BRUNSWICK COUNTY — One sample collected mid-October at Belville Elementary School contained the highest total amount of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) out of 44 metropolitan areas tested, according to a new environmental study from the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
To put the result in context, a sample collected by a state partnership in May 2019 contained more than twice as many total PFAS measured compared to the October 2019 sample in this study; the EWG study released Wednesday simply puts PFAS levels in Brunswick County in perspective on a national level.
Related: Brunswick County sees spike in ‘forever chemical,’ GenX still below ‘health goal’
In response to EWG’s study, Brunswick County spokesperson Meagan Kascsak highlighted the county’s ongoing efforts to install low-pressure reverse osmosis technology at the Northwest Water Treatment Plant. The $90 million upgrade would remove a majority of PFAS compounds, February and March 2018 pilot test results show.
The Environmental Protection Agency has established a health advisory level for total PFOA and PFOS at 70 parts per trillion (ppt) — a nonbinding recommendation. PFOA and PFOS are part of the larger PFAS family of chemicals, most of which are believed to be toxic to humans.
“Brunswick County would notify customers and residents should any of its test samples exceed the health advisory levels established for PFOA + PFOS or GenX,” Kascsak provided in a statement (read Brunswick County’s statement in full at the bottom of this article).
PFOA and PFOS are older chemicals. PFOA was first used by 3M in 1947; DuPont purchased the rights to the chemical in 1951, and used it under the trade name C8 in the production of Teflon. PFOS, the main ingredient in Scotchguard, was also used by 3M for decades (it was first sold in the 1950s and patented in the 1970s).
RO-treated water in Brunswick County is behind its initially-planned schedule. The county attributes the delay to the Department of Environmental Quality’s extended permitting process. An RO solution, if permitted by the DEQ in early March, could come to county customers as early as November 2022 or as late as May 20203, depending on which bid alternative is selected.
Though PFAS compounds are consistently referred to as “unregulated compounds,” some environmental activists and attorneys have recently begun to refer to PFAS as regulated because of protections already in place to prevent the discharge of undisclosed contaminants. To date, there are no federal limits on individual PFAS compounds in public drinking water.
Under the Clean Water Act, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality is empowered to intervene when dischargers release more than 100 parts per billion (or 100,000 ppt) of any compound known to be toxic that is not disclosed on the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.
Study results
Samples collected by EWG staff and volunteers between May and December 2019 were analyzed by an accredited independent laboratory, according to the study. Brunswick County’s sample was collected by the local non-profit, Clean Cape Fear (read the full study at the bottom of this article).
Analysts tested for 30 PFAS chemicals; this represents just a sliver of all PFAS compounds, 4,700 of which are known to exist.
Out of 44 locations among 31 states tested, just one had no detectable levels of PFAS. That location, the community of Meridian, Mississippi, sources its drinking water from wells 700 feet below ground, according to the study.
A sample collected on June 22, 2019 “in the likely service area” of Cape Fear Public Utility Authority (CFPUA) yielded a total PFAS result of 50 ppt. This placed Wilmington-area water as containing the fifth-highest concentration of total PFAS tested, behind only: Brunswick County; Quad Cities, Iowa; Miami, Florida; Bergen County, New Jersey.
Total PFAS detected in the Belville Elementary School sample in the EWG study amount to 186 ppt. A study conducted by the North Carolina Per and Polyfuoroalkyl Substances Testing (PFAST) Network revealed a concentration more than twice as high of the compounds, at a total of 395 ppt, collected on May 29, 2019 by a state-contracted lab. This statewide sampling effort tested for 47 PFAS chemicals using mass spectrometry.
Results shared by the PFAST Network and EWG are comparable with what Brunswick County Utilities is also independently reporting. Two samples taken at the same time on Jan. 3 at the Northwest Water Treatment Plant contained a total of 80 ppt and 107 ppt. Brunswick Public Utilities contracted lab, Enthalpy Analytical, tests for 27 different PFAS compounds.
