Is it really dangerous?
By Pat Elder
July 29, 2023
I tested this foam on my beach on July 10, 2023. The tests revealed 6,449.2 parts per trillion (ppt) of total PFAS and 3,660.9 ppt of PFOS.
The fish, crabs, and oysters are contaminated while the Navy takes no responsibility for this environmental crime. I live 1,800 feet from a Navy installation across the creek that used PFAS-laced firefighting foams in regular practice drills for many years.
The local community has been skeptical of my work. This is a fair summation of how many locals view the issue of PFAS in the rivers from many emails and online chat rooms.
You hate the military.
I don’t hate anyone. My family goes back to the colonial period in Maryland. They ate the fish, crabs, and oysters. Today, the seafood in Southern Maryland is contaminated by the Navy and the Air Force.
It’s sea foam, not the kind of foam you are talking about!
I have tested the water, the foam and the seafood and they are all contaminated.
You have falsified the record by using the PFAS foams from fire canisters.
The foams used by the Navy are for Class B petroleum-based fires. The extinguishers we see in public buildings are for normal, Class A fires.
If the seafood is unhealthy to eat, don’t you think federal and state health officials would be on it?
Apparently not! Maryland says it’s OK to eat three meals a month of Smallmouth Bass containing 94,200 ppt of PFOS while the EPA advises, but does not require, that we keep our drinking water under .02 ppt for the compound. Correspondence I have received over the last 5 years generally indicates that people have great trust in the federal and state agencies that “regulate” food and the environment.
Are you asking us to consider your statements above what the state and the EPA are saying?
Yes. They are despicable.
My family eats plenty of seafood from around here and we are just fine.
Are you sure about that? PFAS doesn’t readily break down in your body. Have you had your blood tested and have you been screened for a host of diseases linked to these endocrine disruptors?
The analytical results of the foam from Cyclopure show results for 23 separate PFAS compounds. PFOS was reported at 3,660.9 ppt which accounts for 56.7% of the total amount. See the results from Cyclopure here.
It’s distressing, but most people here have never heard of PFAS or they think this is a non-issue.
The state of Minnesota has placed limits on PFOS in some of its lakes at .05 ppt. They do this because they understand the chemical bioaccumulates in fish and is harmful to people.
The 3,660.9 ppt of PFOS in my backyard is 73,000 times over the Minnesota limit. The military dictates environmental policy regarding PFAS while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA) still does not regulate the chemicals.
12:56 pm July 29, 2023. High tide occurred at 12:03. The arrival of the almost daily foam is becoming somewhat predictable here.
I will be travelling to Japan in September and October with three others with Veterans for Peace to address audiences and to test surface waters for PFAS in 20 cities. Please help us! Please make a note that your contribution is for the Japan delegation.
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.)