by Joseph Gresser

NEWPORT — Academics from a variety of disciplines discussed environmental problems, including the prevalence of PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals, and their potential to cause consequences if released into bodies of water such as Lake Memphremagog.

The meeting, sponsored by Don’t Undermine Memphremagog’s Purity (DUMP) and held on June 10 at the North Country Career Center here, started with a discussion of brown bullheads.  Many of those fish have been found to have cancerous lesions and their presence has been studied by Vicki Blazer, a fish biologist who works with the U.S. Geological Survey in West Virginia.

Ms. Blazer has studied populations of fish harmed by contamination in other places, including the Chesapeake Bay.  She has been researching the ailing bullheads of South Bay and other New England lakes and ponds.

While many have suggested the lesions may have been caused by the proximity of the Coventry landfill to the fish’s home waters …

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