PRESS RELEASE
Town Of Londonderry, New Hampshire 268B Mammoth Road Londonderry, New Hampshire 03053
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
John Farrell, Council Chairman
(603) 289-2011
Date: April 1, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TOWN COUNCIL STATEMENT ON PFOA
Like many Londonderry citizens, the Town Council is aware that parts of some nearby communities are experiencing low levels of the contaminant, perfluorooctanoic acid, or “PFOA,” in their water supplies. Areas in Bedford that purchase their water from Merrimack Village District and private wells located in Merrimack and Litchfield within one mile of Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics in Merrimack have detected varying levels of PFOA. The Saint-Gobain plastics plant is where the exposure to PFOA is believed to have originated.
The Town Council, through the Town Manager and Town Staff, have diligently been following the events related to PFOA. In the last seven days, there have been multiple communications with New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services regarding the testing results for the nearby communities. We have asked DES whether the testing zone should be widened to include the closest areas in Londonderry. DES recently received the results of its first round of testing and is due to receive the results from the most recent testing this week. DES has committed to sharing the most recent testing results with us and assessing whether, based on those results, the testing area should be expanded to include Londonderry. We expect to have that information and a frank discussion with DES later this week.
At this time, the Town Council believes it is important for the public to know what we know. DES has informed us that all of the results for the nearest wells to the Londonderry town line are below 100 parts-per-trillion, which is the concentration in which DES provides bottled water. There are some results that are above background concentrations, but most are at background concentrations, which is less than 10 parts-per-trillion. The more recent testing results should include tests conducted at Corning Road, Woodland Road and Courtland in Litchfield. DES, and we, expect that those results will be important in determining whether the zone of testing should expand to Londonderry.
We also are monitoring the situation for a second expected development. The federal EPA is expected to issue an updated report on PFOA this spring. We are aware that, last week, U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte formally requested that EPA expedite its release of the new health standard. If EPA changes its opinion about the actionable level of PFOA, we will respond accordingly.
Anyone who wants more information about the situation and PFOA is encouraged to visit DES’ website. Information regarding sampling results, how to conduct private well testing, and water treatment options are available via the PFOA link on DES’ website.
As the Town Council and the Town Manager receive more information about this emerging situation, we will share it with the public. For more information, please visit the DES website at http://des.nh.gov/.