Maine Environmental Group finds high levels of PFAS in the Androscoggin River
By Pat Elder
January 3, 2022
In addition to the PFAS test, Ed Friedman measures specific conductivity for a general measure of water quality. - Photo: Pat Elder
Ed Friedman with Friends of Merrymeeting Bay (FOMB) in Bowdoinham, Maine teamed up with local activists and other FOMB members Barbara West and Martha Spiess to test for PFAS in the Androscoggin River and a nearby stream that empties into it.
They found alarming levels of the cancer-causing chemicals.
The group met on a crisp morning in late October at the Merrymeeting Dog Park and walked on the picturesque trail along the river to the outfall of the Brunswick Sewer District on the Androscoggin River. Sewer pipes that empty into rivers aren’t normal destinations for hikers, but this group knew exactly where it was heading to collect a water sample.
PFAS test kits used in the current sampling are manufactured by Cyclopure, a materials science company. The test kits are finding widespread use and have been found to be remarkably accurate.
The environmentalists also collected a sample from a stream between Bath Rd. and Allagash Drive, draining ponds on the former Brunswick Naval Air Station (BNAS) about 2,500 feet from where the stream empties into the Androscoggin. The site is about a mile southeast from the Brunswick Sewer District and just west of Cook’s Corner.
The red X shows the sewer outfall on the Androscoggin River. The yellow X is the site of the stream with dangerously high levels of the carcinogens.
Here’s what they found:
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The group reported 363.1 parts per trillion (ppt) of PFOS (per-and poly fluoroalkyl substances) in a stream draining out of the former Brunswick Naval Air Station into the Androscoggin River. They also found 51.1 ppt of PFOS in the river at the Brunswick Sewer District outfall which still receives and discharges wastewater from the former air station. PFOS is among the most dangerous of PFAS compounds because it bioaccumulates in seafood.
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Maine limits the 6 PFAS compounds in the preceding table and listed below to 20 ppt (alone or in combination) in drinking water:
• Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
• Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS)
• Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS)
• Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
• Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA)
• Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA).
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Total PFAS concentrations were 183.1 ppt for the river (total of 36 different PFAS compounds detected) and 1,661.2 ppt for the stream (total of 29 different compounds detected). Cyclopure tests for 55 PFAS compounds.
The Navy & DEP tested the toxic stream water for only three PFAS compounds at the same spot in 2018. The sample site is shown at the top of this Navy graphic as the green triangle marked “SW-52”.
Activists reported five times more PFAS than did the Navy but the Navy only analyzed for three compounds. Compared to most states, Maine’s done a pretty good job trying to get in front of the PFAS avalanche of poisons. But this report reminds us how far Maine has to go.
6:2 Fluorotelomer Sulfonate (6:2 FTS)
The stream draining former Brunswick Naval Air Station contains a shocking concentration of 886.4 ppt 6:2 FTS, a common substitute for PFOS in various industrial applications and in fire-fighting foam. (See both sets of results below.) The EPA has not established a reference dose or a reference concentration for 6:2 FTS. It’s a shame they’re not more on the ball. Several studies indicate 6:2 FTS can cause kidney and liver damage in rodents. Scientists have found considerable concentrations of 6:2 FTS in marine invertebrates, indicative of uptake by biological communities.
Brunswick NAS was officially closed on September 15, 2011. The Navy used firefighting foams containing various PFAS compounds from the 1970’s until closure however stores of firefighting foam persist on the former base, now run by the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA).
Maine is not unique. This is occurring across the country. The sources of most PFAS in the environment are not mysteries. The state has a very good idea who is polluting the environment with it. Vigorously clamping down on the sources of Maine contamination has not been a priority.
Maine has the authority and the ability to monitor pollution and set stringent contaminant levels for PFAS in industrial sewage and surface water discharges. It doesn’t help that any commitment Maine regulators may have had to protect health from PFAS has been undermined by the talk-a-lot- do-little EPA under former President Trump. Despite recent decisions under President Biden to add select PFAS to their Contaminant Candidate List, we have yet to see concrete and meaningful regulatory actions from EPA.
The Navy discharged massive quantities of firefighting foams containing various PFAS compounds for about 35 years. Think of the subsurface soil as a kind of giant subterranean sponge with astronomically high concentrations of the compounds. These chemicals perpetually seep into surface waters along hillsides and ravines. It’s busy under the ground, kind of like all of the arteries and veins in our bodies. Brunswick, Maine is in trouble. PFAS is not going away.
The history of carcinogenic foam use at BNAS is disturbing. Due to the number of intentional and accidental discharges of aqueous fire-fighting foam (AFFF) to the sanitary sewer system, treatment of the sanitary drain line was implemented by the Navy as a corrective measure before drain water left the former base. The Navy injected a defoaming chemical into the sanitary sewer system prior to discharge to the Brunswick Sewer District. While the defoamer reduces the amount of foam entering into the Brunswick wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), it does not break down the chemical compounds producing the foam. While drain line treatments occurred prior to base closure, system conditions have remained in need of upgrading since transfer to the MRRA and many floor drains still empty into the Brunswick WWTP.
AFFF can cause issues with wastewater treatment plants if the foam concentrate or solution enters a sanitary sewer. There is rapid mixing and agitation which can give rise to a dangerous generation and expansion of foam. It’s a common practice for the Navy to inject defoaming chemicals into the mix before sending AFFF-laden substances to municipal sewer systems. We saw it in the Chesapeake region earlier this year when the Patuxent River NAS in Maryland treated 2,500 gallons of highly concentrated foam with defoaming agents before the local wastewater treatment plant dumped it, untreated, into the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. Navy hangers often experience accidental discharges of foam.
The Brunswick Sewer District may receive sewage from many sources that contain PFAS. It may also be picking up stormwater runoff from AFFF use at the old base.
That PFOS is the dominant sampled species, along with 2:6 FTS, the fire-fighting foam PFOS replacement, puts the former BNAS in the crosshairs as the likely source.
Officials in Minnesota say PFOS concentrations in fish filet may be up to 7,000 times greater than the ambient water levels. They have also set limits for PFOS in surface water at .05 parts per trillion in some waterbodies. The water in the Androscoggin has concentrations of PFOS at 51.1 ppt - a thousand times higher. Fish in the river are likely to be highly contaminated.
Maine has reported deer meat from the Waterville region with 40,000 ppt of PFOS likely as a result of spreading municipal and or industrial sludge. Mussels in Brunswick were found with a total of 12,020 ppt of overall PFAS and 7,270 of PFOS. A Brook Trout had concentrations of 1,080,000 ppt of PFOS in a stream near the former Loring Air Force Base, closed in 1994, where fire-fighting foams, like those at Brunswick Naval Air Station, were carelessly used and discarded for years. (Note: this facility is now known as Loring International Airport, is operational and has similar problems to NASB). Chicken eggs in Fairfield contained an average of 37,000 ppt of PFAS, according to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Critters near many of Maine’s military and industrial sites are poisoned and so are the birds and their eggs. We can change this with a whole lot of education, stringent regulation, and more courage in Augusta. We call for clean-up of PFAS hotspots on the former base and elsewhere, robust testing, regular reporting of effluent from significant industrial users and establishing stringent, enforceable maximum contaminant levels in Maine soil, water, sludge, fish and wildlife.
Test results from BNAS Pond 3 Outlet Stream 12/1/21
Test results from Brunswick Sewer District Androscoggin outfall 10/28/21
We’re trying to raise funds to pay for test kits to test the waters in Hawaii, Virginia, and North Carolina. Please Help us.