Daily Archives: December 24, 2022

Chainsaw Cleanup, Suwannee River, Griffis to Fargo 2022-12-29

Update 2023-01-04: Pictures: Griffis to Fargo, Suwannee River 2022-12-29.

Come help chainsaw some deadfalls on a longish Suwannee River paddle.

You do not have to actually use a chainsaw, but if you’ve got one and know how to use it in a boat, bring it along.

The days are short, so be at Fargo Ramp by 8AM, so we can do a reverse shuttle, carrying the boats up to Griffis Fish Camp. The weather prediction is sunny and warm: low 51, high 71.

When: Gather 8 AM, launch 8:30 AM, end 4:30 PM, Thursday, December 29, 2022

Put In: Griffis Fish Camp

Take Out: Fargo Ramp

GPS: 30.681833, -82.560167

Free: This outing is free to everyone because it is a cleanup.
However, bring $2 in cash for the put-in fee at Griffis Fish Camp.

We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations

[Map: Griffis Fish Camp to Fargo Ramp in WWALS SRWT]
Map: Griffis Fish Camp to Fargo Ramp in the WWALS map of the Suwannee River Water Trail (SRWT)

Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat, paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup. And a chainsaw, if you have one and know how to use it.

Boats: bring your own if you have it.
If you need a boat, Continue reading →

PFAS contamination may be much more widespread than previously known 2022-10-12

A new model indicates sources of PFAS “forever chemicals” may be much more widespread than usually thought.

[Presumptive Contamination Sites (n=57,412), Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 2022, 9, 11, 983-990]
Presumptive Contamination Sites (n=57,412), Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 2022, 9, 11, 983-990

That model was published while Waterkeeper Alliance was working up the report on the nationwide PFAS sampling, including the Suwannee Riverkeeper results on the Withlacoochee River in Georgia and Florida.

Presumptive Contamination: A New Approach to PFAS Contamination Based on Likely Sources, Derrick Salvatore, Kira Mok, Kimberly K. Garrett, Grace Poudrier, Phil Brown, Linda S. Birnbaum, Gretta Goldenman, Mark F. Miller, Sharyle Patton, Maddy Poehlein, Julia Varshavsky, and Alissa Cordner, Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 2022, 9, 11, 983-990.

Abstract

While research and regulatory attention to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has increased exponentially in recent years, data are uneven and incomplete about the scale, scope, and severity of PFAS releases and resulting contamination in the United States. This paper argues that in the absence of high-quality testing data, PFAS contamination can be presumed around three types of facilities: (1) fluorinated aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) discharge sites, (2) certain industrial facilities, and (3) sites related to PFAS-containing waste. While data are incomplete on all three types of presumptive PFAS contamination sites, we integrate available geocoded, nationwide data sets into a single map of presumptive contamination sites in the United States, identifying 57,412 sites of presumptive PFAS contamination: 49,145 industrial facilities, 4,255 wastewater treatment plants, 3,493 current or former military sites, and 519 major airports. This conceptual approach allows governments, industries, and communities to rapidly and systematically identify potential exposure sources.

Why should we care? Continue reading →