North Bennington residents demand answers about contaminated wells

In a statement issued Thursday, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics says it also will pay for filtration systems for affected locations and will cooperate with officials investigating the contamination. Her and others are going to work with residents any way they can to ensure they are fully informed of the issue and have access to resources they need. The test for PFOA require samples be sent out-of-state.

Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin gave an update on potential water contamination in North Bennington on Thursday. Samples from the immediate are of concern were tested, along with the public drinking supply. Testing is being conducted on those wells and residents are being provided drinking water.

Groundwater under the Saint-Gobain plant near Hoosick Falls municipal wells tested at 18,000 parts per trillion, the company reported previous year.

“Our primary concern is making sure people have clean, safe water”, Alyssa B. Schuren, commissioner for the state Department of Environmental Conservation, told over 120 people who attended an informational meeting in the North Bennington fire house Friday afternoon.

In addition, the drinking water sources in all buildings in the Ithaca City School District are being shut off after tests revealed high lead levels in the water at two schools.

The chemical, perfluorooctanoic, or PFOA, is the same chemical that was found in the village of Hoosick Falls, N.Y., that has drawn national attention. “Moreover, the state must hold the polluters responsible for their actions”. He said more tests on the surrounding area, including the Walloomsac River, will determine the extent of the contamination. Officials could not answer some questions, but took them down and said they would research them for the correct information. While the Saint-Gobain site in Hoosick Falls is at a factory previously used for that goal, the processes at the Granville plant do not use the chemical. “We are looking now to determine who the responsibility party is and if its the same responsibility party in NY. I think were all concerned.

A Honeywell spokeswoman says the company hasn’t seen the suit but is cooperating with the state investigation. “But it turns out the water they poured from their tap was contaminated with PFOA, yet there was no way for them to know it. While they can’t change the past, the community has banded together to seek the justice they deserve”. He said that in other settings, such as factories, long-term exposure to PFOA had been shown to cause a variety of health problems, including cancer. It tends to be more cumulative in terms of the potential health risks, which are possibly cancer, possibly some endocrine problems down the line, ” he said. (Dick) Sears and (Brian) Campion and others saying, ‘Hey, weve got a Chemfab plant that used to be here in North Bennington, maybe we should check.” The state has set the standard level for PFOA at 20 parts per trillion. Results from a wastewater treatment plant well – water that is not used for drinking – showed PFOA levels of 618 parts per trillion.

PFOA can be harmful when ingested. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has a guidance level of 400 parts per trillion of PFOA.