Over the past few months, Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and other governmental stakeholders, have made strides toward better understanding and addressing contamination of state waters with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Specifically, recent sampling efforts of certain public water systems (PWSs) and surface waters have resulted in new information about the prevalence of PFAS in state waters and have informed DEP actions toward regulating certain PFAS compounds.

Public Water Source Sampling

On June 3, the Wolf administration released sampling results from an approximately two-year long statewide effort to sample PWSs for certain PFAS compounds. PFAS are a group of manmade chemicals used in numerous industrial, commercial and consumer products. Prominent examples include nonstick and waterproofing applications and as chemical components of fire-fighting foams. In recent years, PFAS chemicals have been discovered in the environment, including in groundwater (some used as drinking water sources), and in humans, plants, and animals and some studies suggest that PFAS can negatively affect human health. Because they do not break down naturally in the environment (including in the human body), they are commonly called “forever” chemicals.

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