GUSTAVUS
Gustavus is the gateway community to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. With a year round population of approximately 540, the small community 30 miles west of Juneau sees an influx of visitors, National Park Service employees and other seasonal workers from May – September. The DEC and DOT&PF prioritized Gustavus for PFAS investigation based on known historical use of AFFF at the Gustavus Airport and potential impacts to drinking water. Gustavus does not have a municipal water system; most people rely on private wells, generally drilled at a shallow depth of 15-25 feet bgs (S&W, 2019c). Results of initial sampling of two public drinking water supply wells confirmed that PFAS was present in groundwater at unsafe levels in one of the wells (DOT&PF, 2018b), prompting further investigation to evaluate the extent of offsite PFAS migration.
Drinking Water Impacts – Public Water System
Initial PFAS sampling of two public water supply wells occurred in late June 2018. Results of PFOS and PFOA in groundwater samples from the Gustavus Airport well (PWS ID: 2111476) and the Gustavus Water System (PWS ID: 2130596) were compared to EPA’s LHA.
“I am not a chemist or a toxicologist. I am a concerned citizen with two children who attend the Gustavus School, where students and staff have been drinking water that measures 38-44 ppt PFASs. These levels make me uncomfortable, given the uncertainties surrounding these chemicals and the fact that professionals in the contaminants field say they expect that with more research, the current “safe” threshold levels will decrease over time.” —Janet Neilson, Gustavus resident, public comments to DEC “My elderly father, my siblings and I, my children and my grandchildren are counting on you to do the right thing.” —Sally McLaughlin, Gustavus resident, public comments to DEC
DOT&PF began bottled water delivery on September 17, 2018 to properties where PFAS concentrations exceeded action levels. Until a long term solution is implemented, people with contaminated well water must rely on bottled water for drinking and cooking. Some are also choosing to water their gardens with the bottled water. A few impacted properties have been provided with point of entry (POE) filtration. Photo: Kelly McLaughlin
The Gustavus Airport well contained PFOS/PFOA at levels exceeding EPA’s LHA with an estimated concentration of 250 ppt PFOS and 3 ppt PFOA (TestAmerica, 2018a, p. 5), results which were confirmed a month later when the well was resampled (S&W, 2018a). The drinking water fountain at the airport terminal had been shut off prior to the discovery of PFAS contamination due to low levels of petroleum contaminants from heating oil that had been leaking from a 500 gallon underground storage tank before it was removed in 2014 (DEC, 2018d).
The Gustavus Water System, (hereafter referred to as the “NPS Well”) is owned by the National Park Service and is located adjacent to airport property. The well supplies water to Park Service housing and to the Gustavus School, attended by approximately 80 students, grades K- 12 (Public School Review, 2019). When tested in June 2018, the NPS Well had detectable PFOS/PFOA; however concentrations were below action levels (DOT&PF, 2018b). Results were 16 ppt PFOS and 6 ppt PFOA (TestAmerica, 2018a, p. 5). Results of samples from the NPS well collected in August and September of 2018 reported the sum of five PFAS per DEC’s August 2018 Action Levels. In results from August 2018, PFOS was detected at 23 ppt, PFHxS at 12 ppt, PFOA at 5 ppt, and PFHpA and PFNA at less than 2 ppt each (TestAmerica, 2018b, p. 5) and in September concentrations were 22 ppt PFOS, 11 ppt PFHxS, and 4 ppt PFOA and less than 2 ppt for PFHpA and PFNA (TestAmerica, 2018c, p. 11). The results for the sum of five PFAS in the NPW Well groundwater samples were 44 ppt in June (S&W, 2018d), 41 ppt in August and 39 ppt in September, all below the level requiring DOT&PF to provide alternative water. However, in an effort led by Superintendent Philip Hooge, the National Park Service installed a GAC filter to remove PFAS from the NPS well and provide safer water to Park Service employees and Gustavus students and staff (Hohenstatt, 2019a).
The State of Alaska contracted with Shannon & Wilson to lead a well search and sampling effort to evaluate impacts to drinking water wells off of airport property after DOT&PF discovered PFAS at levels exceeding DEC and EPA action levels in the airport well (DOT&PF, 2018b). Results of the first round of sampling confirmed that PFAS are migrating offsite and that concentrations of PFAS in some private groundwater wells were at levels posing unacceptable risk to human health (Gullufsen, 2018; Jenkins, 2018). Shannon & Wilson sampled for six PFAS compounds (PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, PFHpA, PFNA, and PFBS) in four rounds of testing between late August 2018 and December 2018. Each sampling event included new areas with the goal of determining the boundary beyond which it would not be expected that groundwater concentrations of PFAS would exceed action levels. After the first two rounds of sampling, the northern and eastern edges of the plume had been defined (DOT&PF, 2018a). Sampling results indicate that the highest PFAS concentrations in groundwater extend to the south and west of the airport (S&W, 2019d). The full extent of contamination is unknown.
