Recent tests for PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in water drawn from several sites in Seneca Lake and its tributaries provide fresh evidence that PFAS contamination at the former Seneca Army Depot is spreading beyond its borders.
Three streams that flow out of the former Army base had the highest combined PFAS totals from water tests at 12 streams, four sites on the lake and one waste water treatment plant conducted jointly by Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association and the Finger Lakes Institute.
Kendaia Creek, which drains the center of the former depot, had the highest readings by far, followed by Reeder Creek and Indian Creek. The findings tend to support previous state tests that found fish in Kendaia Creek had very high levels of PFAS.
SLPWA released its report on the early summer tests to its members this week.
“It’s our hope that the results here will spur some action by one of the (government) agencies,” said Mark Petzold, vice president of SLPWA. “The EPA asked the Army Corps to test and they said no. Hopefully, they will reconsider that position.”
Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formally urged the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to sample surface water and sediment from Kendaia and Reeder creeks for PFAS.
On its website, the EPA had described the creeks as “potential pathways of PFAS to Seneca Lake,” but concluded: “Thus far the Army has not agreed with our request.”
Shortly after WaterFront published an article on the EPA’s plea, the Army asked the agency to remove the reference to the request from its website. The EPA did so.
Both the Army and the EPA declined to comment on the results of the SLPLA/FLI tests.
“While EPA acknowledges the important work being done by community organizations like the Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association, we cannot provide comment on their study as we were not involved in the sampling or analysis process,” Stephen McBay, an EPA public information officer, said in a statement to WaterFront.
In an emailed statement, the Army said:
“The Army/USACE (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) will not comment on external studies as they were not conducted within our purview nor were they evaluated by our quality control standards or data quality objectives prior to release.”
The statement provided by Army public affairs specialist James D’Ambrosio went on to say that the EPA’s website had included a misinterpretation, “which has now been corrected….
“Army/USACE did not reject any request for sampling. Our focus is on sampling within the boundary of the former base. If results show migration to off-base receptors — then and only then ─ would the Army/USACE pursue those sampling efforts.”
The EPA acknowledged the Army’s primary role as the lead governmental agency on the evaluation of contamination at the former Army base. But the EPA maintains a website page devoted to the former depot in Romulus.
The Army said it is currently conducting three studies of PFAS within the depot, including an investigation of four sites where fire-fighting took place. Fire-fighting foam contains PFAS compounds, and groundwater near depot fire-fighting sites has high levels of PFAS, according to a 2018 study.
Between April and October last year, the Army sampled groundwater, surface water and sediment near depot fire training sites, the EPA reported. The agency said the Army is expected to release its results this winter.
“That’s what we’re waiting for,” Petzold said. “Where has the groundwater gone? They’re looking for the (PFAS) plume.”
PFAS is shorthand for a class of thousands of man-made chemicals (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) contained in hundreds of common products, including water-repelling clothing, stain-resistant furniture, fast food packaging and cosmetics.
They are extremely persistent in the environment, and exposure to even trace amounts can lead to kidney and liver damage, several types of cancer and other health problems.
New York State limits two PFAS variants — PFOA and PFOS — to 10 parts per trillion in public drinking water. The EPA limit for those two chemicals in tap water is 4 parts per trillion. Although many other PFAS compounds are likely as dangerous, virtually all are unregulated.
Evidence that PFAS had reached Seneca Lake showed up early last year when the state Department of Environmental Conservation tested 34 lake trout and yellow perch. The agency reported that 27 of the fish had PFOS levels above 2,000 parts per trillion and five fish registered more than 15,000 ppt.
Weeks later, a SUNY-ESF reported that the mean level of PFOS found in Seneca lake trout it had tested was 11,800 ppt.
PFOS in particular accumulates in fish — nationwide. But the water the fish swim in often has concentrations thousands of times lower.
In fact, the SLPWA/FLI tests of water from four sites on Seneca Lake showed combined PFAS readings ranging from 1.0 ppt to 2.96 ppt. But PFOS, the chemical most likely to accumulate in fish, was not detected.
“We didn’t find PFOS detectable in the lake,” Petzold said. “That’s one of the head-scratching things.”
Kendaia Creek had combined PFAS of 90.90 ppt, followed by Reeder Creek at 18.95 ppt and Indian Creek at 11.71 ppt. PFOS levels were 3.65 ppt in Kendaia, and 1.10 ppt for Reeder Creek, while it was not detected in water from Indian Creek. All three had detectable levels of other PFAS compounds commonly found in fire-fighting foams, Petzold said.
After the three creeks that flow out of the former Army base, the SLPWA-tested site with the next highest PFAS total was the Penn Yan wastewater treatment plant at 8.10 ppt.
Next came Plum Creek, on the west side of Seneca Lake, at 6.92 ppt. Catharine Creek, at the southern end of the lake, registered total PFAS of 5.05.
Wastewater treatment plants do not currently have regulated limits for PFAS in their effluent.
However, the DEC is currently testing WWTPs statewide. The agency is expected to release the test results next year, Petzold said, and state-enforced limits may soon follow.
The DEC did not respond to emailed questions.
The SLPWA/FLI samples were collected by students and sent for testing at Cornell University.
Peter is a three-time Pulitzer nominated reporter covering environmental issues through his first-of-its-kind digital publication The Water Front. He’s won an array of Associated Press, UPI, and Society of Professional Journalist awards. His reporting on environmental issues continues to be featured in prominent New York publications and is available on FingerLakes1.com through an exclusive content partnership. Have a question or lead? Send it to [email protected].