Read the full article by Jeff McMenemy
“PORTSMOUTH — The Air Force has agreed to reimburse Portsmouth for as much as $14.3 million for the city’s costs to construct a water treatment facility to remove two types of dangerous PFAS chemicals from city-owned wells at the former Pease Air Force Base.
The new treatment facility includes a dual filtration system consisting of both resin and granular activated carbon filters.
The agreement follows extensive research, pilot testing and design of a system to treat the PFOS/PFOA contamination, according to city officials. Previous agreements with the Air Force have included the funding of a demonstration project for activated carbon filters for the Harrison and Smith wells, filters that have been in service for these wells since September 2016.
The new treatment facility will treat those wells and the Haven well, which has been closed since May 2014 after Air Force officials found high levels of PFAS contamination in the well…
In addition to being a suspected carcinogen, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry states PFAS exposure can harm childhood development, increase cholesterol levels, hurt the immune system and interfere with the human body’s hormones.
Andrea Amico of Portsmouth, co-founder of the community group Testing for Pease, called the announcement about the funding for the treatment facility ‘great news.’
‘It’s very positive that the city is looking at a dual system because the community has real concerns about the effectiveness of GAC-only (granular activated carbon),’ Amico said Friday. ‘The community continues to be concerned with all the PFAS in the water at Pease, not just PFOA and PFOS.’
‘This is a really positive step because we want them to treat as many PFAS chemicals as possible,’ Amico said.”