Meeting set to discuss PFAS contamination caused by Joint Base Andrews in southern Prince George’s County, Maryland
Levels of PFOA in groundwater at JB Andrews are 108.75 million times over EPA advisory
Local group urges community awareness, attendance at meeting with Air Force officials
By Pat Elder
July 13, 2023
https://www.facebook.com/jointbaseandrews/
PFAS contamination has been detected at an Air Force facility in Brandywine, Maryland, at Andrews Air Force Base, and in the Piscataway Creek Watershed. This is an opportunity for the public to hear Air Force representatives describe the contamination the Air Force has caused and the steps it has taken to start the cleanup process. The meeting is sponsored by the Greater Baden Aquasco Citizens Association. For more information, call 301-502-3261.
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The public must have an understanding of the history and extent of the PFAS contamination caused by the Air Force in southern Prince George’s County, Maryland before walking into this meeting.
The Brandywine DRMO Office is an inactive Air Force facility managed by Joint Base Andrews. DRMO is an acronym for Defense Reutilization Marketing Office. The name went away in 2010. Now it’s called the Defense Logistics Agency, or DLA. The 8-acre facility is approximately eight miles south-southeast of Joint Base Andrews in the town of Brandywine, Maryland. The Brandywine DRMO Yard is bordered to the north, east, and west by forest and to the south by an active CSX Railroad.
Figure 3.30 Brandywine DRMO Yard Prince George's County, MD FINAL PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT REPORT FOR PERFLUORINATED COMPOUNDS AT JOINT BASE ANDREWS PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, MARYLAND Prepared for: Air Force Civil Engineer Center 2261 Hughes Avenue, Suite 155 Lackland AFB, Texas 78236-9853 Contract No. FA8903-08-D-8772 Task Order 0065 CDRL A001A May 2015 https://patelder.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/3/6/10362012/andrews_2015.pdf
History of the Brandywine DRMO
While in operation from 1943 to 1987, the Brandywine DRMO Yard was a storage area for waste and excess government material generated by U.S. DoD operations at various facilities, including Joint Base Andrews, Bolling AFB, the Washington Navy Yard, the Naval Ordnance Station-Indian Head, and White Oak Laboratory. According to USAF records, hazardous materials and wastes were not stored at the DRMO Yard after 1980.
Most people cannot fathom the extent of the contamination here. Could this be the most contaminated 8-acre tract of land anywhere?
In 1987 a fire at the yard burned a warehouse to the ground and resulted in the cessation of operations. There were burn pits at the DRMO Yard although the Air Force says it is unaware of the use of aqueous film-forming foam, which contains PFAS.
The Air Force says no surface water or sediment samples were collected at this site because of the extensive remedial actions and drainage pathway alterations approved in 2006.
We don’t know a lot.
The Site Inspection says that the groundwater flows to the south. Before going any further, it is important to understand the CERCLA process. CERCLA is the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, known as the Superfund law.
For the deadly PFAS contamination, not a single Air Force or Navy base has been “cleaned up.” PFAS is a big problem because we don’t know how to clean it up. At JB Andrews, we’re stuck at the first step.
The analytical results of the groundwater samples indicate that a release of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) occurred and has impacted the groundwater in Brandywine. AFFF is used by the Air Force to put out super-hot chemical and petroleum-based fires. It contains carcinogenic per-and poly fluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS. Concentrations of PFOA and PFOS, in the groundwater were found to exceed EPA advisories at the former Brandywine DRMO Yard. PFOA and PFOS are regarded by California to be carcinogenic, but the EPA does not consider them to be hazardous substances and does not regulate them.
The chart below shows results in ug/L or micrograms per liter. This is the same as parts per billion. We must multiply by 1,000 to arrive at measurements of parts per trillion, or ppt.
Source: Final Site Inspections Report of Fire Fighting Foam Usage at Joint Base Andrews Prince George’s County, Maryland May 2018 Submitted to: Air Force Civil Engineer Center 3515 General McMullen Suite 155 San Antonio, Texas 78226-2018 Submitted by: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District 100 W. Oglethorpe Avenue Savannah, Georgia 31401-3640 Prepared by: Aerostar SES LLC 1006 Floyd Culler Court Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830-8022 under Contract No. W912HN-15-C-0022
We don’t know the depths of the groundwater samples at the DRMO yard. Groundwater sample ANDRW 08-001-GW-011 showed concentrations (in ppt) of:
PFBS 15
PFOA 95
PFOS 400
Total PFAS 510 ppt
The EPA’s interim health advisories for drinking water (including groundwater) are currently .004 ppt for PFOA and .02 for PFOS. The levels in Brandywine are 23,750 times over the threshold for PFOA while the level for PFOS is 20,000 times above the limit. People with wells nearby should not be drinking this water. Studies have shown that PFAS, particularly PFOS, may travel 20 miles in water.
According to the Site Inspection, Environmental Data Resources (EDR) of Shelton, Connecticut, researched state and federal databases for the area surrounding the JBA main base and the former Brandywine DRMO Yard. The report showed wells in the vicinity of the base to the south-southeast (in the direction of regional groundwater flow), but none of them are shown as private drinking water supply wells, and the majority of the wells are shown as sources of irrigation water. The nearest public drinking water supply well is part of the Cheltenham Boys Village system, approximately 4.5 miles southeast of the main JBA base."
Water contaminated with PFAS that is used for irrigation purposes is drawn into the plants we grow.
