Tests conducted by Hamilton and the Environment Ministry confirm the Hamilton International Airport is the source of the toxic substance perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) that has been found in fish and wildlife in the Binbrook Reservoir.

Meanwhile, the city of Hamilton’s public health staff conducted tests in 25 water wells, around the Hamilton Airport, and along the Welland River watershed, and found trace levels of PFOS in two of the nine dug wells. The other 14 wells tested negative for PFOS. The wells that PFOS was detected were located around the airport.

“There is no ground water contamination based on the samples we have taken,” said Robert Hall, director health protection for the city.

The city’s testing of private wells and ground water began a few weeks ago at the insistence of Glanbrook councillor Brenda Johnson who wanted to make sure local residents’ drinking water and other water sources were not contaminated.

The city also found that four of the seven surface water samples taken from ponds and a swimming area had PFOS.

The concentrations found ranged between 0.003 and 0.23 ug/L. Since there are no guidelines in Canada for PFC’s in drinking water, the city’s public health staff referred to the Minnesota Department of Health risk limit. It sets a provincial health advisory for PFOS as 0.2 ug/L.

Hall said the city has been in contact with Health Canada, about the research. They confirm, he said, the research is just starting on PFOS, and more studies need to be done.

“Everybody is saying this is absolutely new,” he said.

The MOE’s testing of the samples, collected on May 2 confirm the positive PFOS tests that Dr. Joe Minor, a biologist and director of Environment Hamilton, found when he paid for PFOS tests conducted on sediments he collected April 9. He found the sediment taken from a ditch beside the airport that drained from an area where fire training was conducted and under a culvert behind Airport Road contained 170 parts per billion of PFOS. Minor said the result is more than three times the highest recorded levels in sediments that have been found in Lake Ontario.

The MOE took samples from 16 sites, from Upper James to the Lake Niapenco Outlet. It found that the “HIA is the primary source of PFOS relative to background concentrations particularly from the southern boundary …” In its report, it also stated that “it appears that the predominate source of PFOS is occurring from the HIA.” Other possible sources, such as the closed Glanford Land site were observed, but no measureable water or sediments were found, stated the report.

PFOS has been used in firefighting foam and was added to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in May 2009, due to its persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic nature. PFOS accumulates within wildlife and is not easily expunged.

The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and the Ontario ministry of environment have been monitoring fish in the Binbrook Reservoir for toxins since 2009. The province’s sport fish contaminate monitoring program revealed in its annual fish guide for 2011-12 that high levels of PFOS have been found in largemouth and smallmouth bass, black crappie, brown bullhead and common carp in the reservoir.

Environment Ministry officials met with Tradeport representatives last week, to determine the next steps, said Guy Paparella, director of industrial parks and airport development. Paparella said the MOE has authorized Tradeport, which oversees the airport property on behalf of the city which owns the land, to seal the pond and ditch where the PFOS was escaping. He said prior to the city taking over the property, the federal government owned the airport in the early 1980s and carried out fire training exercises with foam that possibility contained PFOS

He said Tradeport officials will pay the estimated $30,000 to seal the pond and ditch. But the larger question is how to dispose of the PFOS. A few ideas included digging the material out of the pond and ground, and burning it, he said. Paparella said a strategy needs to be in place by the end of the year.

“I don’t want to point fingers,” said Paparella. “It could result in litigation and who is responsible.”

MOE officials were absent from the city’s general issues committee to explain the results from their report, provoking irritation from Johnson, and other councillors.

Johnson, who first raised the alarm about PFOS contaminating fish in the Binbrook Reservoir earlier this year to council, rejected the idea to simply seal the pond and ditch.

“I’m not content to just sealing it up,” she said. “We should dredge it up. This is a substance that clings to things. The fire pad is completely contaminated. (The MOE’s idea) is not very comforting.”

She advocated for the removal of the material entirely to stop it from leaching into the area’s water supply.

Councillors agreed to hire its own consultant to review the background of the airport lands, and asked the city’s solicitor to monitor the situation, and report back to council.