Forever Poisons and Government Response

See pdf of the engineer’s report on the contamination. 

TRUAX FIELD AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE

MADISON, WISCONSIN
Amec Foster Wheeler Project 
March 2019

 to go thru this.  Search for: creek, groundwater, sewer, surface water, etc.

 

PFAS was found in or near Truax Field’s Wisconsin Air National Guard at 39,841 ppt., 569 times the LHA limit

https://mejo.us/groundwater-contamination-at-truax-air-national-guard-base-up-to-550-times-over-epa-health-advisory-level/

 

You’ll see they got these levels from the report. 

 

Here are some of my rambling notes. I have developed these for more than a hundred communities across the country. 

 

(TW 01) Test Well #1   Near Building 430  See Figure 4

 

Page 3-3  –  Based on information collected during 2017 investigation activities at the IRP sites, monitoring wells within the water table zone indicate shallow groundwater flow is generally toward the south and southeast. The water table at the Base is generally encountered at depths of 5 to 10 ft. bgs. The groundwater flow gradients calculated from IRP investigations indicate groundwater flow velocities of 0.5 to 0.9 ft. per day.

 

  Page 4-1  At the time of the PA site visit in 2015, AFFF had been used by the Base Fire Department for at least 20 years and had been stored in Building 430 since it was built, circa 1995.

 

If GW flows are .9 ft per day.  AFFF has been travelling in the ground for 25 years or 9,125 days  9,125  x  .9  =  8,212.5 feet  =  1.55 miles

 

The Base is provided water via the municipal water distribution system operated by the City of Madison. The nearest municipal water supply wells are located approximately 1.0 miles southeast of the Base.

  

Surface water drainage from the Base ultimately drains west into Starkweather Creek, which surrounds the Base on the north, west, and south sides. Starkweather Creek empties into Lake Monona approximately 2 miles to the south. Surface water flow around the Base is directed by man-made ditches and culverts which connect to Starkweather Creek

 

No Surface Water numbers.  Could be bad on Starkwater Creek.

 

1.     Why wasn’t Truax mentioned in this report? Addressing Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) Maureen Sullivan Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Environment, Safety & Occupational Health) March 2018  https://partner-mco-archive.s3.amazonaws.com/client_files/1524589484.pdf. 

 

2.     The DOD is testing some individual wells, but they’re not telling us the results.  They’re sharing test results with individual owners, although there’s so much we don’t know.  We don’t know how far these wells were located from the routine discharges of PFAS on base. We don’t know how deep the private wells were. We don’t know how deep the military’s wells were. We don’t know how precise their measurements were. Experts tell us the military is performing tests that are designed to miss small, yet potentially cancerous amounts of the contaminants. 

 

3.     These questions also apply to Wisconsin authorities. 

 

4.     The EPA’s relaxed stance on PFOA and PFOS is shaped by the Defense Department, which faces billions of dollars in liability for the contaminated sites it controls across the country and around the world. The EPA has washed its hands of the poisoned water. Groundwater at England AFB in Louisiana has PFAS up to 10,970,000 ppt while the groundwater at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California contains PFAS up to 8,000,000 ppt. Meanwhile, it’s OK for the military to continue using the stuff. 

 

5.     Since the Feds have checked out, it’s up to Wisconsin to step up to the kitchen sink. Wis. Admin. Code ch. NR 140 groundwater quality standards https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/nr/100/140.pdf#page=7  

have not been established for PFAS compounds. WI’s inaction is reprehensible. The EPA’s absence is despicable and the Army’s role is criminal. 

 

6.     Survey folks with wells. Apparently, groundwater moves toward the southeast so wells need to be tested in Maple Bluff, Sherman, Maple Woods, and Eken Park to ascertain the extent of the plume. When I look on google earth I couldn’t find evidence of wells so most everything is hooked up to municipal water.  It may be worth to go out there, ride around and see if you can find any wells, then contact those folks and see if they’ve been approached by authorities. 

 

7.     The military will drag this out forever… Truax document