Read the full article by Molly Rains (New Hampshire Bulletin)
“In the greater Merrimack area, where toxic forever chemicals are concentrated throughout the soil and a long-term cleanup plan is yet to materialize, keeping the contamination local is the best many feel they can do for now. But how well that’s working isn’t clear and guidance is scarce, creating headaches for developers and concern for activists.
‘Soil is a major concern,’ said Rep. Rosemarie Rung, of Merrimack. ‘There are no clear and distinct regulations on how to manage soil that needs to be removed.’
The prevalence of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, also called PFAS, in the Merrimack region is tied to the now-shuttered Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics plant. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services contends that the facility released PFAS into the atmosphere in the course of its operations; the factory opened under different ownership in 1986, ended operations in May 2024, and was demolished earlier this year.” …