PFOA Contamination Response: Community Updates
Week of 05/09/2016
You are receiving this e-mail because you have requested to be updated on Vermont's PFOA response efforts, or because your well was recently sampled. Weekly updates are sent out on Thursdays. If you wish to stop receiving these updates, you may unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of this e-mail. Thank you.
bloodHealth Department Offers Additional PFOA Blood Testing Clinics
BURLINGTON - The Vermont Department of Health has added three more PFOA blood draw clinics for people in Bennington and North Bennington affected by PFOA contamination of drinking water. Two clinics are scheduled for June, and one will be held in late May for students who are returning home from college. The blood draw clinics are being conducted with support from Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.
 
Private drinking water wells in the area around the former Chemfab/Saint-Gobain site have had detections of PFOA ranging from non-detect to nearly 3,000 parts per trillion, significantly above Vermont's advisory level of 20 parts per trillion for drinking water.

The blood tests will measure the level of PFOA in an individual's blood, and this can be compared to levels measured by CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for adults and older children in the U.S. Most adults have low levels of PFOA in their blood.

People eligible for the testing should register by May 31, 2016. There is no cost to participants for the either the blood draw or laboratory analysis.
Eligibility - A person is eligible for the blood test if:
  1. The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation 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 -
  2. 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.
Registration and Scheduling - To begin the registration process, complete the online survey by May 31, 2016: http://survey.healthvermont.gov/s3/PFOA-Blood-Draw-Registration .
The Health Department will contact eligible participants to schedule appointments. Before having blood drawn at the scheduled appointment, a health and exposure questionnaire must be completed for each participant regarding water consumption patterns, diet and exercise, work history, and health history.

Clinic Dates - Blood draw clinics for eligible people are by appointment only. The clinics will be held at the Health Department district office in Bennington for returning students on May 24, and for other eligible residents on June 24 and June 28.

Reporting Results - After the clinics are completed, it will be several months for the results to be analyzed and reported back to individuals.

It takes about two to four years for PFOA blood levels to reduce by half. The most important action to protect health is to remove the exposure. The State has been working to provide bottled water and install in-home filtration systems as the short-term solution for affected residents.

To view the press release on the Department of Health website, click here. 
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BenningtonNorth Bennington & Bennington Update
Updated Area of Interest Map -- The area of interest map for North Bennington was updated this week with most recently received drinking water sampling results and posted to the web. Note that the area of concern boundaries have not changed. View the map here.

Residents are still signing up to have their wells sampled. Please help DEC concentrate its efforts by speaking with your neighbors
to make sure everyone in the area of a concern with a  private well gets a sample drawn. Sign-up to have your well tested using this online form.
 
Point-of-entry-treatment system (POET) results mailed this week -- Water testing results were mailed out this week to residents who have had POETs installed and follow-up water testing. If you have not received your results yet, please be patient as they are currently being processed and mailed. The systems are effectively treating for PFOA, which is a great result for all homeowners who are anxious to be drinking their water again. The temporary spike in arsenic levels after POET installation remains an issue, but generally resolves itself after approximately 500 gallons of water has run through a system, which for many systems is around two weeks. Follow-up arsenic sampling has shown arsenic levels to be well below the drinking water standard.

Soil Sampling Results mailed out this week -- Copies of the soil sampling results have been sent to the property owners where samples were taken from.  With this action now being complete these results will be posted to the DEC web page next week.  If interested, go to the DEC PFOA webpage to see these results starting on Monday, May 16. 

Update on POET installations in the Bennington Landfill area -- DEC has been notified by residents in the Bennington Landfill area with wells containing PFOA above 20 ppt that they have not yet been contacted about having a treatment system installed.  DEC contacted Saint-Gobain and received confirmation that Saint-Gobain's contractor, Culligan, will be notifying affected residents  in this area within the next two weeks for a site consultation, with treatment system installation to follow.
 
Northside Drive municipal connections update -- A cost estimate was received from MSK Engineers to connect four impacted homes with private wells on Northside Drive to the municipal water system. One home is electing to not be connected to the system.  

Site investigation of former Chembfab plant to begin -- Environmental consulting firm CT Male has submitted a final proposal to DEC for conducting a site investigation on the exterior and interior of the former Chemfab plant on 1030 Water Street. The investigation will help officials determine the degree and extent of PFOA contamination at the facility, and how PFOA and other perfluorinated compounds may have been released from the facility.  
 
PownalPownal Update
No significant updates in Pownal this week.

For questions on bottled water delivery, please consult this information sheet  developed by Unicorn Management Consultants, the company paying for the bottled-water delivery.


infoInformation Resources Available
For general PFOA questions and concerns:
Call 2-1-1.
Visit: Vermont DEC PFOA Response Page

For questions about potential health effects of PFOA:
Call the Vermont Department of Health toll-free at 800-439-8550.
Visit: Vermont Department Health PFOA Page

You may also reply to this e-mail with general questions.