The Board of Health voted at its Sept. 8 meeting to add PFAS to the list of substances some homeowners with private wells must test for before selling their homes. Only those homeowners who live in areas where wells have tested positive for PFAS must adhere to the new regulation, which also applies when digging a new well or rehabilitating an existing one.
The amended regulation applies to wells on Blanchard, Cedar Ledge, Craggs, Depot, Lancaster County, Mill, Old Mill, Pattee, Still River Depot, and Under Pin Hill roads. Also on the list are Prospect Hill Road from Depot Road through number 50, and Ayer Road from number 184 to the northern boundary of Harvard. Roads may be added or deleted as more information about the levels of PFAS in Harvard’s groundwater becomes available.
In 2019, the Board of Health asked the Army to test private wells in Harvard near areas of known PFAS groundwater contamination in Devens. Between
October 2019 and June 2020 Army contractor KOMAN Government Solutions tested 114 private wells in Harvard. Fifty-two showed some level of PFAS, and 11 of those exceeded the state’s current guidance value.
Those wells were on Blanchard Road, Lancaster County Road, Ayer Road (north of Route 2), and Depot Road. None of the wells tested exceeded the less-stringent guidance value established by the Environmental Protection Agency (see acceptable limits sidebar). Nashoba Associated Board of Health Agent Ira Grossman told the Press that Still River Depot Road is on the list because of its proximity to the Shabokin well in Devens, which tested over state guidelines for PFAS last year.
What are PFAS?
PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of many different synthetic chemicals, including PFOA and PFOS. These chemicals are typically used in nonstick, water-resistant, or stain-resistant products. PFAS stay in the environment and in the body for a long time. Exposure can come from using products containing PFAS or ingesting PFAS-contaminated food or water.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), health effects from PFAS are still under investigation, but studies on laboratory animals indicate that sufficiently high levels of PFAS may cause developmental effects in fetuses and infants, as well as effects on the thyroid, liver, kidneys, some hormones, and the immune system.
How did PFAS get into Harvard’s water?
Until 2003, the chemicals known as PFAS were a common ingredient in firefighting foam because of their ability to extinguish fires containing multiple types of fuels. As the health risks of PFAS came to light, the chemicals were banned from firefighting foam. But the frequent use of that foam at military training areas prompted the Army to begin testing for the substances in groundwater and drinking water near current and former military bases, including the former Fort Devens.
Testing revealed high levels of PFAS in the groundwater at multiple locations in Devens, and each location was identified as a numbered area of contamination. Three of those areas are in the vicinity of Barnum Road, including a former firefighting exercise area, the site of a warehouse fire, and a fuel oil spill site. The sum of PFOA and PFOS in the groundwater of those three areas ranged from 1400 ppt to 4390 ppt, with the highest number at the fuel oil spill site. Data showed that groundwater under all three of those areas likely flowed toward Cold Spring Brook, which borders the northwest corner of Harvard and Devens.
Last week the Army released its quarterly status update, which documents the results of groundwater tests at Cold Spring Brook and its wetlands and shore. PFAS levels found in the groundwater exceeded both EPA and MassDEP guidelines in most of the locations tested, and the pattern of PFAS concentration from shore to brook supported the theory that groundwater from all three areas of contamination near Barnum Road is flowing into Cold Spring Brook.
There is a fourth area of contamination further south in Devens, just over the Harvard line at Old Mill Road. Tests last year showed PFAS in the groundwater under a former waste disposal area that had been cleaned up in the 1990s as part of the Army’s remediation efforts. At that time, PFAS were not known contaminants. The area is near the beginning of Cold Spring Brook, and groundwater tests conducted there in the spring did not support PFAS-contaminated water flowing into the brook from that area.
While the Army’s next steps include further investigations in all the areas of contamination on the former base, they do not include any investigations on the Harvard side of Cold Spring Brook or anywhere else in Harvard. Without such investigations, there is no way to confirm if Devens is the source of any PFAS contamination in Harvard’s wells. The Restoration Advisory Board’s public quarterly meetings were suspended in the spring because of COVID-19, but a virtual meeting is under consideration for October.
Federal and state governments disagree on acceptable limits for PFAS in drinking water
While neither the EPA nor the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has issued an enforceable maximum contaminant level for PFAS in drinking water, both have issued guidance values (ppt is parts per trillion):
EPA’s Lifetime Health Advisory guidance value for PFAS in drinking water is 70 ppt for the sum of PFOS and PFOA. It was published in 2016.
MassDEP’s Office of Research and Standards guidance value for PFAS in drinking water is 20 ppt for the sum of PFOS, PFOA, PFHpA, PFHxS, PFNA, and PFDA. It was published in January 2020.
MassDEP is considering establishing a maximum contaminant level for PFAS in drinking water that would match the state’s current guidance value. Public hearings were held in January 2020, but no further information on the status of this proposed regulation was available from MassDEP at press time.
