There's no single entity that can do all of it and that translates directly to our environmental work. "So many of the issues we handle are so multifaceted and there isn't just one organization that has the umbrella on it. The infrastructure design to connect the well to the main base water system was approved by the Virginia Department of Health in 2021.īACKGROUND: Chincoteague drinking water: Feds to investigate if it's been contaminated for decades According to Wallops, these detections were likely due to the age of the well and historic construction methods used. Tests showed low concentrations of PFAS in only that well. The Wallops campus added a new water production well replacing another that was shut down in 2019. RELATED INVESTIGATION: 'Forever chemicals' PFAS likely in Chincoteague water for years. The town’s shallow wells and finished drinking water are still sampled monthly, and Wallops Island Flight Facility still shares all results with federal and state health and environmental agencies. In 2020, NASA and EPA entered into a second consent agreement to address Formerly Used Defense Sites where the Department of Defense was determined to be the responsible party. In 2004, NASA and the EPA entered into their first consent agreement, under which NASA agreed to conduct cleanup on areas of concern where NASA was the responsible party. Members of the union employed at NASA checked public records for the amount of water Chincoteague had been pumping from affected wells for the past 10 to 30 years and concluded it was likely that residents had been exposed to the chemical at 5-10 times the federally recommended limit. Beginning in 1998 to 2002, we started working with the Environmental Protection Agency (and other partners) in terms of what needed to get done," said TJ Meyer, Medical and Environmental Management Division deputy division chief at Wallops Flight Facility.Ī 2017 petition by the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1923 union, which represents employees at Wallops Flight Facility, requested the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry to estimate historical PFAS levels in Chincoteague drinking water. "We invested a great deal of time building a relationship with regulatory agencies as we began doing our investigations. Samples that exceed 35 parts per trillion of the contaminants means conducting semi-annual monitoring at the impacted water treatment plant and conducting yearly sampling at other points of entry.įinally, samples exceeding 70 parts per trillion require issuing a Tier II Public Notification, taking the impacted water treatment plant offline, exploring treatment options or acquiring alternate water sources, and conducting quarterly monitoring. water systemsĪccording to the Environmental Protection Agency, samples that exceed 28 parts per trillion of the contaminants means conducting yearly monitoring with the results to be reported to the department. From 2012 through 2016, PFAS was also found in the Chincoteague drinking water supply.ĮPA's STUNNING CHANGE: EPA finds no safe level for two toxic 'forever chemicals,' found in many U.S. Investigations between 20 by the Army Corps at various areas around Wallops Flight Facility identified several areas of concern. Such sampling has yielded five years of data showing "non-detect or less than one part per trillion detections of PFAS" and other contaminants.
This year, NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility moved to quarterly sampling of Wallops’ drinking water and production wells as a result of low contaminant levels along with the town of Chincoteague's deep wells. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 97% of the public already has trace amounts in their blood. Water contaminants like PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, refers to thousands of human-made chemicals that can cause maladies like a compromised immune system, higher rates of cancer, and developmental issues in fetuses and newborn if the mother is infected. Not all research by NASA's best minds is meant solely to be applied beyond the surly bonds of Earth, and their advancements to fight pervasive water pollution is a prime example. Watch Video: Five things to know about PFAS
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