The state has discovered a new group of homes in Bennington with private wells contaminated with PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a class of chemicals which are known to be harmful to human health.
Richard Spiese, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation hazardous site manager, said the homes are south of town, away from where the chemicals were found in 2016 near the former Saint-Gobain Chemfab factory in North Bennington.
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“We don’t know whether Chemfab is responsible for this contamination or not,” Spiese said. “There are certainly reasons to believe that it’s possible that Chemfab contributed. But there are also reasons to believe there may be some other one, or more, other sources in Bennington that may have caused this contamination we’re looking at now.”
PFAS were detected in more than 330 private wells in two large areas near the former Chemfab factory, and the state eventually reached a $48 million settlement with Saint Gobain to connect more than 400 homes up to the town’s water supply.
The state is now suing DuPont and 3M, the companies that manufactured PFAS.
As part of that legal action, Spiese said, about 500 private wells are being tested across Vermont to see if there is more contamination.
There are certainly reasons to believe that it’s possible that Chemfab contributed. But there are also reasons to believe there may be some other one, or more, other sources in Bennington that may have caused this contamination we’re looking at now.Richard Spiese, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation hazardous site manager
When two wells were tested in Bennington recently, both had PFAS above the state’s health advisory level.
Spiese said 24 wells in the area were then tested.
Most showed some traces of the chemicals and about half had unsafe levels in the water, according to Spiese.
State officials will hold a public information meeting Thursday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. at the Bennington Fire Department on River St.
“We’re having this meeting to report the findings to the community, and try and get more people in those neighborhoods to sample to make sure their wells are not contaminated, and if they are, to help mitigate them,” Spiese said.
The new contaminated area has a mixture of private wells and homes hooked up to the public water supply; Spiese said the state is working with the town and trying to find property owners with private wells so the water can be tested.
The state is supplying bottled water to any home with chemicals above the action level, and Spiese said the state is also paying for water filter systems that remove PFAS.
He expects wells within a half-mile or so of the contaminated area to be tested in the coming weeks.
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