Glory Reitz
The city of Newberry has results back from a retest of its water after samples from last July showed “forever chemicals” above the minimum reporting level (MRL). The new samples, taken Dec. 14, 2023, showed no results above MRL.
The “forever chemicals,” perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), are members of the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) group. PFAS chemicals do not break down in the environment, and are found in water, air, fish, and soil across the world, though they are not naturally occurring.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not currently regulate PFAS and has a significant list on its website of “what we don’t fully understand yet.” Though EPA says scientific studies show exposure to some PFAS may be linked to “harmful health effects in humans and animals,” it also notes that the widespread nature of the chemicals makes them difficult to pin down.
“There are thousands of PFAS chemicals, and they are found in many different consumer, commercial, and industrial products,” the EPA website states. “This makes it challenging to study and assess the potential human health and environmental risks.”
In February, the EPA proposed a new rule that would add nine PFAS to the list of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act’s hazardous constituents.
After taking the samples, Newberry sent them to the state for testing. City staff then converted state results into the right units of measurement to compare with previous samples, according to Jamie Jones, assistant city manager and director of utilities and public works.
“We have worked with our lab and to the best of the laboratory’s and our ability to interpret the results……the repeat samples are all under the minimum reporting level,” Jones wrote in an e-mail.
The minimum reporting level (MRL) for PFBS is 0.003 micrograms per liter (µg/L) of water. PFOA has an MRL of 0.004 µg/L. These MRLs are based on laboratory capability, not associated with contaminant health effects information, according to the EPA.
The agency also provides a “Health-Based Reference Concentration” for some chemicals, based on available health assessments such as lifetime health advisory levels and health reference levels. Even the July samples that were above MRL were still below the health-based reference concentration, though that standard is provided only for context, not legally enforceable.
The city also tested for the following contaminants:
- 11CL-PF3OUdS
- 4:2 FTS
- 6:2 FTS
- 8:2 FTS
- HFPO-DA
- NFDHA
- PFBS
- PFBA
- PFDA
- PFDoA
- PFHpS
- PFHPA
- PFHxS
- PFHxA
- PFMBA
- PFMPA
- PFNA
- PFOS
- PFOA
- PFPeS
- PFPeA
- PFUnA
- PFEESA
- PFOA & PFOS
According to the city website, Newberry’s water department operates and maintains four wells, providing an average of 675,000 gallons of drinking water each day.
Jones said the city will continue monitoring for PFBS and PFOA.