Chesapeake Bay Journal, Jeremy Cox
October 16, 2024
Tests showing elevated levels of PFAS in the groundwater at Perdue AgriBusiness’s soybean processing facility in Salisbury, MD, have triggered a wider investigation in the surrounding community and a class-action lawsuit.
The company, a subsidiary of poultry giant Perdue Farms, has coordinated with the Maryland Department of the Environment to notify residents of 550 homes within a half-mile radius of the facility. The letters, dated Sept. 30, seek permission from property owners to allow an independent contractor to sample their well water. Perdue is also offering free bottled water to any affected home.
“This is very much an emerging issue,” Perdue CEO Kevin McAdams said. “We did this out of an abundance of caution. We worked with MDE, and we wanted to come forward.”
MDE officials say the testing at the Eastern Shore facility grew out of an ongoing statewide search for potential PFAS contamination. The agency has gathered test results from all of the state’s more than 450 community water systems in recent years and has begun analyzing samples from nonresidential providers, such as schools.
“We are working closely with the company and local leaders to support the residents who may be affected by the discovery of PFAS contamination in the groundwater,” said MDE Secretary Serena McIlwain in a statement. “PFAS is an emerging area of concern in Maryland and across the nation. We appreciate Perdue’s cooperation in addressing this matter and helping to protect the health and wellbeing of the community.”
PFAS, or per– and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have been used for decades in a wide variety of products, such as firefighting foam, carpeting, food packaging, cosmetics and more. PFAS include thousands of chemicals, which have been found to cause decreased fertility, developmental delays, weakened immune systems, an increased risk of some cancers and other health problems.
PFAS don’t break down easily and can stick around in the environment or even human blood for many years. Because of this, the substances are often referred to as “forever chemicals.”
In April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized a rule reducing the drinking water limit from 70 parts per trillion to 4 parts per trillion, essentially the threshold at which it can be detected by existing technology.
Testing at the 250-acre Perdue plant found levels both below and above that threshold, ranging from below the federal standard to 1,370 parts per trillion for one well.
The toxic chemical was first detected in the plant’s wastewater system, officials say. Subsequent groundwater tests revealed more detections. State and company officials hope that the testing conducted at homes around the facility helps shed light on the nature and extent of the underground contamination.
Meanwhile, a law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit against Perdue on behalf of five of the plant’s neighbors.
The suit was filed by Baird Mandalas Brockstedt & Federico on Oct. 11 in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore. It claims that MDE discovered the elevated PFAS levels in September 2023 in the plant’s treated wastewater, which was being sprayed on the site’s cropland and forested areas. Some also was being discharged directly into a small stream.
The legal documents accuse Perdue of failing for many years to test the wastewater to make sure it was safe before using it as irrigation. Even after the initial test results in 2023, Perdue took no action, the suit alleges, to halt the contamination or notify nearby residents for a full year.
The lawsuit states that some of the plaintiffs suffer from a “variety” of health problems known to be caused by PFAS exposure, but it doesn’t specify what they are. In addition to calling for Perdue to stop the pollution, the action seeks potentially millions of dollars in damages to cover a medical monitoring program, the loss of quality of life, the loss of property value and other costs.
Perdue officials responded with a statement. It noted that it remains to be determined what’s causing the contamination and whether it has reached nearby drinking water wells.
“We recognize the concern this may cause nearby property owners and, as we have previously shared, we are fully cooperating with MDE and actively investigating all possibilities, including other potential sources in the area,” the company said. “We have always prioritized the safety and well-being of our community, and this case is no exception. Perdue will continue to engage transparently with our neighbors and the community throughout this process.”
Perdue officials have said they don’t use PFAS in any of the facility’s manufacturing.
The only time that PFAS have been known to be used at the site was about five years ago during an accidental discharge of firefighting foam, said Drew Getty, Perdue’s vice president of environmental sustainability. The plant has been operating since the 1960s.
Perdue has set up a dedicated website with information for residents and ways to contact the company about the contamination.
The facility is just east of the Salisbury city limits but is across a highway from a bustling residential subdivision. Homes also run along the road in front of the plant.
An elementary school stands just outside the half-mile testing radius. A spokeswoman for Wicomico County Public Schools said that Beaver Run Elementary’s drinking water system was switched from well water to public water during its reconstruction a few years ago.
The same Perdue site was the subject recently of a separate MDE action. Along with the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, MDE in July fined Perdue $12 million after discovering the company had installed new machinery without a permit and without proper air-pollution controls.
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