Alderney resident claiming damages over PFOS on land
AN ALDERNEY resident fears his and his son’s future health could be in jeopardy after months of drinking water contaminated by a firefighting foam with links to organ failure and cancer.
Carl Flewitt, 62, wants damages and information from the States of Guernsey on what his level of exposure to perfluorooctane sulfate – PFOS – has been.
He is accusing the States of Guernsey and the States of Alderney of coming up short in their duty of care to him as a householder living on the fringes of Alderney airport where ground water contamination took place.
PFOS was a component in foam used at both Guernsey and Alderney airports from the 1970s until 2000.
States of Alderney chief executive Andrew Muter said the States had acted lawfully and not unfairly or unreasonably towards Mr Flewitt.
He added that the borehole, though licensed by the States, was a private arrangement and the responsibility for ensuring that the water was safe for human consumption therefore lay with Mr Flewitt.
‘As far as contamination with PFOS is concerned, Mr Flewitt is aware that this matter would need to be raised with the States of Guernsey who are responsible for the Alderney Airport Fire Service,’ he said.
The States of Guernsey had nothing to add to Mr Muter’s comment.
Tests carried out at both airports in 2008 found that the foam's use had resulted in groundwater contamination. There were claims it could be dangerous.
Mr Flewitt has spent the last 25 years living at Telegraph Tower, a former semaphore station completed in 1811.
As it has no connection to mains water, he excavated a 59-metre borehole to access groundwater. It stands about 100m from the airport fire station’s practice area, where the foam was used.
In January 2010 Mr Flewitt received a letter from the States advising that water from his borehole was not fit for human consumption, even after boiling.
Soon after, 12 bottles of water arrived at his door, courtesy of the water board. From then on, for the next nine years, Mr Flewitt made a trip to the harbour every two days to fill a plastic drum with drinking water.
A Public Health Agency report into PFOS contamination in the Bailiwick noted that in Alderney a geophysical investigation was undertaken to ascertain the extent of PFOS contamination across the fire training ground and the La Source catchment area. This indicated widespread PFOS contamination in soils across the fire training ground.
Although subsequent sampling over the next five years indicated that levels of PFOS in public water supplies were of minimal risk to health, Mr Flewitt was never advised he could start drinking from his borehole again and neither, he said, was he given the results of water sampling at his borehole.
‘The fire service pumped gallons of it over the practice are and I believe the highest concentration of PFOS was probably in my bore hole,’ he said.
‘I want to know what I’ve been exposed to so I can inform my insurance company and my doctors.’
He said it seemed he and his family had been forgotten.
‘We had no help or information at all about what risks we had been exposed to,’ he said.
‘We continued to drink this stuff for two years after testing started at the airports. My son developed a fear that contaminated water might be killing him and had several examinations and psychological treatment for panic and anxiety over the fact he had been ingesting this stuff. We had been consuming polluted water for years. I put my trust in local government and they have failed to deliver.’
Matters reached a head just before his 25 year lease at Telegraph Tower expired last month.
Mr Flewitt had signed a lease with the States of Aldeney for the derelict building in 1994 for a period of 25 years, paying a peppercorn rent in return for restoring it.
Mr Flewitt was required to give the States notice of his intention to renew his lease for another 25 years, 12 months before its expiry. In an oversight he neglected to do so. He was informed by the States that he would have to vacate the property on 31 May.
The General Services Committee voted not to overturn the decision on appeal and Mr Flewitt was compelled to vacate or face legal action.
It has moved him to make a stand against what he considers poor treatment at the hands of both States.
‘I felt I had always acted fairly with the States of Alderney, even after my water was poisoned,’ he said.
‘I didn’t complain but I was treated with dead eyed bureaucracy by all concerned. A simple notification that I needed to submit the paperwork was all that was needed. I was prepared to renegotiate a lease at market value.’
Mr Flewitt wants all the information held by the States of Alderney and Guernsey on PFOS water contamination near his home. He has been informed by the States of Alderney that would require a formal legal process and he is now instructing solicitors.
Mr Flewitt is also seeking compensation from the States of Guernsey for contaminating his water supply to mitigate against any health issues it may or may potentially cause.
‘I want damages from the states of Guernsey for poisoning my water,’ he said.
‘I’ve had to face cancer and a life-saving operation on my ear. I’ve been poisoned with these chemicals – can you tell me if my cancer is connected to it or not? I believe the risks to my health in future, and that of my son, are incalculable. My hope now lies with the courts.”
