The Navy will be sending letters to dozens of Whidbey Island property owners next week to ask permission to test their well water for potentially hazardous chemicals.
The Navy is also planning a community meeting Nov. 21 in Oak Harbor and another Nov. 22 in Coupeville to provide information, answer questions and hear concerns from the public. In addition, a website about the testing program on Whidbey will be set up in the near future, according to Navy officials.
The testing will determine whether drinking water is contaminated with a chemical found in a type of firefighting foam used to extinguish petroleum-fueled fires. The foam was used at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island for decades at a firefighting training area and at the site of fires.
Wells within a mile of sites on the Ault Field base and the Coupeville Outlying Field will be tested.
There is no evidence that any drinking water contains unsafe levels of the chemicals, perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid, but Navy officials want to be as protective of the public health as possible, said Dina Ginn, environmental restoration manager with Navy Facilities Engineering Command.
“We intend to be as proactive as we can,” she said.
In May, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued lifetime health advisory levels for the first time on two “long-chain” perfluoroalkyl substances, which are also known as PFASs. Studies suggest the chemicals may be linked to increased cancer risk, development problems in children and fetuses, and immune and reproductive concerns, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
In June, the Navy responded to the EPA decision with a nationwide policy to identify areas where the materials were potentially released. It’s an issue on bases across the nation, not just Whidbey, Ginn said.
A test of groundwater at the site of the firefighter training area at NAS Whidbey came in above the lifetime health advisory level, Ginn confirmed, but the water isn’t used for drinking; the concern is that the chemical could have spread to other wells.
Ginn said a test of groundwater at OLF Coupeville showed a detectable level of the chemicals — which are also in other products — but it wasn’t above the advisory level.
NAS Whidbey Public Affairs Officer Mike Welding said there is no historical evidence that the foam was used at the Outlying Field, but the Navy is testing out of an abundance of caution.
An alphabet soup of state and federal agencies, as well as Island County Public Health, are assisting and monitoring the testing project.
Gina said only a couple of laboratories in the nation meet the Navy’s rigorous requirements for accuracy for testing for PFASs. It’s not the kind of testing that people can do with home kits, for example.
The Navy will provide alternate drinking water for residents if the chemicals in the water are found to exceed the EPA lifetime health advisory levels, the Navy reported.
The Navy will likely begin getting test results in December, officials said, and residents will be notified.
The results of the tests will guide the response. People will be immediately notified if the tests show results above the advisory amount and officials will decide if more testing needs to be done, Judy Smith, a spokesperson for the EPA, said.
