Fire lab source of chemicals found in drinking water, NRC confirms

Government officials have confirmedthe NationalFire Laboratoryis the source of chemicals that contaminated the drinking water inMississippi Mills, Ont.

Homeowners living near the facility found out in December 2015 that perfluoroalkylated substances, or PFAS, were discovered in their tap water. It's the same chemical often found in firefighting foams.

They admitted they were essentially ground zero of the problem.- Mississippi Mills Mayor Shaun McLaughlin

In an emailed statement to CBC News, the National Research Council confirmed Thursday that "ongoing environmental assessments have indicated that PFAS found in the nearby residential wells originated from the National Fire Laboratory site.

"Since identifyingPFASat the National Research Council's National Fire Laboratory, our focus has been on carrying out an effective and thorough environmental assessment and on the continued safeguarding of the health and safety of residents and employees," the statement said.

"They admitted they were essentially ground zero of the problem," said the municipality's mayor, Shaun McLaughlin. "This is the first time they've actually owned that piece of the mystery."

Back in 2013, theNRCknew contaminantswere found in the groundwater from drill sites close to the facility.

Two years later, the government department started delivering bottled water to some neighbouring homes andpayingfor charcoal water filtration systems.

Residents pushing for answers

Ever since,residents in more than 70 homes in the community ofRamsay Meadows have been pushing for answers. The NRC saysit's been carrying out environmental assessments.

"Results to date indicatelow to no detection ofPFASin residential water..."said the NRC in a statement to CBC News."According to Health Canada, there are no expected health impacts over a lifetime of exposure, if levels ofPFASin drinking water fall below the applicable Health Canada screening values."

A working group representing theRamsay Meadows homeownerssaysthey appreciate the NRC being honest about the results. The department's acting president,Maria Aubrey, met with two of the residents at the end of June.

"We are kind of taken aback a little bit,"said chairperson J.D.Heffern."They've come back and said here's the evidence. We've done testing to the west of the facility, we've done testing in various places and our conclusion is the National Fire Lab is in fact the source of the contaminants in a plume-like formation coming towards Ramsey Meadows."

Lingering concerns over health

Residents who live near the fire lab don'tknow how long they were exposed to the chemicals and what the impact could be.

We don't know about the long-term effects.- J.D. Heffern, chairperson of residents' working group

Scientific information is limited onPFAS, Health Canada says.

But in studies done on animals, "high levels ofPFAShave been linked with negative health effects ...including liver damage andimpacts on neurological development," the agency's fact sheet says.

In humans, short-term exposure toPFASat levels slightly above the safety threshold isn't expected to have health effects, according to Health Canada, but the agency does not define whatconstitutesshort- or long-term exposure.

"We don't know about the long-term effects," said Heffern.

A working group forRamsayMeadows residents is meeting with Health Canada on July 12.