Erin Brockovich vows to help NH residents with toxic water

A nationally known environmental activist has vowed to help New Hampshire residents who have toxic levels of chemicals in their well water.

On June 6, Erin Brockovich, made famous by a movie about her work to fight companies polluting water in California, will host a town hall meeting at the Southern New Hampshire University to address concerns after state environmental officials said they found dangerous levels of PFOA in wells near Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics in Merrimack, NH.

Exposure to PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid, has been linked to cancer and other illnesses.

"My father died of lymphoma, and we've been living here since 1970. It could have played a part in that, we don't know," Litchfield resident Carrie Paul told FOX25.

Paul, herself a breast cancer survivor, said for decades her family drank the water in their well without any knowledge it could have been contaminated from chemicals by Saint-Gobain, which sits across the Merrimack River from Paul's backyard.

"That was our fear at first, when we first started hearing about this. So that's why we picked up our first shipment of bottled water," Paul said.

State officials ordered Saint-Gobain to supply residents within a two mile radius of the plant with bottled water while they conduct an investigation into the levels of PFOAs in the water.

"This is our concern, how long it's been going on, how long they've been exceeding these levels," Erin Brockovich told FOX25.

Brockovich said just last week, EPA revised it's recommendation of allowable levels of PFOA in drinking water to 70 parts per trillion.

This spring, Paul's well water tested at more than 500 parts per trillion.

"The PFOA is very persistent in the environment, it's very difficult to get out, and it is toxic. And we worry about the community's health," Brockovich said.

Brockovich said she hopes to ease residents' fears at the town hall meeting by educating them on how to protect their families, and their legal recourse.

One group of residents in Litchfield has already filed a lawsuit against Saint-Gobain, alleging company officials were negligent and had reckless disregard for their rights and safety when the toxic chemicals spread to the water used for the drinking water supply.

Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics issued the following statement to FOX25:

Concerning the lawsuit that has been filed in Merrimack, we are evaluating the claims. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics has been and continues to be focused on providing clean drinking water to the residents of Merrimack, Litchfield and other towns within the 1.5 mile radius of our plant. To this end, we are funding the engineering design work by Pennichuck Corporation to explore options. We will continue to work closely with local and state officials, as well.

Cox Media Group