NEWBURGH – City Manager
Michael Ciaravino has lifted the state of emergency in Newburgh now that
the city’s drinking water supply has been switched over to Brown’s
Pond and the Catskill Aqueduct. “I now believe that our water is
safe to drink while we work on the longer term issue of finding a permanent
solution to the problem,” the city manager said in an announcement
early Tuesday afternoon.
While the city operates under interim measures, water conservation measures
announced on Monday will remain in place.
According to the State Department of Health, the city’s water supply
from Washington Lake has never had PFOS contaminate levels above the recommended
limits of 200 parts per trillion. The measure has been at 140 parts per
trillion.
There is still no mention of the source of the contamination. But, according
to a fact sheet from the Environmental Protection Agency “the environmental
release of PFOS-based AFFF may also occur from tank and supply line leaks,
use of aircraft hangar fire suppression systems and firefighting training.”
The Air National Guard Base at Stewart Airport provides the firefighting
function for the civilian and military portions of the airport and is
in close proximity to Washington Lake. Nothing made public has linked
any activities at the guard base to the Washington Lake contamination.
State officials are monitoring the water situation and Mayor Judy Kennedy
said Tuesday that the state was investigating to determine the source.
The federal EPA has not returned a call for comment.
The EPA fact sheet, though, discusses health efforts of the chemical.
“The ingestion of PFOA-contaminated water was found to cause adverse
effects on mammary gland development of mice.” It also stated that,
“One study indicated that exposure to PFOS can affect the neuroendocrine
system in rats; however, the mechanism by which PFOS affects brain neurotransmitters
is still unclear.”
The EPA fact sheet also said, “The chronic exposure to PFOS and
PFOA can lead to the development of tumors in the liver of rates; however,
more research is needed to determine if there are similar cancer risks
for humans.”
Additional the report said, “Epidemiologic studies have shown an
association between PFOS exposure and bladder cancer; however, further
research and analysis are needed to understand this association.”
