DNR: PFOS levels in Ahlstrom sludge ‘significantly below the median and average’

On Aug. 15 Township of Stella residents were advised that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) had obtained a sample of the sludge the Ahlstrom-Munksjo paper mill has been spreading on town lands as part of its DNR-permitted land application activities and were in the process of testing it.

As part of a comprehensive update on the DNR’s investigation into PFAS contamination in the small eastern Oneida County township, Michelle BalkLudwig, DNR wastewater field supervisor for the Northern Region, told those gathered at the town hall that the DNR had obtained a sample of the biosolid/sludge Ahlstrom and testing was underway to “make sure that it’s not a contamination risk.”

In response to an open records request, Tim Ryan, field operations director for the DNR’s wastewater program, has now reported that the results of the testing showed the Ahlstrom sample had a PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) concentration of 1.67 ppb (parts per billion) which is “significantly below the median and average” based on data compiled by the State of Michigan regarding PFAS concentrations in municipal biosolids. 

PFOS is one of a group of related chemicals known as PFAS.

“There are no limits in state or federal code for any PFAS chemicals at this time for the Department to compare the (Ahlstrom) results to,” Ryan explained in an email to the River News. “Therefore, the department cannot restrict land application of the paper mill sludge based on PFAS results if Ahlstrom is meeting all relevant code and permit conditions. The Department does have an Interim Strategy for Land Application of Biosolids Containing PFAS (https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/sites/default/files/topic/PFAS/PFAS_BiosolidsInterimStrategy.pdf). This document is targeted at assisting municipal Wastewater Treatment Facilities (in making) decisions in how they handle biosolids containing PFAS (specifically PFOS and PFOA) based on the best information the Department has at this time. While the Ahlstrom paper mill sludge is regulated as an industrial sludge under ch. NR 214, Wis. Adm. Code, as opposed to municipal biosolids which are regulated under ch. NR 204, Wis. Adm. Code, you can see that the concentration of PFOA and PFOS would not result in any suggested restrictions in land application.”

 “Michigan has collected a lot of data on PFAS concentrations in municipal biosolids,” he continued. “They found the median PFOS concentration of all 162 WWTPs (wastewater treatment plants) they sampled was 8.25 ppb and the average was 14.39 ppb. The Ahlstrom sample had a PFOS concentration of 1.67 ppb which is significantly below the median and average. Ahlstrom has indicated on its website that it has switched to a fluorine free product. The Department is not aware of when this change occurred. The Department is not aware of and has not been provided any PFAS results from samples taken before this recent sample which the Department collected.”

An Ahlstrom spokesperson confirmed the DNR’s statements about the results of the testing.

“Testing by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources found that the fibercake from the Rhinelander Mill contained a combined PFOA and PFOS concentration of 2.01 parts per billion (ppb) (PFOS concentration of 1.67 ppb), below the lowest 20 ppb combined level referenced in the Department’s Interim Strategy for Land Application of Biosolids,” the spokesperson stated in response to a request for comment.

The spokesperson also noted that Ahlstrom acquired the Rhinelander paper mill in 2018 and has not used PFOA or PFOS in the Rhinelander mill’s manufacturing process. 

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a group of human-made chemicals used for decades in numerous products, including non-stick cookware, fast food wrappers, stain-resistant sprays and certain types of firefighting foam. These contaminants have made their way into the environment through accidental spills of PFAS-containing materials, discharges of PFAS-containing wastewater to treatment plants and certain types of firefighting foams, according to the DNR.

PFAS do not break down in the environment and have been discovered at concentrations of concern in groundwater, surface water and drinking water. These chemicals are known to accumulate in the human body, posing several risks to human health, including certain cancers, liver damage and decreased fertility.

The contamination in Stella was first discovered late last year as part of a testing project conducted by the DNR. The initial testing was focused on households located within a one-mile radius of the town hall. In April, the DNR announced it would be conducting additional testing of wells located within 2.5 miles of the town hall. 

During the Aug. 15 meeting, DNR officials reported that 28 of the Stella wells found to have dangerously elevated PFAS levels are located within the 1-mile testing radius and 21 are located within 2.5 mile radius.

The PFAS readings from Stella, an agrarian community located 11 miles east of Rhinelander, are some of the highest in the state.

According to the Department of Health Services (DHS), PFAS levels higher than 20 PPT (parts per trillion) are considered harmful to human health. 

