The U.S. Navy is having two open houses this month to discuss drinking water investigations near Naval Station Mayport and its Whitehouse Field on Jacksonville’s Westside and concerns about possible contamination from firefighting foam chemicals.
The open houses follow Environmental Protection Agency health advisories issued in 2016 regarding potential adverse health effects of perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid in drinking water. The Navy said the most common historical use of these chemicals was in firefighting foam used on Navy installations to put out fires from incidents like aircraft accidents.
The Mayport open house is 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 27 at Mayport Middle School at 2600 Mayport Road in Atlantic Beach. The open house to discuss the Whitehouse airfield is 5 to 7 p.m. Aug. 28 at Whitehouse Elementary School at 11160 General Ave. These open houses will include informational displays, with representatives from the Navy, EPA, Atlantic Beach Public Utilities and Florida Department of Health.
The Navy states that perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid are man-made chemicals persistent that are not absorbed well in soil and could migrate to groundwater. In June 2016 the Navy issued a policy to identify areas of potential release of these materials to the environment, including testing in and around NAS Jacksonville. And it is currently testing private drinking water wells in and around Mayport and Whitehouse training field to ensure local drinking water supplies are not impacted from past Navy chemical use at either installation.
This is part of Navy’s ongoing testing of private drinking water wells at and near Navy installations across the nation. The Navy will provide bottled water for residents if their private drinking water well show concentrations of the chemicals that exceed the EPA levels.
More information about the Navy’s PFAS initiative and drinking water testing program may be found at bit.ly/2YUOZHM and bit.ly/2H9lZRF
Dan Scanlan: (904) 359-4549