If the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection approves a proposed groundwater limit for perfluorononanoic acid, it would be the first time the state’s environmental regulator has formally adopted a final groundwater standard for an unregulated chemical found in firefighting foam that has tainted several sites on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
Earlier this month, the department announced that its seeking public input for a recommendation that would permanently establish a level of 10 parts per trillion of perfluorononanoic acid, or PFNA, that is allowed in groundwater.
The proposed limit mimics an interim standard that was established by the department in 2015 to regulate how much of the chemical can exist in groundwater before it becomes hazardous to human health.