“The long-term health effects are unclear,” Dr. Benjamin Chan, New Hampshire state epidemiologist, acknowledged during the meeting.
In comparison, residents in southern New Hampshire with private wells who have had their blood recently tested had an average of 4.4 micrograms per liter of PFOA contamination in their blood serum — slightly higher than the MVD customers.
“This really is way too complicated to understand,” Michael Oleniak said at Tuesday’s hearing.
While Elaine Oleniak’s data revealed 7.19 micrograms per liter of PFOA, her husband’s data showed 11.5 micrograms.
MVD water supply wells are monitored for contamination and are currently below the Environmental Protection Agency’s PFOA health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion (ppt).
According to Clark Freise, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services assistant commissioner, the MVD public wells are averaging about 16 ppt of PFOA for 2017, but have reached up to 25 ppt — still below the health advisory level.
Christina Sullivan is one of the MVD water customers who just received her family’s blood test results.
Her results showed a level of PFOA in her bloodstream at 3.56 micrograms per liter.
According to the MVD blood tests, PFOA serum concentrations ranged from less than 3 microgram per liter to more than 7. It also indicates that the PFOA presence increases with age, increases based on the amount of water consumed daily and increases among households within 1.5 miles of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, deemed the likely source of the contamination.

Scheduled to meet for the first time Oct. 2, the council will address a range of emerging water quality issues.
New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Sept. 22 announced his eight appointees to the 12-member Drinking Water Quality Council that will guide New York’s actions to ensure all communities across the state have access to clean drinking water. Scheduled to meet for the first time Oct. 2, the council will address a range of emerging water quality issues and solicit outside industry experts, as well. Its first task will be to make recommendations to establish enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for three priority emerging contaminants, which are not regulated by the federal government, that have been found in New York: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), and 1,4-dioxane.
A second meeting of the council will happen later this year.
"Using the best available science and tapping an array of experts, this new council will provide science-based recommendations for the development of regulations to assure that good-quality drinking water remains available to all New Yorkers. Water quality is a national issue that requires consistent national standards, but New York can no longer afford to wait."

DoD, state tangle over water contamination reimbursement.
[TIMES HERALD-RECORD FILE PHOTO] State spending in response to the toxic chemical contamination that has poisoned the City of Newburgh’s primary water supply and private wells in the towns of Newburgh and New Windsor is $25 million and estimated to grow by another $26 million.
On Wednesday a DoD spokesman confirmed what had been reported Tuesday in a Long Island newspaper – that the department will not reimburse for “past expenditures” related to contamination at Stewart and Gabreski Air National Guard Base in Westhampton Beach.
n The amount set aside for Newburgh’s purchase of New York City water: $11.5 million.
n Municipal hookups for contaminated private wells: $700,000 n New water treatment plant for Newburgh: an estimated $15 million.
Added to the nearly $24 million spent by DEC is the $1 million spent by DOH to test approximately 3,000 residents in the City of Newburgh and the surrounding towns exposed to perfluorooctane sulfonate, or PFOS.
The toxic chemical forced the closure of Washington Lake, Newburgh’s primary water supply, in May 2016, and led to the designation of Stewart Air National Guard Base as a Superfund site.
Those agreements will cover what costs the military will absorb, but past expenses are “not authorized” Stump said.
“Reimbursement for past expenditures are not authorized.” On Friday U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer visited Suffolk County to demand that DoD reimburse the county for more than $5 million it has spent on contamination from Gabreski, which was also added to the state’s Superfund list.
Schumer has also repeatedly called on DoD to reimburse the state for its Stewart-related expenses.

A Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection board unexpectedly voted Tuesday morning to order a review of PFOA in drinking water, after being petitioned by the Bristol Borough-based environmental nonprofit Delaware Riverkeeper Network.
“There seemed to be a lot of interest in this … they had obviously read the petition and had taken on looking at the issue in a serious way,” Carluccio said.
In an email earlier this month, DEP press secretary Neil Shader said that once the board votes to accept such a petition, DEP staff must study the chemical in question and make a formal recommendation to the board about whether a regulation should be set, and if so, the level of the chemical.
If approved, every water authority in the state would be required to test for the chemical and install filtration systems if it’s found above the safe limit.
Typically, states that set their own drinking water standards employ staff such as toxicologists to study chemicals and provide scientific justifications for safe limits.
The DEP has no such staff, so it typically relies on national standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
A similar model exists in New Jersey, where the state’s Drinking Water Quality Institute uses an advisory board to study chemicals and make recommendations for safe drinking water standards.
The Riverkeeper Network petition to Pennsylvania calls for an even lower level — a maximum of just 6 ppt.
“We’re paying for it one way or another.” In a email earlier this month, DEP’s Shader said there is no time limit on when the agency will make a recommendation on PFOA to the Environmental Quality Board.
However, Carluccio said the DEP staff said Tuesday the agency aims to make a recommendation by June 2018.

Federal Action Taken to Make DoD Pay for Newburgh Water Remediation.
NEWBURGH – Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) announced he is taking legislative action to ensure the Department of Defense pays for the remediation of PFOS and PFOA contamination at Stewart Air National Guard Base.
“Thanks to the City of Newburgh, Commissioner Seggos and Governor Cuomo for joining me in this effort – together we’ll finish this fight.” “It’s clear from our ongoing research that the Department of Defense must move more quickly to clean up their mess in the Newburgh area,” said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos.
I renew my calls to the DOD to take responsibility in remediating the hazardous conditions that were created in Newburgh and I applaud Congressman Maloney for his diligence in reference to this important public health issue,” said Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus.
After the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) declared Stewart Air National Guard (ANG) base a state Superfund site, Rep. Maloney called on the Department of Defense (DoD) to comply with the DEC’s request for a federal remediation program.
In addition to hundreds of Newburgh residents, Rep. Maloney received his results as part of the round of blood test results released in February.
Rep. Maloney also renewed calls for the EPA to provide immediate material assistance to the City of Newburgh to remediate the contamination.
On May 13, Rep. Maloney called on the DoD to immediately conduct an investigation into the likely source of the pollution – Stewart Air National Guard Base.
In addition to calling for a review of the source of the contaminant, Rep. Maloney asked the DoD to ensure total remediation for the City of Newburgh.
Investing in Testing Act authorizes $15 million for a two year study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to determine the health impact of PFOS contamination in drinking water, and The Clean Water Healthy Communities Act would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to test unregulated contaminants in communities with fewer than 10,000 people.

How did water quality in Montclair, Glen Ridge fare last year?.
The latest Water Quality Report has been issued for Montclair and Glen Ridge, and the results appear to give the drinking water a good-to-swallow grade.
Glen Ridge receives water through its three interconnections with Montclair, according to the report.
The report notes that the state does not require monitoring of certain substances every year, as concentrations of those substances do not change frequently.
The tests also detect levels of contaminants such as lead and copper, along with a batch of substances known as "unregulated" contaminants like dioxane and chromium, where there are no health standards, such as maximum levels established for them.
The last samples were taken in 2015, according to Montclair’s 2016 report; they were included so the township could be transparent in its reporting, said Obszarny.
The readings were conducted as part of the township’s annual drinking water quality testing.
The Water Bureau sent for sampling materials to do additional testing of its wells in compliance with DEP recommendations.
The 2016 Water Quality Report lists PFOA among the unregulated contaminants, with an average of .017 parts per billion found in the 2015 sampling.
According to the DEP’s Division of Water Supply and Geoscience website, the DEP has identified a guidance level of .04 parts per billion for PFOA.

