Health

Westfield resident hopes to help change focus on city’s water problems

WESTFIELD—A city resident claims that although city officials have attempted to address the issue of water contamination in the city, data from studies show that the focus should shift to other contaminants, as well.

Kristen Mello, who has been researching the contamination of Westfield’s water for the past several months, believes that although the task of creating a new water treatment facility to remove two potentially toxic chemical compounds is a correct decision for the city, it is not enough and the focus needs to be widened to fully protect the city’s residents.

Barns Aquifer map from the BAPAC website.

Barns Aquifer map from the BAPAC website.

Mello, who received a bachelors of science in chemistry at the University of Massachusetts and a masters of science in analytical chemistry at the University of Delaware, has been in the process of creating a comprehensive research article on the Westfield water contamination issue.

“I’m writing the paper to give the public information,” she said. According to Mello, she is expected to distribute the information as soon as Jan. 23 to city officials.

“I’m not upset with the city, I’m just trying to help them to know what they should focus on next,” she said.

While doing the research she has found that in addition to the presence of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in the city’s water supply, there is also the presence of perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBuS), and that the latter compound is at a much higher concentration than PFOS and PFOA combined in well #2 of the city’s eight wells.

“Everyone talks about PFOA and PFOS, but they aren’t the most important—it’s just what we have the data and the numbers for,” Mello said. “But you look at the numbers and there are other things to look out for. PFOA and PFOS are the tip of the iceberg.”

Mello said that all of the above compounds are part of a collection of man made chemicals called polyflouroalkyl substances (PFAS), and have been alternately called perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs). These compounds are made up of the chemicals carbon, fluorine and other elements, and are used in a variety of man made products, including stain-resistant fibers, plastics and the suspected culprit of the contamination of Westfield water, aqueous firefighting foam (AFFF), due to their water-resistant properties.

The foam was used and stored on Barnes Regional Airport for several decades by the US National Guard and although studies have not been concluded on contamination in Westfield, the AFFF has been linked to contaminations of several groundwater sites across the US.

Mello believes that the presence of PFBuS could also do harm to humans since it has similar chemical properties to PFOA and PFOS. However, studies have not been done on the chemical compound to see if it is a health hazard to humans, so data on its potential harm is scarce.

Also, according to a January 2006 article in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology titled “The long and the short of perfluorinated replacements,” PFBuS was used as a replacement of PFOA and PFOS because it could be less harmful to humans, but still be an effective water resister. According to the article, this is due to PFBuS having a total of four carbon molecules in its chemical make-up. This lower amount, according to the article, means that bioaccumulation—collection of the chemical in the body—will not happen, which means toxicity is not likely to occur.

Mello, who requested and received information from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and researched existing information on the city of Westfield’s website, found that when the wells were tested on June 23, 2016, the amount of PFBuS was at 51 parts per trillion (ppt) in well #2 of the city, which is near Barnes Regional Airport, while the total amount of PFOS and PFOA equaled just 11.7 ppt. Then, in well #7 —which is near well #8 and the airport—PFBuS levels were at 38 ppt. In well #7 though, which is currently offline along with well #8 due to swift action of the city, the total amount of PFOS and PFOA was 680 ppt. All three of these wells are also on the Barnes aquifer, where the contamination is believed to have occurred.

“The aquifer is like an underground sponge, and water comes in and the water comes out,” Mello said. “The PFAS contamination is in the aquifer so that’s why the concentration is on the aquifer.”

David Billips, director of Westfield Public Works

David Billips, director of Westfield Public Works

As of right now however, city officials are not as concerned regarding the level of PFBuS in the city’s wells.

“The [Environmental Protection Agency] sets very aggressive limits with everything, that’s their job,” Dave Billips, director of Westfield Public Works, said. “If the water tests are below the advisory limits—and they set very stringent limits—I’m not sure the [PFBuS] is a compound of concern.”

Billips added that the concern with PFOS and PFOA is due to the length of the carbon chain, mirroring the sentiment in the article in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. He also stressed that the water is still considered safe to drink and meets federal standards.

“We work with the limits they give us, we’re not going to give you water that’s bad and we can’t give you water that’s bad,” Billips said.

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