Letter to the Editor: Why Winooski residents should be concerned about PFAS - “forever chemicals”

On June 15, 2022 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued interim updated drinking water health advisories for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). PFOA and PFOS are two types of man-made chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are harmful to human and environmental health.

There are over 9,000 types of PFAS.  The updated advisory levels, which are based on new science and consider lifetime exposure, indicate that some negative health effects may occur with concentrations of PFOA or PFOS in water that are near zero parts per trillion (ppt). Currently, no labs in Vermont can detect PFOA or PFOS at amounts below 2 ppt.

Vermont regulates only five types of the 9,000+ forms of PFAS compounds currently in circulation. These five are PFOS, PFOA, PFHpA, PFHxS, and PFNA, and the state only regulates these in drinking water and groundwater by limiting their total concentration to no more than 20 ppt.

The Vermont PFAS/Military Poisons Coalition evaluated the water in the Winooski River and found PFAS levels in the Salmon Hole, a popular fishing spot in Winooski, at 148.5 parts per trillion (ppt). The contaminated Winooski River water sample contained 37.8. ppt of the extremely toxic compound PFOS and 1.0 ppt of PFOA, another highly toxic PFAS contaminant listed by the EPA in its new advisory.

Why should Winooski and Vermont residents be concerned? PFAS chemicals have been linked to several types of cancer, liver, kidney, and thyroid damage, inflammatory bowel disease, low birth weight, and reduced vaccine effectiveness, among other dire health impacts. Public health experts say chemicals in the PFAS family seriously threaten public health.

On a more practical level, several varieties of PFAS, especially PFOS, bioaccumulate in fish tissue over time, explaining why seemingly low concentrations in surface waters can and often do translate into very high levels in fish, threatening the health of people who consume those fish. The Winooski River provides a habitat for many fish varieties: landlocked Atlantic salmon, steelhead rainbow trout, walleye, smallmouth bass, rock bass, and white perch.

According to the VT Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) report, 2021 Vermont Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Surface Water, Fish Tissue, and Wastewater Treatment Facility Effluent Monitoring Report, “The sites with the highest PFAS concentrations were the mouth of the Winooski River and the mouth of Otter Creek. PFOS concentrations in fish tissue collected at these sites were 15.1 ppb and 9.82 ppb,
respectively. The fish tissue data from this monitoring effort will be used by Vermont
Department of Health to determine if these levels pose any health risk to consumers.”

In order to better understand these ANR figures, let’s convert them into parts per trillion, the water standard used for Vermont at 20 ppt of which PFOS and PFOA are only two of the five types of regulated PFAs. In the 2021 ANR study, PFOS measured in fish at 15,100 ppt at the mouth of the Winooski River and 9,820 ppt at Otter Creek. Keep in mind that only nine fish total were tested at three sites in the Winooski River (with results for only seven fish noted in the study) and only three varieties: yellow perch, northern pike, and brown bullhead.  Furthermore, no fish have been tested in Lake Champlain for PFAS. This first ANR study is part of a longer series of studies before ANR will issue any fish advisories related to PFAS. Given the few samples, this could take years.

According to an analysis published in the Environmental Health Journal, the VT ANR,  Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and Health Department, like other government agencies across the country, are failing in their public communications around PFAS, downplaying its many health risks, and conducting studies at an exceedingly slow rate. At a minimum, fish advisories should be issued for yellow perch and brown bullhead, the two species with the highest concentrations of PFOS, and not including other forms of PFAS. Other states, such as Maine, are issuing fish advisories for some of these species at levels noted in the VT report.

Marguerite Adelman, Coordinator of the VT PFAS/Military Poisons Project, and Robert Ackland, member of VT PFAS/Military Poisons Project, both Winooski residents, tested water in the Winooski River for PFAS levels.

What can Winooski residents do to protect themselves? At this point, it is hard to know if Winooski municipal water contains PFAS above 0 ppt and below 2 ppt, since no VT laboratories can detect PFAS at these levels. Some water pitchers are available that supposedly filter PFAS out of water. Those who regularly catch and eat fish out of the Winooski River might want to consider limiting their consumption until more is known about PFAS in our rivers and streams.

The best thing individuals can do is limit their consumption of products that contain PFAS. You’d be surprised at the number of products that contain PFAS, including water-resistant clothing, non-stick cookware, food packaging, stain-resistant carpeting and furniture, long-lasting cosmetics (i.e, mascara and lipstick), personal hygiene products, cleaning products, and more.  

Following in the footsteps of Governor Whitmer of Michigan and President Biden, both of whom issued an order for state and federal offices to limit the purchase of PFAS products, the VT PFAS/Military Poisons Coalition is advocating that state and local offices stop purchasing PFAS products.  To that end, the Coalition has created an information sheet on where individuals can buy PFAS-free products that can be downloaded to a computer. Currently, the Coalition is working with the City of Winooski to see if we can get city offices to stop buying products with PFAS, products that end up in landfills, and then leach PFAS into our rivers and soil.

Until PFAS, in its many forms, is banned, we must do all we can to keep our water, air, and soil free of these highly toxic and bioaccumulative contaminants that are known as “forever chemicals” because they are proving difficult and extremely expensive to get out of our environment and our bodies.

Marguerite Adelman is a Winooski resident and Coordinator of the VT PFAS/Military Poisons Project.