Calculating the Amount of PFAS Currently on the Ground due to the Land-Spreading of PFAS Contaminated Waste Treatment Sludge in Fairfield, Maine

Abstract

Between 1980 and 2003, 149,934 cubic yards of PFAS contaminated wastewater treatment sludge from the Kennebec Sanitary Treatment District (KSTD) were land-spread in Fairfield, Maine. This paper reports the amount of PFOS and PFOA, in pounds, which is currently on the ground in Fairfield, Maine, and the enormous potential that PFAS has to contaminate the drinking water aquifer below ground, beyond the EPA drinking water Maximum Contaminant Levels for PFOA and PFOS, for many years to come. The PFAS currently on the ground in Fairfield, Maine has the potential to contaminate a volume of water (1.422 trillion gallons) equal to the volume of water served to New York City over four years. In addition, the volume of PFAS contaminated wastewater treatment sludge spread in Fairfield, Maine is only 51% of the total amount of KSTD sludge that was land-spread. The remaining 49% was land-spread in 15 nearby communities. In total, 293,651 cubic yards of KSTD sludge were spread in Fairfield, Maine and 15 nearby communities. That amount is equivalent to 20,975 fourteen cubic yard dump-truck loads of land-spread wastewater treatment sludge. All data used in this report came from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. All data and calculations are included in the report.