At the January 22, 2025, Newtown Board of Supervisors (BOS) meeting, Middletown resident Gloria Post commented on the potential for releasing PFAS "forever" chemicals into Lake Luxembourg via the effluent of the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) proposed by the Newtown Sewer Authority.

I mentioned this at aSewer Authority meeting as well as at the Newtown Environmental Advisory Council (EAC). At the Sewer Authority meeting it was suggested since PFAs will be removed from Newtown drinking water (read "#NewtownPA Artesian Water Wins Zoning Variances to Build PFAS Filtration Facility"; https://sco.lt/7nmpd2) and thus not be present in Waste Water processed by the WWTP. Ms. Post pooh poohed this notion, pointing out sources of PFAs other than drinking water that end up in waste water sent to the plant and then onward to Lake Luxembourg in the effluent.

A new study by economists from West Virginia University (WVU) has found hot spots of harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) “forever chemicals” in United States public water systems, including in higher-income, densely populated areas, as well as those that use groundwater.

At least four PFAS contamination hot spots were identified in the eastern U.S. by Levan Elbakidze, a resource economics and management professor at WVU’s Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Nabin Khanal, a doctoral student, a press release from WVU said.

The hot spots identified cover 10 states and 149 counties. The hot spot with the greatest number of counties spans across Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. A second spans New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware and Connecticut. The third largest hot spot sits on the border of North Carolina and South Carolina, and the smallest is in Colorado.

“Ninety-five percent of US adolescents and adults are exposed to PFAS, primarily through drinking water. Between 16 and 270 million people in the US rely on PFAS-contaminated drinking water. Therefore, it is important to understand the incidence and distribution of PFAS in public water systems,” the authors wrote in the study.

There are more than 9,000 PFAS, a group of synthetic chemicals known to cause serious health issues like heart and thyroid disease, cancer and infertility. The hazardous substances are found in many common products such as nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing and firefighting foam. They are also used in industrial processes because of their resistance to heat, water, grease and stains.

Source: PhillyBurbs.com

Hundreds of public water suppliers have wells containing toxic “forever chemicals” at levels over regulations set by the Environmental Protection Agency in April.

Recent testing data by the EPA released earlier this month show at least 40 water suppliers across Pennsylvania have tested at or above the agencies limits for a family of thousands of compounds typically referred to under the umbrella term PFAS.

In April, the EPA set a Maximum Contaminant Level for two of the most common compounds, PFOA and PFOS, at 4 parts per trillion. Three other PFAS compounds — PFNA, PFHxS, and Gen X chemicals — each of an MCL of 10 ppt.

Two wells in the Upper Southampton Municipal Authority system tested between 3.2 to 4.1 times the 4 ppt MCL for PFOA and PFOS in test results taken on July 21 and Jan. 23 last year.

The Newtown Artesian Water Company also tested about 2 to 3 times over the MCL for PFOA and PFOS when samples were collected in January.

Newtown Artesian CEO Dan Angrove told this news organization Friday that the company received all its necessary approvals in April to build an additional treatment building to reduce the PFAS chemicals in its water supply. Read “#NewtownPA Artesian Water Company Plans a Filtration Facility to Remove PFAS from Drinking Water”.

Currently in the design phase, the building should see construction through 2025 with an "in service target date" set for March 2026, Angrove said. The new filtration systems should bring PFAS levels down to non-detect once completed.

New federal advisories for a family of unregulated chemicals could make three local communities a model for others looking to clean up their water supplies.

The Environmental Protection Agency last week released new advisories for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) that are up to 17,000 times lower than a previous lifetime advisory of 70 parts per trillion of the “forever chemicals” in public wells.

The advisories are for four of the more common types of PFAS compounds, setting an advisory for PFOA at just four parts per quadrillion [0.004 ppt] and PFOS to 0.02 ppt.

The new levels, part of the EPA’s “Strategic Roadmap” toward PFAS regulation, aren’t far off from what Horsham, Warminster and Warrington have been using for several years, according to state Rep. Todd Stephens, R-151.

“People in Horsham, Warrington and Warminster, their water has been meeting these standards for years now and we’re glad that the federal government has finally caught up with us,” the Horsham lawmaker said during a phone interview Thursday.

With the new EPA guidelines almost certain to have communities across the country rethinking their water supplies, Stephens said it's likely towns in Pennsylvania and across the country might look to Bucks and Montgomery counties on ways to cut contamination.

“The (towns) in our area have been dealing with this issue now for many, many years and have already turned a corner on it. But there are some who may now be facing a new issue that they’re going to have to deal with for their water customers,” Stephens said.

“I would suggest that every municipality develop a plan to reduce the contaminants to the lowest possible level that they can because I think that the health advisory level will ultimately convert to law,” Bender said.

Municipalities should also find ways to connect with as many back-ups water supplies as possible.

A filtration system can take several years to design, permit and build out, Bender said.

UPDATE (6/15/22): The EPA issued interim, updated drinking water health advisories for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) that replace those EPA issued in 2016. The updated advisory levels, which are based on new science and consider lifetime exposure, indicate that some negative health effects may occur with concentrations of PFOA or PFOS in water that are near zero and below EPA’s ability to detect at this time. See press release.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced today a 60-day public comment period that begins Saturday, February 26, 2022, on a new regulation to protect Pennsylvanians’ drinking water from PFAS chemicals.

The comment period concerns a proposed rule to set maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in drinking water for two forms of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) – perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) – to protect the public from potential adverse developmental and immune system effects linked to exposure to PFOA and PFOS. The comment period will begin Saturday, February 26, 2022, and close Wednesday, April 27, 2022.

“Since Governor Tom Wolf signed an executive order in 2018, DEP has worked tirelessly to protect Pennsylvanians from these chemicals. This public comment period allows stakeholders to share their feedback and concerns as we continue to put the safety and health of Pennsylvanians first,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell.

The proposed rule would set an MCL of 14 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOA and an MCL of 18 ppt for PFOS, which are stricter limits compared to the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s lifetime Health Advisory Level (HAL) of 70 ppt for PFOS and PFOA combined.

More details...