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Virginia Dept. of Health plans to test small, disadvantaged communities for PFAS • Virginia Mercury

Published

5 months ago

June 21, 2024

Virginia Dept. of Health plans to test small, disadvantaged communities for PFAS • Virginia Mercury

The Virginia Department of Health is continuing its forever hunt to find the amount of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, present in the state by testing for them in water systems serving small and disadvantaged communities.

“We suspect they haven’t done PFAS monitoring yet, and so they don’t know what they’re up against,” said Robert Edlemen, director of technical services at the office of drinking water at VDH, in an interview. “And certainly we don’t either.”

PFAS are the thousands of different chemicals used in several household products ranging from winter jackets to cookware to firefighting foam because of the tight chemical bond they possess to repel water and heat.

Because of that tight bond, the chemicals are nearly impossible to break down, meaning they end up in landfills, can leak into groundwater, and then get soaked up by clouds that send them back into the environment and food sources through rainfall.

The new testing comes as part of the federal government passing final PFAS rules in April to enforce a 4 or 10 parts per trillion maximum contaminant levels, or MCL, for a limited number of types of PFAS. One part per trillion is the equivalent of 1 drop of water in 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The new standards will reduce PFAS exposure for roughly 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said when announcing the new rules this spring.

The chemicals have been linked to serious health problems including cancers and reproductive and fetal development issues.

When issuing the rules, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency created a grace-period for public water systems to monitor levels of PFAS chemicals until 2027 before needing to treat any exceedances of the MCLs in drinking water starting in 2029.

Types of systems

Nationwide and in Virginia, public water systems, or waterworks, are defined as those serving 25 people or more a day for 60 days or more a year.

In Virginia, there are 1,072 community systems that serve towns, cities and counties and about 500 non-transient, non-community systems that serve schools or an office building where people return day-after-day but don’t live.

There’s also 1,245 transient non-community systems, which serve restaurants, a campground or a highway rest-stop that sees groups of people coming and going rather than live in or repeatedly return to the same area.

The community systems and non-transient, non-community systems are subject to the new rules. The transient, non-community systems do not need to follow the rules, with the thinking that the same people aren’t exposed to the potential contaminants from the same system over and over again.

Private wells, which are unregulated in Virginia and primarily serve individuals’ homes in rural, mountainous areas, are not subject to the rules either.

Previous testing

In addition to some sampling the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has done, the Virginia Department of Health conducted two phases of testing across Virginia’s publicly regulated water systems.

The first of those happened in 2021 with 45 of 50 systems that VDH reached out to agreeing to participate. The effort targeted larger systems serving about 5.25 million of the state’s about 7 million population, Elemen said.

Phase II, in 2022 and 2023, sampled 274 systems which were smaller community systems, and a handful of non-transient, non-community systems that were near areas that included known sources of PFAS, such as large airports that may use firefighting foam with the chemicals, and unlined landfills.

As a result of that sampling, PFAS was found to be present in the Roanoke, Newport News and Potomac River areas.

A screenshot of sites sampled for PFAS by the Virginia Department of Health (Courtesy of Virginia Department of Health)

New testing

Now, in Phase III, VDH is sampling small and disadvantaged communities, which include the “vast majority” of systems in Virginia, Edelman said. These systems include those serving populations of less than 10,000 and are deemed burdened under the EPA’s Environmental Justice screening tool.

The effort is expected to collect about 400 samples in all areas of the state over the next two or three months, Edelman said.

“If you consider that we have over a thousand community water systems, 400 samples isn’t enough to get the job done,” said Edlemen. “But it’s the next step in making progress identifying the PFAS levels across the state…it’s a doable step.”

Some of the about $27 million the state received from the federal government for 2022 and 2023, and $13.5 million this year can be tapped into to offset the costs of testing, Edelman said at a recent waterworks advisory committee meeting.

More testing

The testing is all seen as a way to get a handle on understanding where PFAS are in Virginia before beginning to figure out where the substances are coming from.

Chris Pomeory, attorney for the Virginia Municipal Drinking Water Association that represents waterworks that serve about 3 in every 4 Virginians, said in a statement that the “VMDWA is pleased to know that VDH intends to assist small disadvantaged communities with PFAS testing, which will be helpful for determining where PFAS testing is needed.”

