With the help of Ames, the couples have been able to test their soil and tissue from some of the deceased animals. They sent samples to Kyla Bennett at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, an environmental-protection nonprofit that serves as a resource for whistleblowers. According to Bennett’s report, two catfish were found to have PFAS levels of 74,000 and 59,000 parts per trillion. For context, the EPA limits PFAS in drinking water to 4 parts per trillion. The liver of one stillborn calf—which had never eaten contaminated grass or drunk from a contaminated pond, and was receiving nutrients only from its mother—showed a PFAS level of 610,000 parts per trillion.
PEER also tested a sample of biosolid fertilizer from Synagro, the company that made the Colemans’ neighbor’s fertilizer. It found 27 different PFAS in the sample, 13 of which had also been found in the soil and water samples from the Coleman and Alessi properties.