PFOA Found In Montclair's Drinking Water

Montclair, NJ – Montclair’s three wells have perfluorooctanoic acid.

On Thursday, the Montclair Water Bureau announced that the township’s most recent “Annual Drinking Water Quality Report” from 2014 showed sampling readings from the municipality’s three wells to be above the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection guidance level of 40 parts per trillion for the unregulated contaminant known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

Commonly used for applications such as non-stick cookware and all-weather clothing, PFOA is still being studied as a possible carcinogen, but research so far have been inconclusive, the American Cancer Society states on its website.

According to town officials, the municipal wells were sampled twice in 2015 and the readings were found to be at: 35, 44, 48, 42, 46 and 42 parts per trillion.

“With levels so close to the guidance level, the NJ DEP did not recommend shutting off any wells,” Montclair Water Bureau Director Gary Obszarny said. “It’s important to note that due to decreased demand during the winter months, normally only the Glenfield well is in operation. Right now, because of low demand, all three wells are offline which means customers are receiving water only from the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission (NJDWSC).”

According to Montclair officials, the NJDWSC - which supplies approximately 80 percent of the township’s water - also performed testing for PFOA and the result was “non-detect,” meaning no signs of the contaminant were found.

Following NJ DEP’s recommendations, the Montclair Water Bureau has sent out for sampling materials for additional testing of the wells, township officials stated.

The samples will be analyzed by an EPA certified laboratory, officials added.

“Additional sampling from various locations in the distribution system will provide the township with a better idea of the extent of unregulated contaminant levels so that appropriate measures can be put into place if necessary,” Obszarny said.

In addition, the Water Bureau is arranging for a professional services agreement for a comprehensive modeling of the township’s water system to better understand and manage these issues, Obszarny stated.

Montclair is not the only town to test above state DEP limits for PFOA. In 2007, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection tested 23 local drinking-water systems, allegedly detecting PFOA at very low levels in 78 percent of those tested.

“Studies have found that it is present at very low levels in just about everyone’s blood in the United States,” the American Cancer Society states. “Higher levels have been found in the blood of community residents where local water supplies have been contaminated by PFOA. People exposed to PFOA in the workplace can have levels many thousands of times higher.”

Send Montclair news tips to eric.kiefer@patch.com

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