GLOCESTER – Hearings on a proposed zoning amendment were called off, and an application for the requested change was withdrawn this week amid news that wells in the vicinity of the applicant’s property have shown high levels of PFAS chemicals in recent testing.
Factory Mutual Insurance Company – known locally as FM Global – withdrew the application for a change to the zoning of the business’s property off Reynolds Road from agricultural to allow industrial uses on Friday, Oct. 31. The move followed hearings on the request in October where residents expressed concern about the possibility that forever chemicals may have already contaminated their wells from the company’s past operations.
Since 1967, the 800 plus acre property has been home to FM’s research campus, where the insurance business conducts tests that include simulation of fires and explosions in hopes to find ways to better protect commercial property. Much like fire departments across the state at the time, FM used firefighting foam made with PFAS to extinguish flames for more than a decade, disposing what remained in an on-site landfill. The now closed dump site also holds the waste of other consumer products, such as furniture and carpets, which were burned in the experiments.
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management ordered FM to close the landfill in 1990s. The site is capped, but unlined, and RIDEM now believes it has been leaking PFAS into the groundwater aquifer that provides drinking water to homes in the area.
Dubbed “forever chemicals” because the substances do not break down in the environment, PFAS or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are known to cause cancer and a myriad of other health problems.
State-ordered testing of one Glocester property reportedly uncovered PFAS in three wells, including one at levels that were 10 times higher than the mandated limit for drinking water. FM is now paying to test the wells at additional houses that RIDEM has determined could be at risk and also for filtration systems inside the homes where contamination has already been found. Other residents in the area have reportedly ordered their own testing, with some still awaiting results.
On the company’s own site, tests for PFAS in the groundwater showed a low of 78 parts per trillion and a high of 19,560 ppt, according to a report this week in The Providence Journal.
The state cap for drinking water quality limits PFAS to 20 ppt.
And so, when FM appeared before the Glocester Planning Board seeking a recommendation for zone and comprehensive plan changes that would allow the business to build renewable energy systems to power their facility, many with concerns about their own wells turned out.
“No resident wants to see FM out of Glocester, but risking our health and literally our lives is another story,” Trisha Wagner, whose home borders the FM campus, told NRI NOW.
Wagner noted that RIDEM has also confirmed that contaminated water has been flowing off of FM Global property into Shady Oak Brook.
“Beyond this brook has not been tested but this brook extends into Williams Pond, leading to streams that travel into Grist Mill Pond and into Connecticut,” she said.
FM’s submitted plans included construction of a battery storage facility, a windmill more than 600 feet tall, and a solar farm the size of 46 football fields.
Planners voted 4-1 against the project, not recommending the requested zone change to the Glocester Town Council.
“The FM Global crew definitely did not want to try my water,” noted resident Crystal Barris, who provided glasses from her own well to FM’s representatives at the October hearing. “I think our point was proven.”
Initially, the company planned nonetheless to bring the project before the council for a potential vote on Thursday, Nov. 6. But the town announced on Friday that the application has been withdrawn.
“We appreciate the feedback we have received from Glocester leaders and community members on the proposed renewable energy district,” said Rob Julavits, FM’s vp of strategic communications of the decision. “In light of this feedback, we decided to withdraw our zoning application from consideration at the November Town Council meeting.”
“We take this matter seriously, and we’re working closely with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and environmental experts to determine the source of the PFAS,” Julavits added. “In the meantime, FM is providing the homeowner with water supplies and in-home water filtration systems. We are in close contact with DEM and are committed to keeping the community updated as we learn more.”
Still, questions about the extent of the contamination remain. And some residents fear the reprieve from more use of the FM Global site is only temporary. Julavits did not respond to questions about the company’s future plans.
“It’s important that residents check the Town Hall site regularly to see if FM show up on any upcoming agendas,” noted Wagner. “This feels like a small win for residents while they wait for water results to continue to come in.”
“No one is saying we want them gone,” Wagner added. “We are just asking for some compromising, time for the clean up of PFAS contamination, some transparency on ‘experiments’ that could be putting residents in danger.”
Editor’s note: The above article has been edited to include comments from FM spokesman Rob Julavits.
Yet Burrillville planning board just approved the turf field over an aquifer.