PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT
U.S. NAVAL SUBMARINE BASE, NEW LONDON
GROTON, NEW LONDON COUNTY, CONNECTICUT
Area Demographic Information
| Tract 7031 (contains base) |
Combined Census Tracts surrounding base |
|
| Total persons |
2,457 | 31,751 |
| % Male | 88.4 | 51.4 |
| % Female | 11.6 | 48.6 |
| % White | 83.3 | 91.8 |
| % Black | 11.5 | 4.2 |
| % Other races |
5.2 | 4.0 |
| % Under age 10 |
2.8 | 19.4 |
| % Age 65 and older |
___ | 6.7 |
| Households* | 154 | 9,744 |
| Persons per household |
2.42 | 2.97 |
| % Households owner-occupied |
___ | 58.6 |
| % Households renter-occupied |
100 | 41.4 |
| Median value, owner-occupied households ($) |
___ | 148,000 |
| Median rent paid, renter-occupied households ($) |
602 | 590 |
Appendix B - Cancer Registry Summary Data
| Cancer Incidence Rates per 1000 (Direct Age Adjusted) | ||||||
| Cancer Types | 1979 - 1981 | 1984 - 1986 | ||||
| Connecticut | Groton | Ledyard | Connecticut | Groton | Ledyard | |
| All Types | 12.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.0 | 13.1 | 12.0 |
| Male | 12.7 | 15.6 | 16.3 | 13.0 | 15.1 | 14.9 |
| Female | 12.1 | 14.8 | 13.1 | 13.1 | 13.5 | 9.7 |
| Stomach | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Male | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Female | 0.3 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Colon | 1.4 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.4 |
| Male | 1.4 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.9 |
| Female | 1.5 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.0 |
| Rectum | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.0 |
| Male | 0.7 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.4 |
| Female | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| Pancreas | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| Male | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 |
| Female | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.9 |
| Lung | 1.8 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 2.0 |
| Male | 2.6 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 2.6 |
| Female | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 0.8 |
| Lymphomas(Hodgkin's) | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| Male | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Female | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Leukemia | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Male | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Female | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0 |
| Female Breast | 3.4 | 3.7 | 5.8 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 3.0 |
Comments on New London Submarine Base Public Health Assessment
The comments listed here were received by ATSDR in response to the public comment period for the New London Submarine Base Public Health Assessment. The list of comments does not include editorial comments concerning word spelling, sentence syntax, etc. It also does not include comments on accuracy of stated facts. If the accuracy of a statement was questioned, the statement was verified or corrected. Comments which requested that additional information be added to the document are not addressed here. The portions of the comments below that are in parenthesis were paraphrased by ATSDR for brevity or clarity.
Comment 1
Lead, boron, cadmium, VOCs and sodium were found at varying levels in the residential well supplies. Some of these (cadmium and VOCs) were only detected in one well, others were found in some or all of the wells (lead, boron, sodium). The report indicates that several rounds of testing were done. However, not all wells were tested for the same parameters, and it does not appear that confirmatory testing was done to verify all of the results from the first round (not all wells were resampled). This may be an important omission. One round of sampling is not conclusive, especially when important decisions about health and risk are to be based on the results. A better approach might be to sample the wells regularly, perhaps quarterly for a year, to obtain data on possible fluctuations in the water quality. This would offer a more accurate picture of the water quality and a better basis for making decisions.
Over the entire course of sampling, a total of 23 different off-base residential wells were sampled. During the first sampling round, 14 wells were sampled. A second round of sampling included those wells that showed detectable contamination during the first round plus the addition of eight unsampled wells.
Further sampling was performed by the Navy and Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. Although no two sampling rounds contained analysis from all 23 wells, confirmation sampling has been performed on all but one of the 23 wells (OSW 11). In addition, the Navy is designing plans for a detailed hydrogeologic investigation of this well, its groundwater and surface water interaction.
Because confirmatory sampling indicates that sodium is the only groundwater contaminant, and because no groundwater plume of contamination has been identified, routine monitoring is not recommended at this time. When further information becomes available in the Phase II Remedial Investigation, ATSDR will evaluate that information and make further recommendations to protect the health and safety of the citizens.
Comment 2
The report does not include any hydrogeologic data from this area. The wells may look from the surface to be "geographically isolated", but may in fact be hydrologically connected. Additional work should be done in this area to determine the hydrology and locate any potential contamination sources.
This public health assessment does not go into the detailed studies performed by the Navy on the hydrology of the base. That information is in the Navy documents located in the three local repositories: Bill Library, Ledyard, CT, Groton Public Library, Groton, CT, and New London Submarine Base Library, Groton, CT.
The Navy has planned a detailed hydrogeological investigation of the adjacent off-base areas in the Phase II Remedial Investigation.
Comment 3
It is concluded that the lead problem might be due to plumbing in the residences, rather than coming from the groundwater. This is possible, so why not sample the water immediately after the water tank, before the household plumbing, to determine if this is indeed so. If the problem is in the house, it still should be monitored and/or addressed.
In January 1993, the Navy resampled the two wells that had elevated lead levels. Four samples of each well were taken. Water was taken at the well head and at the tap prior to flushing, then again after a five minute flushing at both locations. Well OSW 10 showed lead levels to be below the detection limit of 3 ppb in all four samplings. Further analysis by another lab showed the actual lead concentration to be 1.7 ppb. Well OSW 23 showed lead levels ranging from < 3 ppb to 37 ppb. This residential well showed lead levels to be lowest (< 3 ppb) after flushing the line for five minutes and highest prior to flushing.
As discussed in the Recommendations section of this document, ATSDR recommends to the resident using well OSW 23 allow their water to run for a few minutes prior to using it.
Comment 4
There is a statement that shellfish harvesting is prohibited in the Thames River because of high fecal coliform. However, there are several leased shellfish beds on the east side of the Thames River in Ledyard just north of the Subase. Harvested shellfish are depurated prior to sale. I would like to see shellfish from beds near the Subase included in the biota sampling program.
The State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection in conjunction with the Connecticut Department of Health Services maintains active monitoring of shellfish from the Thames River. Analysis of several species of mollusks include inorganic chemical, PCBs, pesticides, VOCs as well as bacteriologicals such as fecal coliform testing. Quarterly monitoring results show only bacterial counts to be above health based standards.
