April 22, 2021

By Pat Elder

Between the 1950s and 1989, firefighting training activities at the Plattsburgh Air Force Base were conducted at the fire training area located approximately 500 ft. west of the runway and 500 ft. from the western installation boundary. The Fire Training Area consisted of four fire training pits located within an approximately 8-acre area. Aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) was used in training exercises at these locations from 1970 onward - and at a total of 11 areas throughout the base. 

The Air Force created 200-foot diameter craters that were 2-3 feet deep and filled them with jet fuel. They ignited the fuel to create a massive flame and trained airmen to extinguish them using the toxins. The foam was allowed to seep into the ground, and 50 years later, it’s making us sick.

Groundwater and surface water on the base flow east toward Lake Champlain. The waters are contaminated with per-and poly fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from use of the foams.   

As far back as the 1970s, studies conducted by the Department of Defense showed that the AFFF used on military bases and ships that contained PFAS were toxic.

We’ll examine the groundwater analytical results contained in the inspection report released by the Air Force in 2018. It’s not something you’d see on the magazine stand at the grocery store.

The numbers above tell us that the shuttered base continues to contaminate the Lake Champlain Basin with PFAS, making the region one of the most contaminated areas in the country. The 1,045 ug/l total for Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)  + Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) makes Plattsburgh the 12th-most severely contaminated location in the country. 

Ug/l  (micrograms per liter) is the same as parts per billion. PFAS is normally examined in parts per trillion which in ppb x 1,000.  

Human epidemiological studies found associations between PFOA exposure and high cholesterol, increased liver enzymes, decreased vaccination response, thyroid disorders, pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia, and cancer (testicular and kidney) Human epidemiological studies found associations between PFOS exposure and high cholesterol and adverse reproductive and developmental effects.

We’ll look at the chart above, starting at the top. Analyte simply means the chemical that is being analyzed. In this case the chemicals, Per fluoro octane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and Per fluoro octanoic acid (PFOA) are the two analytes being examined. They are both toxic varieties of per and poly fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). There are more than 8,000 varieties of PFAS known to exist.

The health advisory of .07 ug/l is .07 micrograms per liter, or .07 parts per billion, (ppb). This is the same as 70 parts per trillion (ppt).  

The EPA has issued a Lifetime Health Advisory (LHA) of 70 ppt for PFOS and PFOA together.  The LHA is non-enforceable and non-regulatory advice to the nation’s water providers and public health community. Health advisories simply provide information on contaminants that are known to cause human health effects and are present in drinking water.

Health professionals nationwide  have called out the EPA for refusing to strenuously regulate the substances and for setting the bar too high. They claim drinking water with more than 1 part per trillion of any variety of PFAS may endanger public health.

Studies show that the safety threshold for PFOA in drinking water should be as low as  .1 part per trillion.  (point one ppt).

Let’s look at the Air Force graphic again.

Moving to the next row, “Regional Screening Level Tap Water” refers to the state of New York’s maximum contaminant levels (MCL’s) for PFOS & PFOA. The toxins are shown as “NA” because the Air Force study on Plattsburgh’s PFAS was published in 2018, two years before New York  instituted maximum contaminant levels of 10 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and 10 ppt for PFOS.

New York has not set contaminant levels in groundwater. The state may follow the lead of the EPA and other states by setting an MCL in groundwater that matches drinking water limits. If that’s the case, the Air Force may simply claim it is not required to abide by the newly promulgated levels as it has in Michigan.

Let’s look back to the chart.

MW-02-008 is the location of “AFFF Area FT002”.  That is the Aqueous Film-Forming Foam Fire Training Area 002. MW-02-008 is the epicenter of PFAS contamination in the Lake Champlain Basin.

Waters from the lake flow north to the Richelieu River and on to the St. Lawrence River and the Atlantic Ocean.

Let’s further examine the row beginning with MW-02-008. The testing was done on October 3, 2014. The groundwater was sampled to a depth of 45.5’. The 1,045,000 parts per trillion is 14,928 times above the EPA’s 70 ppt advisory.

The surface water not far from FT-002 contained 2,482 ppt for the two types of PFAS. Rivers across the country with a  fraction of the concentration of these chemicals have been home to fish with high levels of the toxins due to the propensity of some of these chemicals to bioaccumulate in fish.

The surface water from the fire training area empties into sewers and streams that ultimately discharge into the Saranac River to the north, the Salmon River to the south and Lake Champlain to the east. All surface water eventually drains into Lake Champlain.

The Salmon River is known as a top spot for Brook Trout, Water Trout, and Brown Trout. Lake Champlain is renowned for Lake Trout, Landlocked Salmon, Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass, and Northern Pike. The fishing industry attracts millions of tourist dollars to the region.

New York’s Adirondack Region Fish Advisories for Lake Champlain do not include PFAS as a contaminant. Several species, however, have “Do not eat” advisories for mercury and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination.

Sewer sludge removed from the base’s treatment plant, which  may contain residual PFOS, PFOA or PFBS, was spread within an estimated 50- to 100-ft. area around the treatment plant.

Lowland flooding in the former munitions maintenance area in the southwestern portion of the former base may have spread PFAS-contaminated effluent from the FT002 Groundwater Treatment Plant.

How does the PFAS contamination at the decommissioned Plattsburgh Air Force Base (PFAB) in New York affect others? This April, the Vermont Military Poisons Coalition members are advocating for changes in a proposed piece of legislation: S.20, which includes imposing 9 restrictions on the use, manufacture, sale, and distribution of class B 10 firefighting foam containing PFAS.  The Coalition wants to see the proposed legislation completely ban all PFAS and mandate the use of fluorine-free alternatives, including at military sites in Vermont.  The coalition would also like to see the remediation of all Vermont soils, water, and groundwater by the U.S. Government. 

The PFAS contamination in Plattsburgh flows into Lake Champlain from Plattsburgh Air Force Base and the Au Sable and Salmon Rivers.  The PFAS contamination from the Vermont Air National Guard Base flows into Lake Champlain from the Winooski River.  PFAS crosses state and country boundaries.  Part of Lake Champlain, like Lake Memphremagog in Newport, VT, is in Canada.  We are interconnected and all PFAS affects each of us no matter where we live.  Laws across countries and states should be consistent and the only logical choice is the banning of all PFAS, everywhere.  And the military must not be exempt from these laws.  After all, the military is supposed to protect us from harm, not jeopardize our health and our communities by poisoning us.