Private wells around Naval Air Station Jacksonville have been found to be within EPA guidelines.
That’s the determination of now validated drinking water test results for 19 off-station wells sampled, according to an email WJCT News received from NAS Jacksonville Wednesday.
The testing was done following concerns raised about cancer-linked chemicals that had been used on the base.
The testing found all are below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Lifetime Health Advisory (LHA) of 70 parts per trillion (PPT) for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, according to NAS Jacksonville.
The Navy voluntarily began testing the wells in August to make sure local drinking water supplies had not been impacted by past Navy use of so-called "forever chemicals" at the air station. About 3,000 warning letters were sent to area residents informing them of the testing.
The most common historical use of the chemicals tested has been for the firefighting foam used on the base. Exposure to these chemicals has been linked to a myriad of health problems including birth defects and cancer. Earlier a federal health advistory was issued for certain chemicals used during firefighting training on the base.
The station’s drinking water is produced by NAS Jacksonville’s Public Works Utilities Division and is supplemented by JEA.
NAS Jacksonville said no further testing is planned.
Additional information about the testing is available on this Navy website page.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
Photo used under Creative Commons license.