On Oct. 24, 2019 — two days after the Belville Elementary sample was collected — Brunswick Public Utilities’ lab results returned even higher concentrations of PFAS. Two samples collected that day at the county’s water treatment plant, which sources raw water from the Cape Fear River, contained 272 ppt and 289 ppt total PFAS.
PFMOAA
Brunswick Public Utilities test results over the past five months show levels of the compound PFMOAA are consistently the highest out of the 27 PFAS compounds analyzed.
PFAS levels are known to vary drastically. Concentrations of PFMOAA, which Brunswick County Utilities began consistently testing for in August 2019, range from as low as 28 ppt in a sample collected Dec. 20, 2019, to as high as 272 ppt in a sample collected Oct. 17, 2019.
Little information about PFMOAA is available, although it appears to be included in a 1993 patent awarded to 3M for the “preparation of fluorinated functional compounds.”
In CDM Smith’s final April 2018 report before Brunswick County Commissioners opted to pursue low-pressure reverse osmosis (RO), the consultant pointed out Granular Activated Carbon(GAC) was not capable of removing more than 90 percent of several PFAS, including PFMOAA. Pilot test results showed PFMOAA could be reduced by more than 90% with RO technology and reduced by less than 90% with GAC (view the results on pg. 64)
Brunswick County’s full, unedited response below:
Brunswick County began an extensive testing program for PFAS contaminants when academic studies revealed the presence of multiple PFAS in its drinking water, testing a suite of PFAS contaminants on a weekly basis. Brunswick County’s water samples have continuously remained below the EPA’s established health advisory levels for PFOA + PFOS and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ established provisional health goal for GenX, however the combined levels of all PFAS is concerning and the County continues to test and monitor for most known PFAS compounds and GenX during its routine testing.
At this time, the EPA does not have an established health goal for several of the other compounds listed in this report that are contributing to the overall 185.9 ppt sample level, however the PFOA + PFOS and GenX sample levels in this report are also below the provisional health goals mentioned above. Due to the fact that little or no study has been done on the health effects of combined PFAS or many of these individual PFAS found in the source water, Brunswick County has taken a proactive approach to install the most protective water treatment system at the Northwest Water Treatment Plant to remove these contaminants.
Brunswick County’s leadership recognizes that high quality water is of paramount importance to our customers and residents and agree that reverse osmosis is the most effective PFAS removal technology, which is why the Board of Commissioners and county administration are embarking on a project to install an advanced low-pressure reverse osmosis treatment system at the Northwest Water Treatment Plant, as well as increase capacity at the plant to support the county’s growth. Brunswick County Public Utilities has been working diligently with engineers at CDM-Smith and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to design, permit and build an economical low-pressure reverse osmosis system at the plant for the benefit of all Brunswick County water users.
Low-pressure reverse osmosis is considered one of the most advanced and effective methods to treat and remove both regulated and unregulated materials from drinking water, including GenX, 1,4-dioxane and other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). In April 2018, the County conducted two rounds of testing on a pilot low-pressure reverse osmosis system at the Northwest Water Treatment Plant. The results showed that low-pressure reverse osmosis reduced most PFAS including GenX to undetectable levels, essentially removing all the components.
Not only do pilot studies indicate that low-pressure reverse osmosis is the most effective advanced treatment method for PFAS removal, but they also indicate that it is the most economical advanced treatment option for the removal of high percentages of PFAS at the Northwest Water Treatment Plant. Most previous studies focus on the high-energy cost when using reverse osmosis for the treatment of saline or brackish water, but the cost is considerably less when used to treat fresh water for PFAS contaminants, especially short-chain PFAS.
All of the County’s water sample test reports are available to the public at https://www.brunswickcountync.gov/genx/
Brunswick County would notify customers and residents should any of its test samples exceed the health advisory levels established for PFOA + PFOS or GenX.
View the EWG study below:
Ewg Pfas-tw Report c02 by Johanna Ferebee Still on Scribd
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