Borough testing water for chemical's presence
Officials expect test results on PFOA to arrive next week
BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer

Recent scrutiny of the borough's drinking water has led officials to conduct their own tests for contaminants in the water supply.

State and local officials held a press conference Monday at the Sayreville Water Treatment Plant, saying they are investigating claims that traces of a potential carcinogen were found in the tap water. Though they are having the water tested, officials stressed that there is no reason to believe the water is unsafe.

Borough Councilman Stanley Drwal, who is chairman of the council's water and sewer committee, was skeptical of a study released earlier this month by the New Jersey Work Environment Council, which found trace amounts of the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) after testing local water samples. Drwal questioned the methodology used by the coalition of environmental and labor groups, adding that Sayreville complies with all federal and state standards for drinking water.

PFOA, sometimes called C-8, is a synthetic chemical that does not occur naturally in the environment, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The chemical is produced by DuPont and is used to make fluoropolymers, which are used in the production of nonstick cookware and all-weather clothing. DuPont operates a plant in Parlin, but officials said it is unlikely the operation could have had an affect on the drinking water.

Borough officials said they are using a certified lab in Colorado called Severn Trent Laboratories to perform an analysis of drinking water samples from the borough. Officials expect to have the results by next week, and the findings will then be forwarded to the DEP for evaluation.

DEP Water Supply Division Bureau Chief Barker Hamill said the DEP is conducting a broader program of testing water statewide. The borough has better water than most municipalities in the state, he said, adding that the DEP is currently working to set a maximum contamination level for PFOA.

Once this level is determined, the Sayreville water samples will be further assessed.

Meanwhile, the DEP concluded that groundwater in the borough contains similar levels of PFOA as can be found throughout the state, and these levels are below those reported near DuPont facilities in other areas of the country, Hamill said.

The coalition of environmental groups, which includes the New Jersey Work Environment Council, the United SteelWorkers Union and the NY/NJ Baykeeper, announced July 11 that the level of PFOA in samples taken from the borough's library, a local business and two residences near the DuPont Parlin Plant tested positive for the chemical in levels between 3 and 53 parts per trillion.

Drwal said the borough water treatment plant's $2-million carbon filtration system, which was installed when the new water treatment plant was built on Bordentown Avenue two years ago, is not required by the Safe Water Drinking Act. The filtration process can reduce the PFOA content in drinking water, he said, adding that the borough has not confirmed the presence of the likely carcinogen in drinking water.

Sayreville Water Department Director Sandy Triolo agreed the filters may remove PFOA in water.

"Though the carbon filtration units are not mandatory," Triolo said, "the decision was made during the recent renovation to have them installed in the plant as an additional precaution."

Drwal said he has made it his foremost priority to ensure the safety of Sayreville's drinking water supply, adding that studies of water samples are traditionally done in parts per million or parts per billion. He noted that the results of the coalition study were in parts per trillion.

"Sayreville water meets or exceeds state and federal standards," Drwal said, "and our water treatment plant went above the norm with the carbon filtration system."

State Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski was also present at Monday's press conference.

"The presence of PFOA in Sayreville's groundwater table should prompt immediate and decisive action on the parts of the DEP, the Department of Health and Senior Services, and DuPont," Wisniewski said. "Together, they must swiftly work to remove this contaminant from our water supply and put in place protocols to ensure contamination at any level never happens again."

Sayreville Borough Engineer David Samuel said the carbon filtration units are the only method that is believed to remove PFOA from the water supply, and added that the presence of PFOA in the borough's drinking water has yet to be confirmed.

"We do not even know if there are any PFOAs in this water," Samuel said. "This water comes from the Duhernal System two miles away in Monroe, Old Bridge and Spotswood."

The borough's drinking water does not come from groundwater sources near DuPont, according to Samuel. The Middlesex County Water Co. also provides the borough with a minimum of 2 million gallons from the D&R Canal per day.

"I am very satisfied," Samuel said. "We have a very sophisticated plant."

Barker said the state became aware of PFOA as a potential problem early this year.

Only a few laboratories conduct tests for PFOA on a commercial basis, Hamill said. He added that the level of PFOA in water near a large DuPont plant in Ohio were at between 5 and 18 parts per billion, far greater than initial reports for Sayreville.

"There is a large study being done in that town," Hamill said, "but that is a thousand-fold difference [compared to Sayreville]."

Mayor Kennedy O'Brien told the Suburban that he takes the quality and safety of the borough's water seriously.

"We are testing our own water in response," O'Brien said, "and we are reviewing the testing of the environmental groups."

DEP officials expect to offer guidance and standards on levels of PFOA in the water supply by early next year, Hamill said.