Meanwhile, on Wednesday the DNR announced that all of the materials it used as part of the agency’s Aug. 15 presentation in Stella are now accessible on its website.

“Attendees received a summary of known private well sampling results as well as information about resources to help address PFAS in private drinking water,” the agency explained in a press release. “The DNR staff also shared new results from sampling lakes and rivers in the Rhinelander and Town of Stella areas. All of the information shared at the town meeting, including the presentation slides and lakes and river sampling results are available on the PFAS Contamination in the Town of Stella website.”

In a press release issued in conjunction with the August meeting, the agency announced that water from 22 sites in lakes and rivers near the Town of Stella were collected in June and July. 

Some of the surface water sites sampled include the Moen chain of lakes, the north branch of the Pelican River and the Wisconsin River near Rhinelander. Fish were also collected from Fifth Lake, the release said.

The DNR has recommended people not swallow or ingest lake or river water. 

During the Aug. 15 meeting, James Yach, secretary’s director for the Northern Region, told the crowd a source of the contamination has not yet been determined.

“There has been no source identified at this point but we’re continuing to work on investigating that,” Yach said. “We’ll continue down that path and try to get to a conclusion as to what the potential source is and hopefully be able to cut that off in the future.”

While the DNR has yet to make a determination, a group of Stella property owners filed a federal lawsuit against Ahlstrom and the 3M corporation last month alleging they are responsible for the PFAS contamination.

“Over the course of decades, Defendant Ahlstrom and its predecessors disposed of millions of pounds of waste from the Rhinelander Paper Mill by dumping and spreading the waste on farmland throughout Oneida County, and specifically in the Town of Stella,” the 35-page complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin reads. “Upon information and belief, this waste contained high levels of PFOA, PFOS, and other PFAS. It was this ‘land application’ of waste that caused Plaintiffs’ wells to be among the most contaminated in the country for PFAS. In addition to Defendant Ahlstrom — which owns and operates the Rhinelander Paper Mill — plaintiffs also bring this action against Defendant 3M, which sold and supplied PFAS chemicals to the Ahlstrom facility.”

According to the complaint, the plaintiffs are seeking “to recover compensatory and all other damages, including but not limited to the costs of restoring and remediating contamination from their real properties and drinking water wells, costs of treating water, costs of acquiring bottled water, non-economic damages, loss of earnings and future earnings, damages for loss of use and enjoyment, lost property value, and household expenses, among others.”

According to DNR records, Ahlstrom (or previous owners of the Rhinelander mill) spread paper mill sludge on 63 different sites in Stella between 1996 and 2021. The City of Rhinelander spread sewage sludge/biosolids from its wastewater treatment facility on farmland in Stella between 1997 and 2011, according to DNR records, but the city is not a defendant in the lawsuit.

In response to the lawsuit, an Ahlstrom spokesperson stated that review of the complaint is ongoing but “it appears to focus on activities that are alleged to have occurred prior to Ahlstrom’s acquisition of the Mill in 2018.”

The plaintiffs are seeking to have the case certified as a class action and the complaint notes that there are over 100 “putative Class Members.”

A putative class action is a lawsuit filed by one or more named plaintiffs on behalf of multiple people sharing a similar claim. Lawsuits are not class actions until a court certifies them as such.

Defendant 3M responded to the lawsuit by filing a motion for a stay pending the outcome of a separate motion it filed to include the Stella lawsuit in an existing PFAS-related multidistrict litigation underway in South Carolina.

Multidistrict litigation (MDL) is a procedure in which federal civil lawsuits (noncriminal cases) from around the country are transferred to one federal district court. The cases must have one or more common questions of fact, meaning issues that are decided by looking at the evidence.

The South Carolina MDL “comprises thousands of lawsuits brought by plaintiffs claiming property damage, personal injury, natural resources damages, or other harms” from alleged contamination caused by PFAS contained in certain firefighting foams (aqueous film-forming foams or “AFFF”), according to 3M’s motion.

However, according to online federal court records, the clerk of the Judicial Panel on MultiDistrict Litigation (JPML), the judicial entity that manages multidistrict litigation, has determined that the Stella lawsuit is “not appropriate for inclusion” in the South Carolina MDL.

For more information and resources on the PFAS contamination in Stella, visit https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/PFAS/Stella.html.

Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].