A Clarification And Some Follow-Up
By Doug La Rocque
In our December 21 report on the New York State Water Quality Council’s setting suggested levels for PFOA and PFOS, as well as 1.4 Dioxane in drinking water, we said the council was created because of a lack of guidance on the part of New York State. That was in error, and we apologize. According to NYS Department of Health (DOH) spokesperson, Erin Silk, it was created due to a lack of federal guidance. It is correct that there was several comments made about the DOH’s timeline in setting these contaminate levels. The Water Quality Council suggested these levels be set at 10 parts per trillion (PPT) for both PFOA and PFOS, and at one part per billion for 1.4 Dioxane. These levels are still suggestions at this point, and are not enforceable. Only the State of Vermont has made similar levels a legal standard.
Guidelines Not Unexpected
The Eastwick Press spoke with Petersburgh Town Supervisor Alan Webster, who said he would have been surprised if the levels had not been set at 10 or 20 ppt. He also said it does not have much of an impact on the Town at this point, as the Water District already has a filtration system installed that brings PFOA levels down below these levels, and that residents on private wells that tested between 20 and 70 ppt, have all been offered Point of Entry Treatment (POET) systems to filter out the contaminate. Most residents have taken advantage of this.
In Hoosick Falls, the situation is similar, while efforts continue to find a new clean source of drinking water for the Village. There are also concerns about airborne contaminates, with testing scheduled to be conducted in January in Hoosick Falls.