By Grant Terwilliger
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are long-lasting chemicals that contaminate our food sources, water sources and soil. They’re everywhere, harmful, and they are found here in our community.
“The risks can include reproductive and developmental effects, increase the risk of certain cancers, reduce the body’s immune response and increase cholesterol levels as an emerging concern,” said SUNY Plattsburgh senior Maddy Lehman.
Molly Mentzer, a gynecologist who has worked in Plattsburgh for about 10 years at the Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital, found that PFAS have become part of our bodies.
“It’s in breast milk, so we’re definitely giving it to our newborn babies,” Mentzer said.
Chemical PFAS were introduced into the manufacturing of daily products such as cookware, clothing and cosmetics in the 1940s. The solution to PFAS is still up in the air but it is more up to the producers than the consumers to stop the spreading of PFAS.
At Olive Ridley’s Taphouse and Grill, students participated in Late Night for the Planet, a monthly student-hosted game and talk show; this time students learned about PFAS in the environment.
Late Night for the Planet was created by professor of environmental science Curt Gervich alongside students.
Maddy Lehman and Taylor Towne hosted the show. Guest speakers included Mentzer, professor of geology Ed Romanowicz and Michael Cashman, Town of Plattsburgh supervisor.
There are numbers for the levels of PFAS that are allowed to be in water: The New York State Department of Health has a number and the Environmental Protection Agency also has a number for the allowed levels of the chemicals. As research develops, there should be more awareness and new policies regarding the safe level of PFAS in our water.
There have been a lot of experiments using different chemicals to remove PFAS from the ground and groundwater with differing success. One option is hemp, which Romanowicz said is good at removing PFAS from the ground. Other methods include carbon activated filters or reverse osmosis systems that remove contaminants from the water.
Romanowicz is head of the Center for Earth and Environmental Science department at SUNY Plattsburgh and is conducting research on PFAS in Vermont.
“So there are ways to help people right away, to try to at least eliminate the problem,” Romanowicz said. “I think a lot of them are pretty experimental, (though), and it’s not clear how effective they are.”
Cashman has been working with PFAS issues locally. According to Cashman, one option of trying to help fix the issue is up to individuals to speak up and get involved in New York State’sregulatory agencies.
“I mean, you have to take on a personal level of interest and responsibility to you know, go to the various agencies for your state, health department, your local municipalities, the air force, in many cases,” Cashman said. “We’re below the standard, but we monitor it all the time, because as new information comes into the system, you need to know what is going on, and the detection rate is critical for the health and safety.”
In Plattsburgh, the concern is mainly the former Air Force Base which used firefoam filled with PFAS. After the air base was decommissioned the PFAS-filled firefoam was sent to the fire departments.
PFAS can be distributed through the air and have ended up all around the world as a result. Hotspots can be found near factories that use the chemical as well as airports due to fire retardants made up of PFAS.
In response to the chemicals, the Plattsburgh city government working to address the problem and further improve the water supply.
“We launched a $24 million water and wastewater capital plan, and we were really addressing some of this, because part of our municipality falls within the former boundaries of the Plattsburgh Air Force Base that has a number of hotspots,” Cashman said.
Lehman said that although PFAS are an issue there are alternatives for products in order to lower the amount of PFAS in our systems.
Lehman said “It does seem a little gloomy sometimes, but there are alternatives, we’re moving in a good direction with this, just by increasing research and what-not, getting our minds on it and making movement.”
