Understanding the extent of contamination at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility from dangerous industrial chemicals that also made their way into the drinking water for the nearby island town of Chincoteague will take years, officials said this week.
Meanwhile, the popular tourist town on Virginia’s Eastern Shore is moving ahead with plans to find a new supply for its drinking water, which has to be piped in from the mainland.
Although NASA has been providing supplemental drinking water since the chemicals were first detected over a year ago, Town Manager Jim West said he sees it as a risk for both NASA and Chincoteague not to make a change.
"If there’s contaminants, isn’t the wiser thing to get out of the field of contaminants?
The man-made chemicals referred to as PFAS were once used in a wide variety of products, including protective coatings like Teflon.
NASA used firefighting foam containing PFAS at Wallops.
Once PFAS was detected on Wallops property, where Chincoteague has seven wells, NASA began collaborating with the town on public outreach and further testing.
The town’s wells where PFAS was detected were taken offline, and Wallops began providing extra water.
The agency recently submitted a site investigation plan for review by federal and state officials, officials told The Associated Press this week.
NASA supports the town’s efforts to relocate its wells and "is currently evaluating the possibility and process for obtaining the necessary legal authority to provide funds to the town for this specific purpose," Wallops spokesman Jeremy Eggers said.