MANCHESTER – Township officials are advocating that more work be done to contain harmful chemicals spread by the military base.
Councilwoman Michele Zolezi said she spoke to the federal Environmental Protection Agency because she is a member of a local advisory committee. She provided testimony urging for more funding to local municipalities because per-polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) have impacted areas of Manchester.
In June, details of an Air Force Civil Engineer Center forum addressed how contamination from PFAS could possibly move into drinking water. According to the Air Force’s private drinking water sampling program, even in small amounts the chemicals can cause some serious problems to a person’s health.
Increased exposure has had a correlation to higher cholesterol levels, kidney and testicular cancer and impacts on the immune system, according to findings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can also interfere with liver function.
Chemicals used by both the military and local fire companies spread PFAS into the soil at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and into the water table of its surrounding communities. There were signs of contamination in the surface water and some drinking water supplies in in the Pine Lake section of Manchester over the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, according to the U.S. Air Force.
The chemicals were used by firefighting teams performing drills at the Joint Base but it was unknown at the time that its use would have a lasting impact on the drinking water. The chemical foams that make up PFAS were developed by 3M and the U.S. Navy in the 1960s.
Manchester joined a national lawsuit against 3M in hopes of getting reimbursement for the cost outlay. The U.S. District Court in South Carolina and 3M reached an agreement in April with various water suppliers nationwide which calls for 3M to pay $10.3 billion over the next 13 years to providers of water in order to test and add filtration systems related to the PFAS contamination.
“I provided testimony on behalf of our county, community and state for more federal funding for PFAS for water and surface water and ground water. We are always at the forefront here in Manchester,” Zolezi said.
She encouraged residents to attend meetings of the township’s Environmental Commission.
The Township Council also approved the execution of a letter of engagement with Florio Perrucci Steinhardt Cappelli and Tipton LLC and Environmental Litigation Group, for legal services related to PFAS litigation.
