Read the full article by Amy Sokolow (Lowell Sun)
“CHELMSFORD – Water tested at 54 Richardson Road, a proposed site for a temporary fire station, contains high levels of PFAS, or polyfluoroalkyl substances, according to a study conducted by the town.
The Sun covered the Select Board meeting in November when members first discussed these elevated PFAS levels, which have been linked to effects including low infant birth rates, immune system and hormonal effects and certain cancers, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Of the three sites tested in the area again two weeks ago, the highest reading was found to be 657 parts per trillion in one monitoring well, which falls above the state guideline of 20 parts per trillion.
Paul McKinlay, a licensed service provider at the firm Weston and Sampson, said that the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection was notified, triggering an ‘immediate response action.’
McKinlay said that the next step in the process was for his team to investigate the source and destination of the PFAS, which can originate from sources including factories, household items like nonstick pans and water repellent fabrics and fire fighting foams, which the Chelmsford Fire Department stopped using many years ago…”