CT Health Officials Drop Fish Advisory For Farmington River

FARMINGTON, CT — The Connecticut Department of Public Health Wednesday removed the

consumption advisory for fish caught in the lower Farmington River that has been in place since
June 2019 in response to a June 2019 spill of Aqueous Film Forming Foam into the river.

On June 14, 2019 approximately 20,000 gallons of fire-suppressing AFFF entered the river from
the Signature Flight Hangar at Bradley International Airport. The foam contained per- and
polyfluorinated alkyl substances or PFAS).

The DPH then issued an advisory not to consume fish caught in the lower Farmington River (downstream from the Rainbow Dam in the Town of Windsor to the confluence with the Connecticut River) due to elevated levels of PFAS collected in fish tissue samples.

Long-term exposure to PFAS may be associated with increased cholesterol levels, a change in immune response, developmental effects, increased chance of thyroid disease and an increased chance of cancer, especially kidney and testicular cancers, according to the DPH.

After several rounds of sampling, the most recent test results of fish tissue collected downstream
from where AFFF entered the Farmington River indicated that the PFAS levels have decreased
significantly, DPH officials said.

The latest tissue samples measured 18 ppb (parts per billion), a decline of more than
71 percent from samples taken in September 2019 and below 20 ppb which is the cutoff for unlimited consumption in Connecticut's consumption advisory guidelines for PFAS in fish.

Because of the results, DPH has removed the current fish advisory for the lower section of the Farmington River.

The most recent fish samples were collected in July 2020 from the Farmington River
downstream of the MDC Poquonock Waste Water Treatment Facility where the AFFF was
discharged into the river. Signature Flight took responsibility immediately after the release and
retained a consultant to assess the environmental impacts as required by DEEP, including fish
sampling from the river.

In July 2019, Signature Flight’s consultant collected 70 fish (two species, yellow perch and white
sucker) from two areas along the lower portion of the Farmington River – one above and one
below where the AFFF release entered the river in the town of Windsor. Tissue samples collected
downriver from the release of chemicals showed PFAS levels at 172 ppb. This exceeded the level
of 159 ppb at which DPH issues a ‘do not eat’ advisory for everyone.

A second round of testing conducted in September 2019 of 70 fish of the same species collected
downstream from where AFFF entered the Farmington River found PFAS levels measuring 62
ppb, a decline of more than 50 percent from samples taken in July and well within safe consumption limit of one fish meal per month.

The latest round of testing was done with 80 fish of the same species, DPH officials said.

Even though DPH has removed the advisory for the lower part of the Farmington River, it is
important to note that there are other pre-existing statewide advisories that remain in place
including:

• "Freshwater fish: The advice for freshwater fish caught in Connecticut for pregnant women and children (high risk groups) is to eat no more than one meal per month. For all other groups, the advice is to eat no more than one meal per week of freshwater fish. This statewide advice is due to mercury contamination found in Connecticut freshwater fish. This statewide advisory does not apply to sunfish or trout as there are no consumption limits for these fish species."