More Research Planned On PFAS Water Contamination In Merrimack

MERRIMACK, NH — Boston University has expressed interest in researching the health effects of the water contamination discovered in Merrimack, Bedford and surrounding areas. During a special meeting on Wednesday, the Merrimack Town Council approved a letter of support for the university to conduct the study, which would involve analyzing blood and urine samples of residents who have consumed the water. The organization that will conduct the study will ultimately be chosen by Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The research is in response to elevated levels of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) found in Merrimack and Bedford near the Saint-Gobain plastic plant, and in a well at Portsmouth's Pease Tradeport, between 2014 and 2018. According to Boston University, PFAS is a large group of man-made toxic chemicals, exposure to which have probable links to testicular and kidney cancer, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, and pregnancy-induced hypertension. Still, in 2018, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services reported that Merrimack's cancer rates are consistent with the rest of the state.

With approval by the CDC, Boston University's research study will involve collecting blood and urine samples from approximately 350 children and 1,000 adults who had consumed PFAS-contaminated water. Boston University would be working in partnership with the community group Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water, according to a letter from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, dated Tuesday.

"The PFAS in the Town of Merrimack occurred from industrial activities which used dispersions that contained PFAS in the manufacturing of films and coated cloths over the past 35 years," states a letter from the Town Council written this month to Dr. Wendy Heiger-Bernays of Boston University. "ChemFab Corporation opened in 1984. The facility's current operator is Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics. Air emissions and their subsequent deposition on nearby land surfaces have been found to be a mechanism for PFAS to be transported to groundwater."

Last year, the Saint-Gobain plastic plant made an agreement with N.H. DES to provide an alternative water supply to about 300 properties located in Bedford, Merrimack and Litchfield. In Portsmouth, elevated PFAS levels were found in a well at Pease Tradeport in 2014. That well was shut down.

In early January, New Hampshire environmental officials announced a set of proposed new drinking water standards for PFAS, in light of the chemical's elevated levels discovery in the Merrimack area. The rules would restrict PFAS discharged into the water supplies, though at this time, it appears that PFAS limits remain at 70 parts per trillion, said Town Councilor Nancy Harrington on Wednesday.

In Merrimack, the discovered levels of PFAS in the drinking water range from less than 10 ppt to more than 800 ppt.