What’s in your water, Brandywine? What’s in your lettuce? The analytical results of the nine groundwater samples collected during the Site Inspection at the Brandywine DRMO yard indicate that the groundwater in the area contains concentrations of PFOA, PFOS, and combined concentrations of PFOA and PFOS exceeding regulatory limits. This indicates that the groundwater in the area has been impacted to an extent that would create a potential hazard to human health. However, the Air Force explains, groundwater is not used as a drinking water source at the former Brandywine DRMO Yard, and the nearest public water supply well to the Brandywine DRMO is part of the Cheltenham Boys Village system, approximately 2.5 miles north (upgradient) of the former Brandywine DRMO Yard. Therefore, the groundwater does not present an immediate hazard to human health. The closest residential area is approximately 350 feet to the west.
The Air Force is telling the public that there are no drinking water wells in the vicinity of the base to the south-southeast and that the nearest public drinking water supply well is approximately 4.5 miles southeast of the main JBA base.
A cursory inspection of Google Maps shows otherwise. Please see the following two maps, followed by discussion.
The Red X is the site of the Brandywine DRMO. A great environmental crime occurred here involving PFAS and a host of toxins that will impact us for a thousand years.
Brandywine DRMO Yard Prince George's County, MD - Google Maps
The Red X shows the locations of the Brandywine DRMO and 11408 Cedarville Rd, Brandywine, Maryland, 2.5 miles SSW from the Brandywine DRMO.
It appears that there is a drinking water well in the front yard of this home in this rural area of southern Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Similarly, 14320 Brandywine Road, Brandywine, Maryland is located 1.25 miles SE from the toxic site, and it also appears to be served by a well. See the next two images.
Surface Water Runoff
The surface water from the DRMO yard drains into Mattawoman Creek and the Potomac River.
Surface water runoff from the former Brandywine DRMO yard discharges to two 16-inch culverts north of the northwest corner of the site boundary fence. The culverts direct stormwater runoff under the railroad tracks to an unnamed intermittent drainage channel and forested wetland.
The drainage channel flows to the southwest into Timothy Branch of Mattawoman Creek. Timothy Branch flows south from the Brandywine area to join Mattawoman Creek, approximately 3 miles south of the site. Like Piscataway Creek, PFAS may coat the sediment and the banks of the creek. When the waters recede the chemicals dry and become airborne. They settle as dust in our lungs, lawns, and in our homes. Airborne PFAS is a threat to public health.
Mattawoman Creek ultimately discharges to the Potomac River near Indian Head, Maryland, approximately 18 miles southwest of the site. This is the location of the unimaginably contaminated Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head, which has been used as a dumping ground for Navy munitions since the-Spanish American War in 1898.
The Air Force site inspection says there are no water bodies on the DRMO site, so no surface water samples were collected. However, groundwater in the area may discharge to surface water bodies forming the base flow of streams in the region. Therefore, they say, there is “a potentially complete pathway for human exposure” to groundwater discharged as surface waters from the Brandywine DRMO, but they’re only thinking in terms of the drinking water. The fish are poisoned and so are all of the living creatures in the Potomac River. See the articles below. The state reported that a largemouth bass in Piscataway Creek contained 94,200 ppt of PFOS in its filet. That’s 4.7 million times above the advisory for PFOS in drinking water.
An artist’s model of Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
In July of 2021, the Air Force released data from JB Andrews showing concentrations of PFOA in groundwater at 435,000 parts per trillion. This concentration is 108.75 million times above the EPA’s interim health advisory for drinking water. The entire region is severely contaminated by the Air Force and the Navy.
See these pieces I have written regarding the contamination at JB Andrews and the poisoned fish in Piscataway Creek which empties into the Potomac River in Accokeek.
October 19, 2021
Maryland issues first fish advisory for PFAS - Measure limited to Piscataway Creek, contaminated by Joint Base Andrews - Limited advisory adopts weak standards
https://www.militarypoisons.org/latest-news/maryland-issues-first-fish-advisory-for-pfas
January 26, 2022
Prince George’s County, MD sues 3M, DuPont, and other toxic foam manufacturers over PFAS in waterways - Piscataway Creek, which drains Joint Base Andrews, is identified as a source of “alarming concentrations” of PFAS. - Suit overstates regulatory role of Maryland Department of the Environment while downplaying role of the Air Force.
October 15, 2022
Maryland’s Poisoned Fish
https://www.militarypoisons.org/latest-news/marylands-poisoned-fish
March 10, 2023
The fish are poisoned with PFAS in Maryland’s Piscataway Creek and Potomac River - Joint Base Andrews contaminates the region.
March 25, 2023
Catch the fish, but don’t eat it!
https://www.militarypoisons.org/latest-news/dont-listen-to-them?rq=Andrews
This may be too much to the uninitiated, but I’m not making anything up. We’re all in trouble. These chemicals bioaccumulate and they don’t go away. They present an existential threat to humanity.
Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should not be consuming these chemicals and neither should anyone else.
Now, let’s hear what the Air Force has to say on July19th in Brandywine.
Please feel free to reach out. Pat Elder pelder@militarypoisons.org
I will be travelling to Japan in September and October with a delegation from Veterans for Peace to address audiences and to test surface waters for PFAS in 20 cities. It is expensive! Please help us!
40 tests kits will cost 440,000 Yen - or $3,160. Please make a note that your contribution is for the Japan delegation. - Pat Elder
Financial support from the Downs Law Group makes this work possible. The firm is working to provide legal representation to individuals with a high likelihood of exposure to PFAS and other contaminants.
The Downs Law Group employs attorneys accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist those who have served in obtaining VA Compensation and Pension Benefits they are rightly owed.
Interested in joining a multi-base class action lawsuit pertaining to illnesses stemming from various kinds of environmental contamination? Join the Veterans & Civilians Clean Water Alliance Facebook group. (2.4 K members and growing rapidly.)