‘Forever chemicals’ detected in 65% of sampled private wells in Pennsylvania
- Jeff Ishee
- Jun 19
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 22
Source: Penn State Extension
By Jeff Mulhollem
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In Pennsylvania, 3.5 million people are served by private well systems, according to Penn State Extension. To better understand potential contamination of the groundwater feeding these systems, a team of researchers from Penn State conducted a novel three-year citizen science study of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — often referred to as forever chemicals — in 167 private wells across Pennsylvania.
Their study, available online and scheduled for publication in the July issue of the Journal of Environmental Management, revealed that 18%, or 30 out of 167, of private wells sampled exceeded maximum contaminant levels for drinking water set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Overall, they reported, 65%, or 108 out of 167, of the private wells tested had detectable PFAS concentrations, with each of the 20 tested compounds detected at least once. Several of the compounds were detected in nearly half of the wells.
“My immediate reaction when I saw all the data combined was a little bit of relief, because none of the numbers were as high as I feared they could be,” said team leader and senior author of the study Heather Preisendanz, professor of agricultural and biological engineering in the College of Agricultural Sciences. “We were happy that most of the numbers we saw were within the drinking water standards. Only 18% of the wells had levels that were higher than the federal standards, but they weren't thousands of times higher than the drinking water standards, as we have seen in other places. The levels that we saw were relatively low and are treatable with pretty simple technologies that people can use in their households.”
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