University of Cincinnati researchers found in a recent study that Tristate residents have a higher level of a chemical in their bodies, likely due to industrial discharge into the Ohio River.
The study is significant because it’s the first to look at levels of historic levels of PFOA in adults, Susan Pinney said.
For residents of the Ohio River Valley, the UC study found that a DuPont manufacturing plant and its two landfills located upriver in West Virginia are likely the sources of the contamination.
The study found high PFOA levels in girls from Northern Kentucky, which led to Pinney studying levels in adults living in the area.
At the DuPont Washington Works plant, the source of contamination in the Ohio River, the chemical was used to make Teflon coating, Pinney said.
Another new study, released in June by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Northeastern University, found PFCs in the tap water of more than 15 million people across 27 states.
According to USA TODAY, an industry risk assessor hired by DuPont found that the company dumped more than 1.7 million pounds of PFOA into the environment between 1951 and 2003.
We don’t know," Pinney said.
‘ Pinney said.
"Because the elimination time could be several years, it is hard to determine what impact these environmental exposures may have on our health and children’s health,” Pinney said.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, wrote to U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, on Tuesday, urging McCain to help fund a nationwide health study for Americans exposed to perfluorinated compounds in their drinking water.
McCain is the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Casey requested he use his stature to include funding for a study in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act.
The letter also was addressed to U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, who is the ranking Democrat on the committee.
An appropriations bill determines the annual military budget, while the authorization act provides the legal authority to spend the money.
That process is taking place this week, and Casey’s office said McCain has stated he’d like to see the full Senate vote on the authorization bill sometime in July or August.
Casey also revealed in his letter that acting Assistant Secretary of Defense Peter Potochney wrote to him in February stating that “The DoD supports the development of a nationwide health effects strategy by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR) for PFOS and PFOA.” The number of exposed people is estimated to be as many as 15 million.
Many, such as an estimated 70,000 current residents of Bucks and Montgomery counties, were exposed when firefighting foams used at military bases degraded over decades into toxic chemicals PFOS and PFOA and entered water supplies.
The military is engaged in a widespread response, investigating potential contamination at hundreds of bases across the country and setting aside billions of dollars for cleanup.
Previous studies conducted by independent researchers or as the result of lawsuits have found some links to a variety of illnesses, including some cancers.
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Stuart may try to ID, sue whoever polluted drinking-water wells with PFOS and PFOA.
The water contained high levels of dangerous PFOS and PFOA, chemicals once used to make nonstick pans, fire extinguishing foam and water- and stain-resistant fabrics.
The city closed and replaced the wells that were contaminating the water supply to all customers in 2016, and it continues to incur cleanup costs.
At its June 26 meeting, the City Commission will consider an offer by Florida law firm Morgan & Morgan and national law firm Weitz & Luxenberg to determine how the chemicals got into the well water and represent the city in what could be a nationwide lawsuit.
More: Stuart replaced wells after EPA found too much PFOS and PFOA in drinking water Win-win If the lawsuit is successful, the city will get 60 percent of the money awarded and the law firms 40 percent.
"If they lose the case, there’s no cost to the city," Mortell said.
Stuart would be the first to sign up for the lawsuit, Mortell said.
Cleanup costs Equipment to filter the chemicals out of water will cost "upwards of $600,000," said Dave Peters, Stuart’s assistant public works director.
"The city currently meets all water quality regulations," Peters said.
More: How’s the water?

The cost of drinkable water in Cottage Grove keeps increasing — but only for 3M Co.
The costs are for perfluorochemical mitigation projects after two Minnesota agencies — the Department of Health and the Pollution Control Agency — lowered the recommended levels of PFOS and PFOA in drinking water.
The city shut down five wells and reduced pumping for three, enacted a watering ban and created a plan to reintroduce water from affected wells at lower PFC levels.
Travis Carter, public affairs director with 3M counsel Brewer Attorneys, said 3M has spent more than $100 million on various mitigation efforts.
James Kelly, environmental health manager for the Health Department, said he would expect the cost of a Cottage Grove facility to be between $5 million and $10 million.
3M sent a letter last week to the Health Department and Cottage Grove officials contesting total responsibility for PFC levels in city water, saying they could not confirm that all contamination was caused by the company.
Kelly said the Health Department’s “conclusion all along” has been that 3M is responsible for the PFC levels and is therefore responsible for mitigation costs.
Carbon filtration systems, which the MPCA will install in homes on affected private wells, cost several hundred dollars.
“They (homeowners) shouldn’t have to worry about any of those costs,” Krueger said.
This issue was not caused by Cottage Grove.