By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD – Forever chemicals like PFAS and their impacts on residents, groundwater and air in the Merrimack area were the focus of a monthly meeting Friday.

The Commission on the Environmental and Public Health Impacts of PFAS Compounds met Friday to discuss progress on the clean-up around Merrimack’s closed Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics plant at 710 Daniel Webster Highway (Route 3), efforts to investigate possible links to cancer and adverse health impacts in that area and discussed proposed legislation to allow for a longer time for people to file civil claims related to PFAS’ impacts on their lives.

Officials from the state Department of Environmental Services and the Department of Health and Human Services gave the commission an overview of their work to date and their contact with the company and municipalities. A state Representative spoke of the potential for legislation in the upcoming session in January that would allow impacted residents more time for damage claims.

Last year, a similar measure went to interim study.

Currently the state has a six-year statute of limitations, which was increased in 2021 from three years.

While some hope that the legislation will end the statute of limitations entirely, others feel that at least a decade is needed for those claims, and expect some push-back from the corporations potentially impacted.

State Rep. Suzanne Vail, D-Nashua, has filed the bill in name only at this point and state Rep. Nancy Murphy, D-Merrimack, is among the co-sponsors.

Murphy told the commission during the remote meeting that “there should be no statute of limitations” as people don’t know the impacts immediately. 

While the Portsmouth area has been impacted by the “forever chemicals” around the property that used to be Pease Air Force Base, the commission has been focused on another hot spot in the southern part of the state, surrounding Merrimack and its former Saint-Gobain plant. This includes Londonderry, Litchfield, Derry and Bedford.

Closed in May, Saint-Gobain is being demolished by the company in the wake of the controversy around the PFAS contamination in the area. 

DES’s Andy Fuller, senior hydrologist and project manager who is part of the hazardous waste mediation bureau, gave the commission an update on demolition and said he had visited the site Friday.

A portion of the building is almost nearly removed, said Fuller, and more demolition is expected.

Some of the contaminated parts will go to Pennsylvania, he said, while others to Canada.

Plans are to scarify the ground surface similar to a “pavement eater” that chews up the half inch of concrete as it is removed. The DES anticipates all demolition work to be done in 2025 as weather permits.

“We have been asking for monthly updates and will remain in frequent contact,” Fuller said.

Fuller said water is added to concrete to keep the air impacts down and it will be shipped out to Canada.

The commission also received an update on progress to ensure people in the town and surrounding towns have safe drinking water, with the extension of public water supplies to replace wells.

Millions have been spent on extending safe drinking water through municipalities and public water systems, helping scores of homeowners, many of whom have wells that may be tainted.

One of the longer running water projects on Hillcrest Road in Litchfield is substantially completed while some paving will be complete in 2025, Fuller said.

He said some property owners in that area declined to add the water and some others did not respond or had the line installed but not connected to their homes.

DES also said Saint-Gobain submitted a plan in September for a groundwater management permit. A revised work plan is expected to be submitted this month with the objective of getting it finalized for long-term monitoring starting in 2025, he said. 

DES has also been receiving updates on groundwater monitoring and sampling.

Fuller said in November, 3,867 properties were identified for water sampling and of that 2,574 samples were collected and 1,166 exceeded acceptable levels. 

A remedial action plan was submitted to the state but did not meet requirements and was sent back to the company, the DES said. Fuller said the company has been indicating it will likely ask for a plan completion extension.

Members thanked DES for pushing back on that noting that the company is all about delays. But some said in some aspects they are pleased with progress on cleaning up the facility.

The commission also got an update on efforts to look into cancer links from contaminated water and air.

Dartmouth Health is finalizing some data on renal and pelvis cancer and will be available to discuss it at the February meeting.

The UNH survey center is also working on getting data.

There is also work on a cancer registry and comparing the facts to state averages.