The testing of the smaller systems “absolutely needs to be done,” added Betsy Nichols, vice president of the Potomac Riverkeeper Network, a local environmental group, since those might be in rural areas that are more likely to use biosolids from wastewater treatment plants as fertilizer.

The level of exposure in private wells also needs to be understood, Nichols added. She suggested the state could set up a grant program to help users of those systems conduct the testing.

It costs her group about $90 to $100 to conduct small tests, which require strict protocols for handling and storage because of the ease of outside particles contaminating the test subjects, Nichols said.

“Maybe [the wells] are all fine, but you don’t really know until you test,” Nichols said.

Also of importance is knowing where PFAS is coming from, such as carpet manufacturers, metal finishers and pesticides that use them, in order to “shut off the tap” and begin using alternatives, Nichols said.

“If we don’t start moving more quickly, we won’t have made all the changes that are needed to be implemented when that deadline hits,” Nichols said.

This past session Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a bill setting up a process for the Department of Environmental Quality to identify “significant” sources of PFAS. The bill passed despite some advocates initially wanting a more direct report from those using the chemicals to identify how they were introduced into the environment in the first place.

VDH will also be embarking on a $500,000 study, due to the General Assembly by Dec. 1, to determine how much it may cost to have waterworks make upgrades to treat PFAS, which could cost millions.

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WATCH: Virginia Tech head coach reacts to loss against Clemson

Published

57 mins ago

November 10, 2024

Press Room

WATCH: Virginia Tech head coach reacts to loss against Clemson

by Tony Crumpton
– Assoc. Editor
– Sun Nov 10 09:32:19 GMT-04:00 2024

Virginia head coach Brent Pry spoke to the media following the 24-14 loss to No. 19 Clemson on Saturday.

“Obviously, disappointed,” Pry said. “Ton of credit to Clemson. Good football team, thought they rebounded well. We unfortunately didn’t. There’s some good things out there that we did, but too many mistakes, untimely penalties, dropped balls, busted calls defensively, turnovers. You just can’t be at a good team making the mistakes that we made this evening. Unbelievable environment, great fans, sellout, ton of recruits here. The blocked field goal returned for a touchdown, gave us the lead, and there’s some good things we did. There certainly is, but we’ve got to clean some things up. We have to get healthy. We’ve got to be at our best. We’ve got two games in the season left. We’ve got an open week to get some guys back, get them feeling good, give us the best chance.”

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Five Takeaways from Virginia Football’s 24-19 Upset over Pittsburgh

Published

9 hours ago

November 10, 2024

Press Room

Five Takeaways from Virginia Football’s 24-19 Upset over Pittsburgh

In need of a win, Virginia football (5-4, 3-3 ACC) responded off the bye with a massive 24-19 upset over the No. 18 Pittsburgh Panthers (7-2, 3-2 ACC) to propel the Cavaliers back into bowl contention as the Hoos now need only one more victory to reach the illustrious six-win mark for bowl eligibility.

For a recap of the game: Virginia Football Claws Back to Upset Pittsburgh on the Road 24-19

With that said, here’s five takeaways from Virginia’s thrilling upset over the Pittsburgh:

Jonas Sanker is an NFL Caliber Safety

The Cavaliers leading tackler and leader of the defense put the football world on watch on Saturday night. Sanker single-handedly was the spark that allowed the Cavaliers to come back and defeat Pittsburgh on the road. His block on the field goal was magnificent before the interception on the ensuing Pittsburgh drive injected life into the Cavaliers. Sanker stepped up when his team needed him most and will be a future role player in an NFL franchise. Sanker also added five total tackles on the night, four solo.

Virginia Has a Shot to Become Bowl Eligible

An unlikely and unpredictable path to five wins for the Cavaliers puts them one game away from bowl eligibility. After the demoralizing loss to North Carolina, many thought the season was over for the Hoos; Saturday night’s win demonstrated this team’s resilience and fortitude even during tough times. Further, this win shows why Tony Elliott should and will be the future of this football program. The Hoos must find one more win between Notre Dame, SMU, or Virginia Tech. Although this will be difficult, this win inspires confidence that one more regular season win is possible.

