Rockingham County, New Hampshire is home to the 27 acre privately owned Coakley landfill that has been under public scrutiny for years. In the 1970's and early 1980's it accepted an array of hazardous chemicals which in turn contaminated both surface and ground water sources. By the mid-1980's contaminants including arsenic, dioxins, and mercury started showing up in people's well water.

 

In 1986 the EPA classified it as a Superfund Site, a federally managed toxic waste cleanup area, which allocated funds for monitoring and cleanup. In June of 1990, the first Record of Decision; which is a public document that explains the remediation plan for the clean up of a Superfund site; required constructing a landfill cap and treating contaminated groundwater. By 1999, the test results showed significant improvements in water quality and the requirement to remove and treat groundwater was lifted.

 

But in 2016, everything came into question when PFAS contamination turned up at Coakley as part of routine tests. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, is a class of industrial chemicals that was used in manufacturing for decades, up until the early 2000's. It's found in Teflon, Gore-tex, food wrappers and firefighting foams. It doesn't biodegrade, and it's been linked to liver and kidney diseases, developmental and immune system problems, high cholesterol, pregnancy issues, and cancers like testicular, kidney, breast and prostate. The chemicals were found at high levels in surface waters along the edges of the landfill and by 2017 higher levels of PFAS's were detected in water samples in and around the landfill.

Citizen around the landfill live in fear and with good reason.  Pleas from the surrounding communities for more government response are being heard and are starting to see some results -- both  state  and federal officials have assured  new regulations  and  testing programs . Clearly we have not reached the end of the story but there is a small light at the end of the tunnel.