Perfluorooctanoic Acid Found in Bedford Water

CONCORD, NH - The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the Division of Public Health Services have scheduled a public information meeting for March 30, 2016, to discuss the discovery of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in water in Bedford.

The testing was performed after officials in Merrimack tested water in February, and found low levels of the chemical – used primarily like non-stick cookware, weather resistant clothing, and carpeting – were found at the Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics plant.

The chemical was also found in Litchfield, as well as Vermont, and New York, where Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics has other facilities.

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• State to Discuss PFOA Water Test Results this Week
• NH DES PFOA 2016 Presentation in PDF

Earlier this week, state officials met with residents in Merrimack and Litchfield to discuss the issue. Part of the information released this week included levels of the chemical in the water supplies of residents in southern Bedford, near the Merrimack border in the Cabot Preserve-Greenfield Farms water lines, and nor far from the plant.

The test, according to James Martin, the public information officer for the NH DES, came back as 36 parts per trillion (ppt). The state is providing bottled water to any resident where the drinking water wells tested 100 ppt or above.

“All Bedford residents who are serviced by Pennichuck Water, supplied by the Merrimack Village District Water Works, in the areas of Greenfield Farms, Cabot Preserve, Parker Ridge, Brick Mill, and Jenkins Road, are encouraged to attend,” he said.

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30, 2016, at the Peter Woodbury Elementary School, 180 Country Road, in Bedford.