Navy’s groundwater chemical info session Thursday in Howell

Folks who live near Naval Weapons Station Earle, with concerns about groundwater chemical infiltration, can get an update this Thursday in Howell Township.

Navy officials and federal and state regulators are reviewing long-term solutions.
Representatives of the Navy, EPA, DEP and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry are scheduled to attend the public information session in the Community Enrichment Center, Southard School, Kent Road, 4-7 PM.

Leaders are set to field questions regarding the Navy's test results for perflourinated compound (PFC) presence in samples taken near the base.

Navy officials say that the validated results mirror the preliminary results - one of the 28 wells reached the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) health advisory threshold for Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS). Residents on the property are receiving bottled water.

The other 27 samples did not reach EPA health advisory levels for PFOS or for Perfluiorooctanic Acid (PFOA), nor did they reach the interim ground water quality standard for Perfluorononanoic Acid (PFNA) set by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), officials said.

Testing began in December 2015 at Earle and other bases where firefighting trainees used foam containing PFCs. Officials said that use of the foam was suspended in 2001 when new fire suppression agents were introduced to the Navy.

Drinking water samples on the base tested safely in January, but non-potable test wells created for the study showed elevated PFC levels. Navy officials notified everyone within a half-mile radius of the PFC-laden area of the base, and sought permission to see whether any of the chemical had spread into community drinking water supplies.

For more information in advance, visit the Naval Weapons Station Earle web page, call 732-866-2171, or e-mail wpnstaearlepao@navy.mil.