaminating those wells came from the last large use at Wallops of PFAS-laced firefighting foam, known as AFFF, which was during a jet crash on the eastern side of the main base in 1998.

BACKGROUND: Chemical found in wells that supply Chincoteague drinking water

NASA installed a groundwater treatment system using granular activated carbon, a proven technology for removing PFAS, enabling the town of Chincoteague to resume use of its shallow wells and an additional deep well for water production. The Virginia Department of Health issued an operations permit for the system in March 2021, and the system went into full operation at the end of April 2021.

As of May 31, 2022, the system has treated more than 45 million gallons of water.

"One of the big partners we have is the community itself not just in the information sharing on our behalf where there's education. We're only as good as the information. The ways the public envisions outreach and education when we communicate with them is important," said Alex Mandell, community involvement coordinator for the EPA in regards to any instance of environmental contamination.

NASA is preparing reports summarizing the results of the investigations on the main base and Wallops Island. These reports will be released to the public after review and approval by federal and state health and environmental agencies.

More on PFAS levels in Wicomico CountyWhere is PFAS in Wicomico County?

The federal environmental agency notes the public can find out about the quality of their water and finds ways to limit exposure to such contaminants by finding out the source of their drinking water, compare your state's standards for PFAS contamination to others, and learning about in-home filters for for drinking water.

The EPA does not regulate or provide recommended standards for private wells. However, its does provide information on well testing and guidance on technologies that may be used to treat or remove contaminants.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: NASA Wallops makes changes with PFAS Chincoteague drinking water