Pennsylvania Pursues PFAS

 At the Bay Journal, Pennsylvania to crack down on 'forever chemicals' in streams and rivers

After a statewide survey showed that 76% of 161 tested rivers and streams were contaminated to some extent with PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said it will set safety thresholds for the chemicals in surface waters.

PFAS is the shorthand term for per– and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a group of about 9,000 chemicals widely used in consumer products, from nonstick cookware and stain-resistance products to water-repellent clothing and even food packaging.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that exposure to some PFAS pose health risks. Some studies on animals and humans have linked varying levels of exposure with harm to the immune system, disruptions in reproductive and fetal development, hormone disruption and increased risk of cancer.

Ten states, including Pennsylvania, have set safety limits for levels of PFAS in drinking water.

But until now, only Michigan, Minnesota and Florida have adopted thresholds for the chemicals in surface water. A study by a Vermont state agency warned that setting mandatory limits on PFAS in surface water is “logistically difficult, would take a long time and be very expensive.”

Pennsylvania’s DEP said it would ramp up monitoring of waters where the chemicals were found and would require some wastewater treatment plants to monitor for PFAS. The agency said the standards for PFAS in streams and rivers would mandate limits on known discharges through industrial discharge permits.

A fish consumption advisory was issued for one stream, Neshaminy Creek in the Delaware River watershed, as a result of the study.

The water samples, collected by DEP in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey, were tested for 33 different chemicals.

Researchers said results pointed to several likely sources of contamination.

Electronics manufacturing, wastewater treatment plants and developed areas with stormwater runoff appeared to be top sources in urban areas.

“This is the first statewide study that associates electronics manufacturing as a source of PFAS in streams, which is likely an underrecognized but significant source of PFAS contamination,” said Sara Breitmeyer, a USGS chemist and lead author of the study. “Our study contributes new information on PFAS sources to surface water in Pennsylvania, which will help regulatory agencies address the growing concerns of PFAS’s ecological and human health impacts across the state.”

In some rural areas, DEP said, the chemicals may have come from natural gas fracking operations. The fluids and foams used for drilling and hydraulic fracturing of gas wells can contain PFAS, the study points out. In towns with combined sewage systems, heavy rain can cause stormwater and wastewater to mingle. If the stormwater runoff contains PFAS, it could then enter the wastewater stream, too, and become part of the discharge from treatment plants into local waters.

“To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first description of PFAS associations with the local catchment sewer infrastructure in rural oil and gas development regions,” the study concludes.

Runoff from farmland may also be contributing, it says.

“This study has expanded our understanding and will assist in determining what steps need to be taken in addressing issues associated with this emerging contaminant,” said DEP Secretary Rich Negrin. “Our findings have already helped and will continue to guide DEP’s actions regarding where to focus resources on identifying, tracking and addressing potential sources of PFAS contamination.”

The Wednesday Wetness

At the Baltimore Banner, Is Maryland ‘squandering’ its groundwater supply? Officials, experts say no.

A recent investigation from The New York Times, using data from across the country, found the United States is “squandering” its vast supply of groundwater by using it too quickly. The investigation focuses on areas including the Southwest, parts of Texas and California and, perhaps unexpectedly, Maryland. Monitoring wells show the water level is dropping across Maryland. The water is getting further away from the surface, meaning there’s less water underground than there used to be.

About 75% of the monitoring wells around Maryland have seen water levels drop over the last 40 years, some by as much as 100 feet, according to the Times investigation.

One area of the state seems to be of particular concern: rapidly growing Charles County.

“Most of the water we’re pulling out of the ground is thousands of years old,” Jason Groth, the county’s deputy director of planning and growth management, told The Times. He said the county would be out of groundwater within the decade.

The wells in our water system are monitored by USGS on a regular basis, every few years, and show little decline in height over the years. If, per chance, the two aquifers the we do draw on, the Nanjemoy and the Aquia (200-300 ft deep), were to dry up, we would have to sink wells to the Patapsco Aquifer, about 1000 feet deep. While that would be very expensive, it would probably solve the problem in the long run. 

The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Cowgirl Style up on time and under budget at The Other McCain.