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Substances Found ‘Below Actionable Levels’ So Far
The city of Lexington is among more than 10,000 localities across the country that is having its water tested for PFAS by the Environmental Protection Agency this year.
The results of the first samples, which were taken from the Houston Street tank in February, were released earlier this month and the water was found to be “below actionable levels” for the four PFAS it was tested for.
“I can only assume that they picked us because we’re at the delivery point to somebody as opposed to the treatment point,” Lexington Public Works Director Patrick Madigan told The News-Gazette. “So if you’re at the delivery point and you don’t have it, that kind of gives you the indication that the stream, for lack of a better word, is okay in that you’re not getting actionable levels.”
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a large group of synthetic chemicals that have been used in a variety of products since the 1950s, including nonstick pans, waterproof clothing, stain resistant carpeting and firefighting foam.
They can accumulate in the environment and in the human body and have been linked to a number of health issues, including decreased fertility and high blood pressure in pregnant women; increased risk for certain cancers, including kidney and prostate cancer; and reduced ability of the body’s immune system to fight infections. There are thousands of PFAS, but most studies focus on the more well-known ones, so the full impact of these chemicals is not entirely known.
Last March, the EPA proposed standards that would limit the amount of certain PFAS found in drinking water. This year, efforts began to test the drinking water in public water systems throughout the country for the presence of 29 different PFAS and lithium in hopes of determining the levels in the water. The 2021 federal infrastructure bill included $9 billion to invest in communities with drinking water impacted by PFAS and other emerging contaminants.
Lexington’s water system has been included in this testing and four types of PFAS were tested for: perflurotetradecanoic acid (PFTA), perflurotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA), N-ethyperfluroocanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NEtFOSAA) and Nmethyperflroocansulfanmidoacetic acid (NMeFOSAA).
All four were detected in the water in the first round of testing, but were below the levels that the EPA recommends action to reduce the amount of the chemicals. PFTA was found at less than .008 parts per billion; PFTrDA detected at less than .007 parts per billion; NEtFOSAA at less than .005 parts per billion; and NMeFOSAA at less than .006 parts per billion.
“There’s only a few labs that can test [for levels] that low, because everything is typically in parts per million,” Madigan said. “So that’s kind of the thing, when we’re saying you need to remove to this level, that’s pretty extreme. It’s not saying there’s nothing, because there’s obviously something in the background noise.”
A second round of samples was taken in May and sent for testing, the results of which Madigan estimates will be available to the city within the next few weeks. The tests are done quarterly, so two more samples from the Houston Street tank will be sent for testing later this year. The EPA will continue testing for PFAS through 2026 before finalizing its policies.
