By admin 
An Ivy League researcher extended his investigation of contaminated farmland in eastern South Carolina this week, taking more than 100 samples of soil, groundwater and plants in an effort to learn more about the threat facing agriculture from hazardous forever chemicals.
Read more This SC city in running for Hallmark Channel’s merriest Christmas town in US. Here’s how to vote
Yale University scientist Jake Thompson’s work in Darlington County follows findings that forever chemicals have polluted about 18 farm fields that once were coated with a textile plant’s waste sludge for use as fertilizer.
But more than 300 agricultural fields were once approved by the state for sludge fertilizer from the old Galey and Lord textile plant, and Thompson is trying to document the extent of the contamination beyond what he and government agencies have found so far.
Thompson discussed his work Tuesday night during a Society Hill Town Council meeting, where he said contamination from forever-chemical polluted sewer sludge is affecting communities across the country. He had been asked to speak about the toxic chemicals polluting farmland in the area near Galey and Lord.
“It’s not just an issue Darlington County is facing,’’ he told the council and a small crowd gathered at the Town Hall. “There’s over … five to 10 million acres of land impacted across the United States through the spraying of sludge.’’ Thompson said the five to 10 million acres is a calculation based on sludge application nationally. Sewer plants across the country send sludge out to crop land as fertilizer.
His work in Darlington County involves sampling land at no cost to document the extent of the problem and find possible ways to clean up the mess.
This week, Thompson examined agricultural property near a local air strip, and his work, included land owned by a farmer who had not previously consented to testing. Some farmers are nervous about allowing tests because of concern it could affect their way of making a living. Thompson took samples Monday and Tuesday before leaving to return to Yale.
The influence of agriculture is easy to see in this corner of South Carolina’s Pee Dee, a region about 90 miles east of Columbia. The area where he is working is composed of flat cropland and pastures, interspersed with wetlands and networks of dirt roads. Much of the land is cleared, although there are patches of dark forests. Homes are sometimes miles apart.
Previously, Thompson has found elevated levels of forever chemicals on farmland and crops owned by Robbie O’Neal, a longtime farmer whose family once accepted sludge from Galey and Lord as fertilizer. This week’s work was a more extensive look, with more testing for pollution by forever chemicals, formally known as PFAS.
“We are looking at a much wider range of sites across the area,’’ including more plants that could be contaminated with forever chemicals, Thompson said in an interview with The State. “The hope is that we can try to identify some of the risks associated with PFAS-contaminated land, especially how that moves into the agricultural system as a whole.’’
Thompson, an environmental engineer, is with Yale’s Center for Natural Carbon Capture. He’s researching forever chemical contamination as part of an effort to find a way to clean up tainted farmland. The method he’s looking at involves burning certain plants at high temperatures, which kills forever chemicals, then spreading the charred material back on the land, The State has previously reported.
Forever chemicals, also known as per and polyfluoralkyl substances, are compounds that don’t break down easily in the environment and, in many cases, are toxic to people exposed over time. They can cause certain types of cancer, immune system deficiencies and thyroid problems, among other things. The main routes of exposure are by drinking polluted water or eating food tainted by PFAS, although other exposure routes also exist.
So far, the state and federal governments are known to have tested three farm fields for signs of forever chemical pollution near Darlington and Society Hill, finding high levels at each site, while Yale has tested 15 additional fields, documenting high levels on about half the sites.
Results of limited testing released in February found seven fields had forever chemical levels exceeding a Maine limit and eight others with some levels of PFAS. In June, Thompson released the results of plant testing he had done on a farmer’s land. Hay and collards had levels of PFAS high enough for concern, he said. Other crops, including butter beans, okra and squash had some levels of forever chemicals, he reported in June. Testing this past week included crops, as well as beef and deer meat.
Read more Tickets, parking & bags: Here’s what to know if you go to Trump’s Myrtle Beach rally
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the S.C. Department of Environmental Services have also documented forever chemical pollution in dozens of wells on and around farm fields, including the O’Neal family’s. Many of the levels were substantially higher than a new federal drinking water standard of 4 parts per trillion for two of the most common types of PFAS.
But the Department of Environmental Services has said it is not testing more soil, deferring questions to the EPA. The EPA has been looking at the farmland for possible inclusion on a federal priority list for cleanups. The Galey and Lord property already is a Superfund site, and the EPA is considering adding farmland to the designation.
“To define the nature and extent of contaminants at the site, EPA and the SC DES are evaluating roughly 10,000 acres of agricultural land historically associated with the Galey and Lord facility,’’ EPA spokesman Dwayne Wingfield said in a recent email to The State.
Neither the state nor the federal agency are known to have tested plants for evidence of PFAS contamination from the Galey and Lord sludge.
One place that Thompson did not test this week for forever chemicals was Black Creek Elementary School. The state Department of Environmental Services did look at that property earlier this year after learning that it once been used as a farm field that took Galey and Lord sludge. The department documented forever chemical pollution on the site, but the local school district refused an offer to let Yale test to verify the state’s findings or let people know if there was more to be concerned about.
State officials previously said the school playgrounds, where forever chemicals have been found, are safe. In an opinion letter to a local newspaper, superintendent Matthew Ferguson said he’s confident in the state’s findings.
”Black Creek is first and foremost an operating elementary school, serving children,’’ he said. “It is not an unrestricted research site. For this investigation, we have relied on the state and federal agencies charged with environmental protection.’’
Society Hill Mayor Cecil Graham said he’s disappointed the district did not allow Thompson to test the school grounds since the offer was to the work for free.
“Why would you not?’’ Graham asked. “You can never test too much when we’re talking about stuff like this.’’
But Graham said he’s glad the university is testing farmland throughout the area as a way to document the extent of the problem.
Thompson’s presentation, which involved answering questions from the council and those attending, was helpful, he said. Graham consented to having Thompson address the council because of the general concern about Galey and Lord’s impact on the landscape.
No other government body in Darlington County has had Thompson speak about his research. Society Hill is a community of less than 400 residents near the Great Pee Dee River. The abandoned Galey and Lord plant is in Society Hill.
“Having people interact with someone who is knowledgeable and has detailed information like that is always good,’’ Graham said.
Read more A years-long fight to save a historic Columbia house is over. It’s coming down