Portsmouth — City Councillor Peter Whelan believes that the presence of PFAS chemicals in the city’s new artificial turf stadium is “a big problem”, even though the City Council voted to make it a purchase condition that must not contain PFAS .

"The city council voted that this area will not be PFAS free, and for whatever reason, this is not the case," Whelan said on Thursday. "I don't know if this is because of the city's consultants, salespersons, or manufacturers, but we have been misled and must bear the consequences for this."

"What these consequences are depends on the new parliament," Whelan said, and his term of office is coming to an end.

Earlier this week, the city council unanimously voted to pass a motion proposed by Whelan, requiring the city manager Karen Conrad to commission "an independent third-party test of PFAS on the new artificial turf stadium."

The new oil field in Portsmouth opened this year. It is a product of FieldTurf, which has installed fields across the country and in coastal areas around the world. Similar discussions about lawns have taken place in other communities across the country.

PFAS is a man-made chemical used in products worldwide since the 1950s, including fire-fighting foam, non-stick cookware and waterproof fabrics.

When PFAS is found in drinking water, federal agencies treat it as a pollutant of concern, as happened in the past in a well in the Pease International Trade Port in Portsmouth, where thousands of adults and children were exposed To it.

There are disagreements on whether PFAS chemicals used in sports fields pose a threat to the health of people playing on the field.

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Whelan called the discovery-city workers and manufacturers now admit-"not Portsmouth's best moment."

"Considering that we have been on a zero basis under the PFAS of the Pease and Coakley landfills, we have just completed a $1 million rain mitigation project in this area... It is a disaster in every way. ," Whelan said.

In July 2018, the city council voted unanimously to provide a security deposit of up to 3.4 million U.S. dollars for the new stadium project.

Whelan said that the new committee will host an office in January, led by mayor election Deaglan Mceachern, and “should maintain all legal options when deciding how to deal with this matter”.

Whelan said: "The choice may be to tear up the field and lay down the grass or leave it as it is." "That's why I voted for ordinary grass. We have encountered a lot of problems with Portsmouth's PFAS, why should it be on our lawn? Use PFAS to solve this problem?"

Whelan admitted that the lawn field has an advantage in being able to use them more frequently. "But at what price?" I have seen beautiful grasslands in other communities, and I think that will be the trend in the future. "

In September, Deputy City Attorney Suzanne Woodland disputed the claim made by the advocacy organization Non Toxic Portsmouth that the oil field was contaminated with PFAS.

She referred to the new lawn near the community campus as "PFAS-free."

But after the city council working meeting in November, Woodland, who also served as the acting deputy city manager, admitted that “it is clear that the city staff did not know whether any PFAS chemicals were used in the manufacturing process (for the city’s field).”

In a memo shared with the council on Monday, Peter Rice, the director of the Public Works Department, stated that PVDF-HFP is a polymer PFAS that has been used in this field.

"PVDFHFP is biocompatible, inert and insoluble. It is very commonly used in medical devices-stents, nets, replacement joints, etc. It has many different uses, including food packaging and water purification (used in plastics for water filters). ," Rice said in the memo. "We have done our best to the knowledge of our experts. There is no research or data to show that PVDF-HFP is toxic."

At a meeting on Monday, City Councillor Cliff Lazenby asked whether PFAS in this area is as “threatening” as PFAS in drinking water.

"The answer is no. From our point of view, this field is safe, and no toxicology studies have shown that there are any risks in the additives used by the manufacturer," Woodland replied.

Whelan said, "I will wait for expert opinions" before deciding whether PFAS in this area is as dangerous as the city staff said. "

Diana Carpinone, a member of Non Toxic Portsmouth, disputed the non-toxicity of PFAS in the new turf field.

In an email, she shared a series of links with Woodland, which listed concerns about PFAS chemicals in this area.

She also pointed out in the e-mail, "The municipal government should seriously consider that the guidance they receive on these issues is biased towards the synthetic turf and chemical industries, and take corresponding actions."