All private well water sample results from Gustavus were compared to the DEC action level of 65 ppt or greater for the sum of five (PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, PFHpA, PFNA), and 2,000 ppt for PFBS. Beginning with 43 private wells in late August 2018, Shannon & Wilson expanded their sampling effort and tested an additional 23 wells in late September 2018, 28 wells in late October/early November, and three wells in December (S&W, 2019a, Table 1). As of December 2018, Shannon & Wilson had sampled 101 discrete wells (97 private, offsite wells and the Airport Terminal well, National Park Service well, City Hall well, and Firehouse well). Based on an April 2019 map (S&W, 2019d) showing the highest reported analytical results for the sum of five PFAS detected in these 101 wells, there were: 19 wells ≥ 65 ppt 3 wells 35 to 64 ppt 1 well 17.5 to 34 ppt 23 wells 2.1 to 17.4 ppt 55 wells ≤ 2.0 ppt
Of the 19 wells that had PFAS concentrations of 65 ppt or higher, eleven wells contained PFAS concentrations in the 100 ppt to 200 ppt range and five wells had detections of PFAS above 2,000 ppt. The highest concentration of PFAS in any one well in the airport PFAS plume was 6,729 ppt (S&W, 2019a, Table 1). The data show highest concentrations of PFOS, PFHxS, and PFOA (in that order) in Gustavus groundwater (S&W, 2019a, Table 1; Table 2). All three of these PFAS compounds are among those known to stay in the human body the longest; PFHxS has a longer halflife than either PFOS or PFOA (Li et al., 2018) (See Health Outcomes section, page 12.) Given the known persistence, toxicity and bioaccumulative nature of PFHxS, and its widespread presence in Gustavus groundwater, it is concerning that under DEC’s April 2019 Tech Memo, DEC will not ask for PFHxS results even though the compound will continue to be analyzed for in samples. Under current DEC policy, concentrations of PFHxS will not be taken into account in site characterization or when making recommendations for future monitoring and remediation. The laboratory doing the analysis will retain the data for 10 years and will provide the full analytical data only upon request by the State of Alaska.
Further sampling is planned to evaluate the horizontal and vertical extent of PFAS contamination in groundwater and soils (S&W, 2019c). A draft site characterization work plan proposes to establish two new onsite monitoring well locations and eight offsite groundwater monitoring locations to the south and west of the airport and several soil boring locations (S&W, 2019c). The plan also includes additional surface water sampling of drainage ditches along the edge of the airport runways to determine if surface water runoff is contributing to off-site groundwater contamination (S&W, 2019c). Results will be reported for PFOS and PFOA only.
Gustavus PFAS Action Coalition (GPAC)
The State of Alaska held two public informational meetings in 2018, one shortly after the discovery of Gustavus’ contaminated groundwater and one a few months later (DOT&PF, 2018c, 2018d). Many residents left the meetings with more questions than answers, prompting the formation of the Gustavus PFAS Action Coalition (GPAC) in December 2018 (K. McLaughlin, personal communication, June 14, 2019).
The mission of the GPAC is to bring awareness to the PFAS crisis. GPAC will facilitate, encourage, and work with the appropriate entities to 1) Stop further use of PFAS; 2) Create public understanding of the full extent of the damage; and 3) facilitate the correction of the PFAS damage to the fullest extent possible. They hope to work in a non-adversarial and cooperative fashion, with the full spectrum of local, state, and federal agencies, non-profits, and community partners needed to address this complex issue.
In June 2019, DOT&PF stated that the Gustavus airport had 165 gallons of Ansulite 3% AFC-3MS-C AFFF product stored in the airport shop and 400 gallons of ChemGuard C301-MS-C 3% product in the ARFF truck.
Upon learning that they and/or their neighbors had been drinking contaminated water for years or even decades, several GPAC members embarked on what they describe as a “crash course on PFAS.” They continue to learn as much as they can about this complex class of chemicals and their use in Alaska. The GPAC shares this information within the Gustavus community and with other communities that are also facing PFAS contamination; they take action at every opportunity to engage in the public process and hold responsible parties accountable.
GPAC members have expressed concern over the possibility that Gustavus residents and visitors may be exposed to PFAS through consumption of wild foods, including mushrooms, berries, herbaceous plants, fish and wild game and have asked the State to test for PFAS in biota. The group was successful in getting ADF&G to agree to sample tissue (meat) from wild game that may have ingested surface water and plants within the airport PFAS contamination plume. Results from the limited study were reported in July 2019 (KINY Radio, 2019). One sample each was taken from 13 animals (12 moose, 1 bear) that were harvested in the 2017 and 2018 hunting seasons. Samples were analyzed for 15 PFAS analytes; PFAS was detected in the meat and liver samples from the bear and three moose. Five PFAS analytes were detected in the bear tissue sample at concentrations ranging from 0.092 ppb – 0.110 ppb. PFOS was detected at 7.31 ppb in a liver sample from one moose and PFHxS at 0.741 ppb in a liver sample from another moose (National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2019, Table 3). Alaska does not have consumption advisory levels for any fish or game; however the moose and bear meat analyzed from Gustavus tested well below the advisory level of 300 ppb that the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services established for deer meat (State of Michigan, 2019).
At a two-day community meeting held in Gustavus in May 2019 and attended by ACAT and members of other PFAS-impacted communities, participants voiced concern over the lack of opportunities for community input in the state-led PFAS investigation process. Participants pointed out that their local knowledge could help inform the identification of sampling locations for site characterization. Members of GPAC contacted the State to request the opportunity to comment on a draft site characterization work plan for their community and were successful. PFAS Coordinator for DOT&PF, Sammy Loud, confirmed that DOT&PF ultimately invited public input on the plan as a result of GPAC’s request (personal communication, August 12, 2019). GPAC members continue to work together to address PFAS contamination to protect the health of their families, neighbors, future generations, and fish and wildlife and to hold polluters accountable.
The first priority of the State of Alaska is to address impacts to people, specifically through the most likely primary exposure route—drinking water. However, addressing ecological impacts beyond those affecting humans is also important. Participants at the May 2019 meeting expressed concerns about the impacts to fish, birds, and other animals to ensure that they are not harmed.
DOT&PF maintains a Gustavus Airport Firefighting Foam Contamination webpage with updates and documents related to the PFAS contamination plume originating from the airport: http://www.dot.state.ak.us/airportwater/gustavus/