The Virginia Rushing Attack was Stellar

The source of the Virginia offense on Saturday night started on the ground. Xavier Brown led the Hoos with 68 yards rushing and one touchdown, while Kobe Pace rattled off 52 yards and a touchdown. The duo was used in rotation, creating a two-headed monster that dominated the Pittsburgh defense all night long. Colandrea also utilized his legs, which was, for the majority of the night, more effective than throwing the ball. The sophomore quarterback scrambled for 40 yards on the ground as the Cavaliers had 170 yards rushing, an impressive performance.

Cavaliers Beat Themselves in the First Half

Virginia could’ve and should have won this game by more than five points, but mistakes, primarily in the first half, allowed this contest to be much closer than it should have been. The Malachi Fields bobbled ball that resulted in an interception robbed Virginia of a touchdown before Colandrea threw an interception right at a Pittsburgh linebacker, giving the Panthers excellent field position. Daniel Sparks, although he had a 66-yard bomb in the second half, had a 16-yard punt earlier in the game. Corey Thomas Jr., who had the game-sealing interception, also had a pass interference that continued a Pittsburgh drive on the verge of collapse on third and long. Virginia was fortunate to have left Pittsburgh with a victory, as mistakes like these are usually on the stat sheet of the losing team.

Colandrea Shows Poise in the Clutch

Colandrea did not play his best football game on Saturday night, but despite this, at the end of the game, the sophomore delivered a masterful drive that lasted eight minutes and 26 seconds and ended in a Will Bettridge field goal. Colandrea showed incredible poise, slowly leading the team down the field, being mindful of the clock, and reading what the defense gave him. The drive included a 16-yard rush from Colandrea, a 25-yard pass to Tyree, and a 12-yard pass to Pace as Colandrea played smart and conservative football, allowing Virginia to seal the victory over Pitt.

Virginia vs. Pittsburgh Live Updates | NCAA Football

Virginia Football Claws Back to Upset Pittsburgh on the Road 24-19

Virginia Football Schedules Games vs. West Virginia in Charlotte in 2026 & 2032

Hoos in the NFL: Recapping NFL Week 9 for Former Virginia Football Players

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Virginia Tech Football: 5 Takeaways From Hokies Loss to Clemson

Published

17 hours ago

November 9, 2024

Press Room

Virginia Tech Football: 5 Takeaways From Hokies Loss to Clemson

1. Slow Start For Offense

In the first quarter, the Hokies offense failed to get much going as the team only gained 35 total yards and were 0-2 on third down. The Hokie offense was held to just 96 first-half yards and zero touchdowns with Kyron Drones only throwing for 76 yards in the first half. In the first half, the offense completed only 28% of their third down attempts which is below the average they have on the season for third down of 39%.

2. The Defense Came Out On Fire

The Hokies defense held the Tigers to zero first-quarter points and Clemson under 100 yards gained in the first quarter. To start the second quarter, the Hokies defense blocked a field goal kick from Clemson and got a big-time third and one-stop, which led to the blocked field goal on fourth down. This was the first blocked field goal kick since 2016 vs Duke today by Quentin Reddish on the Hokie defense.

3. The Run Game

The Hokies run game wasn’t able to get it going, and it’s honestly been that way for the last few games after the Boston College game where Tuten got hurt. Today, the Hokies rushed for a total of 40 yards, which is the lowest total rushing yards for the team this season.

4. Kyron Drones

Kyron Drones struggled bad today, he only threw for 115 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception, and fumbled the football for a loss. Drones completed 45% of his passes today and this type of play led to him being benched for back up quarterback Collin Schlee in the second half.

5. Bhayshul Tuten

Bhayshul Tuten has not looked like himself since the Boston College game, and part of that is because of his injuries. Tuten has been dealing with a banged-up knee and an ankle injury this season where he was seen in a walking boot after the Georgia Tech game. In today’s game, Tuten rushed for zero yards on four rushing attempts after getting injured and did not return to action.

Additional Links:

Virginia Tech Basketball: 5 Takeaways From The Hokies Win vs USC Upstate

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