Reminder: Register for Blood Draw Clinics by April 30! -- Blood test clinics will be held April 29 through mid-May.
You are eligible for the clinics, if:
- DEC tested the well of the home in North Bennington/Bennington where you live now, or where you lived any time in the past eight years, and/or -
- You worked or lived at the former Chemfab/Saint-Gobain site at 940/1030 Water Street in North Bennington or you work or live there now.
To begin the registration process, complete the online survey by April 30.
PFOA Blood Draw Clinic for College Students --
The Health Department is offering a special PFOA blood draw clinic for students from eligible households who have been away at college. The clinic will be held at the Health Department district office in Bennington on the morning of Tuesday, May 24. To register your student for this clinic, call the Health Department at 800-439-8550.
Saint-Gobain creates new website for Bennington community -- Saint-Gobain developed a website to specifically outline its response efforts to date in Bennington and North Bennington, and to foster public dialogue between the company and the community. Check it out at www.benningtonwater.com.
Advice for gardeners -- Based upon the preliminary soil results showing very low concentrations of PFOA in soils, the Agency of Agriculture does not anticipate significant uptake of PFOA into plants and vegetables from garden soils. Gardeners are encouraged to proceed with their plantings and follow two recommendations: 1) Use water containing less than 20 ppt PFOA in your garden and 2) Add clean compost to amend garden soils.
Bottled water pick-up at new location -- Residents within expanded areas of concern can now pick up bottled water from D's Market & Deli at 1404 East Road in Bennington.
Citizen's Advisory Group --
DEC has initiated the possible forming of a Citizen's Advisory Group to advance citizen's concerns directly with Saint-Gobain. The make-up is yet to be determined but would include delegate representatives from citizens, representatives from Saint-Gobain, and could include technical assistance from the Toxics Action Center and DEC. If you are interested in participating in the formation of this group, please contact Shaina Kasper (Toxics Action Center) at (802) 223-4099.
Sample count to-date -- More than 300 private drinking water wells in the areas of concern in Bennington and North Bennington have been sampled to date. Results have been received for 232 wells in North Bennington, with 126 containing PFOA above the 20ppt health advisory limit. An additional 64 samples were collected last week from expanded areas of concern near Old Bennington and south of the Old Bennington Landfill.
Drinking water sampling nearby old Bennington Landfill -- Private wells continue to be sampled around the closed landfill, mostly in suspect areas in down gradient direction from the landfill. Sampling will continue over the next couple of weeks. If you live in this area (just east of Route 7, north of Routh 279, and west of East Road), sign-up to have your well tested.
Reminder! Sign-up for well testing online if within expanded area of concern -- View the updated
area of interest map
. If you have a private well and live within the outlined areas of concern, and have not had your well sampled yet, register now using this
online form.
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