This commentary is by Jennifer Decker, a community organizer who lives in Hinesburg.
What do farm fields in Charlotte and South Burlington, and schools in Thetford, Killington, Mount Holly and Woodbury have in common with the deck of a U.S. aircraft carrier in the South China Sea?
Following fires, accidents and industrial activity, they’ve all been poisoned with aqueous film forming foam — AFFF — or other materials containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS.
As reported by CNN, when an F-35 crashed across the deck of an aircraft carrier and into the sea, “seven people were injured in the accident including the pilot, who ejected from the plane. … The end of the (unofficially leaked) video shows the crew responding to the incident … spraying down the deck of the carrier with foam to prevent further damage.”
But what those crew members were not told is that the firefighting foam causes invisible injuries to the crew. Dedicated members of the armed services have been lied to by commanders for decades about AFFF and the diseases they cause in living organisms. PFAS are called forever chemicals because they bioaccumulate, and they are linked to liver, thyroid, hormonal and immune disorders, child development issues, and testicular and kidney cancer.
Exposure to even infinitesimal amounts of PFAS is linked to decreased fertility and high cholesterol. Research suggests connections between this class of chemicals and neurological conditions.
The fact is that alternative and effective firefighting foams exist, but using a less hazardous product would affect profits at corporations like Dupont and 3M.
As reported in The Citizen (a weekly newspaper that reports on Charlotte), when a fire broke out at the facility housing Charlotte’s snowplow fleet in late December, “the fire department used over 100,000 gallons of water and a year’s supply of foam to fight the fire. … Charlotte Fire & Rescue was joined in the effort by fire and rescue departments from … Shelburne, Hinesburg, Vergennes and the Vermont National Guard.”
Will the town of Charlotte get an apology from the Vermont National Guard for another toxic contamination site? Keep in mind that, prior to offering its “help” in Charlotte, the Vermont Guard had already contaminated seven other unmitigated sites around the state. Will the military that has funded the development of AFFF come back to clean up Church Hill Road? That depends on an informed citizenry willing to take action.
While some families choose legal remedies to protect their farms and households, like the Belter family of South Burlington, there are many ways for Vermonters to take part in legislative action this spring. Please support S.113 — Medical Monitoring, a bill focused on giving Vermonters the right to recoup costs for medical monitoring, as people can in 16 other states.
This bill passed twice before, but Gov. Scott vetoed it, saying the law would deter business in Vermont. Gov. Scott missed the memo that businesses in Vermont are socially and environmentally responsible and that voters prize a government that keeps us safe.
Residents of Vermont can speak out by supporting H.650 — PFAs Substances, an act relating to prohibiting PFAS in products to be sold in Vermont, and the use and import of wastes containing microplastics.
Both the state Senate (S.267) and House (H.677) are considering acts regulating cosmetic products containing certain chemicals, and the Senate act also prohibits the installation of athletic turf fields containing PFAS. Please contact your legislators and lend your support.
Concerned neighbors may also wish to spread the word to friends who fish about the detection at the Winooski River Salmon Hole of 145.2 parts per trillion of PFOA and other variants of the chemical, which is more than 7 times the legal limit in Vermont. If Vermont can test its wastewater during a pandemic, what stops the state from testing fish to ensure consumption is safe?
This problem originated at the Vermont Army National Guard’s historic burn pit on the Winooski River, one and a half miles upstream from the Salmon Hole. If you have ever swum or fished in this area, or eaten produce grown at the Intervale, then the medical monitoring bill may become important to you and your family over time.
Families in affected communities may wish to test their private wells and school drinking fountains for safety in lieu of Health Department action on this front.
The company Cyclopure, based in Illinois, has accurate and inexpensive tests for PFAS. Relocating from the F-35s’ dangerous flight path ought to be a choice for all impacted. F-35s have crashed eight times around the globe during their brief deployment. South Korea grounded its F-35 fleet after a bird encounter caused a crash. When one goes down in Vermont, AFFF could still be used on the fire and smoke from the F-35’s toxic stealth coating.
Manufacturers are making new AFFFs all the time to evade regulation, so pick a poison, and pressure your government officials to clean up the fatal foams.
