[CPEO-MEF] PFAS: High Levels "Found in Oysters and the St. Mary’s River, (MD)

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

High PFAS Levels Found in Oysters and the St. Mary’s River 
Results from testing by watershed association and the state reveal contamination
 
By Pat Elder
Military Poisons
October 9, 2020

Testing results released this week by the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association and the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) indicate high levels of PFAS toxicity in oysters and river water associated with the use of the chemicals  at the Webster Outlying Field of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station (Webster Field)  in St. Inigoes, Maryland.  The base is located near the southern tip of St. Mary’s County, MD.

Results show oysters in the river by Church Point and in St. Inigoes Creek contained more than 1,000 parts per trillion (ppt) of the highly toxic chemicals. Oysters were analyzed by Eurofins, a world leader in PFAS testing. The analysis was performed on behalf of the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association and financially supported by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility,  PEER

Meanwhile, data released by the MDE  showed levels of PFAS at 13.45 ng/l (nanograms per liter, or parts per trillion) were found in the river water about 2,300 feet west of Webster Field. Based on these findings, the MDE reports, “Results of the PFAS public health risk evaluation for recreational surface water exposure and oyster consumption were very low.” An examination of water contaminated by PFAS at similar levels in other states, however, shows that aquatic life contained high levels of the toxins, due to the bio accumulative nature of the chemicals.

…

For the entire article, see
https://www.militarypoisons.org/contaminated-oysters--water-in-md.html

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org





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