Read the full article by Don Hopey (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
“Testing done on Pennsylvania’s public water systems found contamination by toxic PFAS — one of the so-called ‘forever chemicals’ that pose a growing health threat — in at least a quarter of the water samples from 412 sites.
The state Department of Environmental Protection issued a release saying the findings ‘do not indicate widespread PFAS contamination,’ and contamination found was mostly at low levels.
But that conclusion is at odds with other recent studies, including a nationwide review by Consumer Reports, that found nearly every tap water sample tested contained measurable levels of PFAS and even minute levels of PFAS contamination can cause adverse health impacts.
‘Sampling allows us to gain a better understanding of the prevalence of PFAS within the Commonwealth,’ DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell stated in a news release. ‘These results will help us determine how to further address this emerging environmental issue, including developing an appropriate metric to remediate and protect our public water systems.’
The DEP announced the test results Thursday, based on sampling that began in June 2019, then suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed in August 2020. Sample collection was completed in March 2021.
The water sampling resulted from Gov. Tom Wolf’s September 2018 executive order, which established a PFAS Action Team and authorized proactive steps to address problem PFAS and other contaminants…”