By Susan Phillips, PA State Impact
JANUARY 14, 2023 | 3:39 PM

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection adopted new limits on two of the toxic class of chemicals known as PFAS.

Often referred to as “forever chemicals,” because they don’t naturally break down in the environment, PFAS compounds are linked to serious health issues, including some cancers.

The move means that all public and private drinking water treatment facilities in the state, along with commercial bottled water plants, and school and healthcare facilities will have to test for the toxic substance, report the findings and treat water for the chemicals present above the new maximum contaminant levels (MCLs).

Although the chemicals have been used in consumer products since the 1940s, scientists refer to them as “emerging contaminants” because so much is unknown about their impact on human health.

There are no federal maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for PFAS, shorthand for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in public drinking water. As a result, states have taken action, and a patchwork of regulations now exists across the country.

BENNER TOWNSHIP — A class of synthetic chemicals identified in 2019 near Penn State University’s airport has fouled tap water in an adjacent neighborhood, and families there are now demanding to know why it took environmental officials so long to test their wells, which they use for bathing, cooking, and drinking.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection began providing bottled water this year to at least nine households where well water registered above a longstanding federal health advisory threshold for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, known as “forever chemicals” for their inability to break down naturally.

But as the DEP investigation in Benner Township, Centre County, approaches its third anniversary, Walnut Grove Estates residents want to know why the state didn’t start checking their wells until December — and they worry what the contamination means for their health.

“It went way, way, way too long,” said Gene Stocker, 71, whose home borders the airport’s southeast grounds.